Scottish Power - 25% price hike ?

BBDom

r32 wrote: »

I'm on Online Discounted Energy October 2013 (v2), but the figures in the email I got look different to yours:

[FONT=&quot]Elec: First 225kWh used each quarter[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 22.262p[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 22.343p[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]All/Day remaining kWh[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 10.422p[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 11.900p[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Gas: First 670kWh used each quarter[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 7.269p[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 7.109p[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]All/Day remaining kWh[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 3.201p[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 3.603p

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Discounts: Gas & Electricity Offer[/FONT][FONT=&quot] £16.80[/FONT][FONT=&quot] £10.50†[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Online Energy Discount[/FONT][FONT=&quot] £15.75[/FONT][FONT=&quot] £10.50[/FONT][FONT=&quot]◊[/FONT]

Thanks for the info - interesting to see you have been offered a far better rate. I've also had a reply from Scottish Power by email asking for me to send the attachment they sent me with the prices back - thats a job for this evening though as I'm up to my teeth in it at the moment

t0rt0ise

They do say I can change supplier, presumably without paying the exit fees, but the link given for more information is not syntactically valid and so goes nowhere. That's a neat trick!

cgzz

OFGEM should force power companies to state a MAXIMUM price increase instead of a meaningless average. Whichever tariff's unit price increases by the highest percentage should be the announced percentage rise. Then with appropriate legislation in force, if any power company increases any tariff in excess of their announced maximum each and every customer affected must be compensated with say a £100 credit to their account as a penalty from the power company. This may force power companies to think twice about how they increase tariffs and spread increases more evenly and fairly across all tariffs. Has anyone had a price increase LESS THAN their supplier's announced average increase?

Cardew

cgzz wrote: »

Has anyone had a price increase LESS THAN their supplier's announced average increase?

Well this is from the SP announcement:

Quarterly Cash or Cheque customers will see an increase of 1.4%,

So if 7% is the average - the majority of quarterly paying customers must have had a lower percentage increase

grahamc2003

r32 wrote: »

I'm on Online Discounted Energy October 2013 (v2), but the figures in the email I got look different to yours:

[FONT=&quot]Elec: First 225kWh used each quarter[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 22.262p[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 22.343p[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]All/Day remaining kWh[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 10.422p[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 11.900p[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Gas: First 670kWh used each quarter[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 7.269p[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 7.109p[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]All/Day remaining kWh[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 3.201p[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 3.603p

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Discounts: Gas & Electricity Offer[/FONT][FONT=&quot] £16.80[/FONT][FONT=&quot] £10.50†[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Online Energy Discount[/FONT][FONT=&quot] £15.75[/FONT][FONT=&quot] £10.50[/FONT][FONT=&quot]◊[/FONT]

Every tariff has different prices depending on the supply area. So each tariff has about 13 different prices - just pot luck whether you gain or lose due to where you live.

tichtich

Bear in mind there are several possible reasons for the % increase in bills to depend on payment method (averaged over people who pay by each method):
1. The discounts/surcharges for different payment methods may have changed.
2. People paying by one method may tend to consume more than people paying by another method, on average. Split tariffs (or standing charge) mean that the % increase in your bill depends on your consumption (unless the lower and higher rate increase by the same %).
3. Proportion of people paying by different methods may depend on region, and the % increase may vary with region.

BBDom

Well here is the reply from Scottish Power :

Scottish_Power wrote:

Dear xxxxxx

Thank you for your email.

I can confirm the prices details in your email are correct.

Based on your current consumption and the new prices, your annual bill would increase from £767.13 to £925.81. This does mean the difference would be an increase of 20.8%.

As advertised the prices increase we have announced is 8.7%. 8.7% is the average amount throughout all products and price plans based on ofgems average consumption. Discount energy will still continue to remain 6% below our standard prices.

You are using most of your energy at the secondary rate, which is the rate that has increased the most, the main reason for the large increase. Your current consumption is 3.1 units per day on the night rate and 15.5 on the day rate.

As advised in the previous email, the right to cancel does still stand.

I apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.

tichtich

BBDom,

SP's explanation only accounts for part of the difference between your increase and the average increase. Perhaps your region has also had a bigger increase than the average. Or perhaps electricity prices have gone up more than gas, which would mean electricity-only users like you suffering more than the average increase.

I recommend you check your rate. What's your tariff called?

BBDom

tichtich wrote: »

I recommend you check your rate. What's your tariff called?

"Online Discounted Energy October 2013 (v2)"

tichtich

BBDom wrote: »

"Online Discounted Energy October 2013 (v2)"

P.S. Sorry, just remembered you said you were on that tariff.

I've checked the rates at SP's site, and each of your new rates is 6.4% below the standard tariff equivalent. Your tariff is supposed to give a discount of 6%. So that seems right.