Ebico energy reviews: Give your feedback

Judi11

I checked with MSE Cheap Energy Club and found that Green Star were no longer the cheapest, which they had been for us for a good 2 + years. So I started the application with Ebico on 8th March. I signed up online and thought nothing more of it.

I needed to fill in a form today with details of my energy supplier and realised that I hadn't heard anything from Ebico. I called and had to hold on for a while (the usual service from energy suppliers!), and then spoke to a person who couldn't help who then transfered me to another who said that my welcome pack was emailed to me also on the 8th March. I had received a brief "Thank you" email from them on the 8th, but nothing else. I checked my spam and found nothing. They said I needed to access my welcome pack and set my account up online but really weren't very helpful and I was starting to feel that switching to them was an error. I usually find that if it doesn't start well then it is a bad sign so, instead of just continuing with a probable error, I decided to quit while I was ahead.

So, I called Green Star, who I never had a problem with, and had (unbelievably for an energy company), made an error with our meter readings in our favour!!?? I did try and explain to them that there was an error, only because I didn't want a huge bill later on, when they realised their mistake, but they wouldn't have it and so we had a cheap fuel bill last year They had to set me up as a new customer, because the switch had already happened and they are a little bit more expensive, but I'd rather pay a little bit more for a company who I haven't had a problem with and who don't take long to pick up the phone.

I expect this will cause a few problems at Ebico now so it will be interesting to see how that pans out

bubieyehyeh

Ebico don't seem to respond to email. They send an acknowledgment that says there reply within 2-5 working days. However I've now had two emails, with no further responce what so ever.

I've tried ringing, but gave up after about 20mins on several occasions.

They also seem to be totally unaware of the erroneous transfer charter.

So I'd recommend people avoid.

Andrew&Claudia

So we do the research, the comparison websites bring up Ebico Night Owl v2 as the best deal.
So far so good.
Then We read the T & C's and it turns out theres a cap of 60% on Economy7 usage. Which frankly is no use to anyone with anything bigger than a 1 bedroomed shed and relies on Electricity for virtually 100% of energy needs (No mains gas supply here). Mine (and Ebicos calculation) works out at around 75% E7 usage. this is most likely because being concerned citizens we have pretty much 100% low energy LED lighting throughout and are careful about our consumption. House is very well insulated and thermally efficient and the replacement of the old inefficient Night storage heaters for dimplex Quantums has also really cut the bills by an appreciable amount, I reckon between 15/20% on the night rate.

One to watch out for folks, many other less thorough consumers would get caught out by this condition.


Ebicos standard fixed term, fixed price tariff seems fairly competitive once I worked out the various components of the tariff (standing charge vs unit costs etc) and knowing fairly accurately our annual energy consumption broken down into E7 and Day rate which is essential when getting quotes. However it's still nearly DOUBLE what the Night owl tariff offers.
I'm really hacked off with the rapacious way just about all energy providers treat their cash cow single fuel consumers. We have NO CHOICE to shop around for cheap dual fuel deals and why should I subsidise someone simply because they are fortunate enough to have a mains gas supply? One fair price for all consumers surely?

EachPenny

Andrew&Claudia wrote: »

Ebicos standard fixed term, fixed price tariff seems fairly competitive once I worked out the various components of the tariff (standing charge vs unit costs etc) and knowing fairly accurately our annual energy consumption broken down into E7 and Day rate which is essential when getting quotes. However it's still nearly DOUBLE what the Night owl tariff offers.

What happens to the figures if you time-shifted some of your consumption into the day rate to come below the 60% cap? If Night Owl would halve your costs then it sounds like you have some room for adjustment in the timing of your usage and for the tariff to still work out cheaper?

Andrew&Claudia

That's not possible! Storage heaters charge up when the night rate switches in, they are on a separate circuit for off peak electricity. I don't think you understand how off peak heating works?
It's really only heating and hot water that the E7 is used for, we aren't too obsessed about putting the washing machine and dishwasher on the timer for cheaper energy. Anyway it's an academic issue now as we'll use another more mainstream provider. And no suggestions about alternative heating sources if you please. We're off the gas grid and made the decision when we moved here not to retrofit Oil CH as our previous experience would suggest its not only expensive in fuel but the boilers need more regular maintenance to keep on song and spare parts are expensive, not to mention the initial cost of a full system which would pay the electricity bill for the next 15 years on its own! Add to that a disabled occupier which rules out solid fuel stoves and it leaves us pretty much over a barrel to the Electricity generators.
Anyway the upshot is that Ebico aren't really a suitable provider for our needs. i suspect its aimed at a different market.

EachPenny

Andrew&Claudia wrote: »

That's not possible! Storage heaters charge up when the night rate switches in, they are on a separate circuit for off peak electricity. I don't think you understand how off peak heating works?

The forum is here to help people save money and get better deals. That works best if people don't make rude or snarky comments in response to people offering helpful advice. The watchwords of the forum are "be nice to all MoneySavers".

I understand how off-peak heating works. Did you know that not all off-peak heating operates on a separate (externally) time-controlled circuit and therefore some householders do have the ability to move some of their consumption into the peak period? You didn't specify in your post that you had a separate timed circuit, but come to that I didn't specifically suggest you time-shifted your storage heater consumption either.

There are many ways to skin a cat.

Andrew&Claudia wrote: »

It's really only heating and hot water that the E7 is used for, we aren't too obsessed about putting the washing machine and dishwasher on the timer for cheaper energy.

So only running the washing machine and dishwasher during the day would help. Is the immersion heater also on the timed circuit, or does that have a separate timer?

Andrew&Claudia wrote: »

Anyway the upshot is that Ebico aren't really a suitable provider for our needs. i suspect its aimed at a different market.

The target market is quite clear - people who consume quite a lot, but not more than 60% of their electricity at night. For people who might be a little bit over the 60% it could work out cheaper to adjust their usage to bring it down to below 60%, but whether that makes sense will vary on a case by case basis.

At the end of the day the price comparison sites are where you should be directing your complaint. They ought to recognise that your night consumption is over 60%, therefore making you ineligible for the product.

egyptiancotton

I was thinking of maybe switching to Ebico within the next few days. Any recent reviews of Ebico? Would be interested to hear recent reviews before taking the leap.

bubieyehyeh

They are fine if nothing goes wrong, if it does you find they are useless. Robin Hood Energy, who do admin for Ebico are seeming the problem

Ilona

Ebico admin is a bit more organized now. I pay quarterly and it was taking ages for them to send me the bill, after they had asked for readings, sometimes up to a month later.

I have been submitting readings regularly on their web site but they still send me a letter asking for the latest readings, don't know why. Anyway, their web site has been updated and it is easier to contact them, and submit readings. My latest bill arrived much quicker, and I paid it straight away.

ilona

Xenon

I have been with them for a few months - apart from some minor quickly fixed issues - it's been fine.