MSE News: Npower revamps energy bills – but low users could lose out

zerog

Wywth wrote: »

For the West Midlands supply region, it looks like it will be 45.57p per day (£166.33 per year) :eek:

But then there's the possibility of a one off credit for gas customers the article refers to


Edit:
Alternatively you could transfer to the nPower Online Price Fix May 2014 tariff, where the daily standing charge is just 29.82p per day (£108.84 per year)
Pay by direct debit (quarterly to ensure you only pay for what you use) and you get £52.50 p.a. DD discount.
Still just over £50 a year charge, but better than £160+ per year.

... or if others are as lucky as you and they don't bill you at all, they can only back bill you for 12 months if/when they do decide to bill you :cool:

Well alternatively I can transfer to ebico as soon as I can get npower to confirm my DD discount has actually been applied.

Or any other provider with a lower SC.

footyguy

zerog wrote: »

Well alternatively I can transfer to ebico as soon as I can get npower to confirm my DD discount has actually been applied.

Or any other provider with a lower SC.

Use a comparison site to find the best deal for you.

If that proves to be Ebico, then I can recommend them.
Some MSE'ers have, in the past, found them to be useless, impossible to contact, and 'wouldn't touch with a barge poll'; I would say none of which is my experience of Ebico.

And to think, some MSE'ers were predicting their demise whereas now they could be the supplier of choice for many low users

Actually, with all the issues of "sculpting" or seasonal charging for gas that nPower were heavily criticised for a couple of years back, it surprises me you are still with them.

zerog

rogerblack wrote: »

I think it's unfair to penalise low users, and make them pay proportionately more for their service.
I would favour a small surcharge on all units, so that even the lowest users gain by saving electricity.

Well you always gain by using less, standing charge or not...

zerog

footyguy wrote: »

Use a comparison site to find the best deal for you.

If that proves to be Ebico, then I can recommend them.
Some MSE'ers have, in the past, found them to be useless, impossible to contact, and 'wouldn't touch with a barge poll'; I would say none of which is my experience of Ebico.

And to think, some MSE'ers were predicting their demise whereas now they could be the supplier of choice for many low users

Actually, with all the issues of "sculpting" or seasonal charging for gas that nPower were heavily criticised for a couple of years back, it surprises me you are still with them.

I was waiting for my £101 from topcashback, which I received after 10 months. I decided that I might as well wait for a full year so I can get the £100 discount (well, hopefully)

Comparison sites don't help me, because 1) they all assume people use more gas in the winter. I use more in the summer

and 2) they assume you stay with a supplier for 1 year and you never move house or go away. Depending on how much standing charges are I may be better off with a high SC/low unit rate when I am in the house, and then switching to a low SC/high unit rate when I am not. But switching takes 6 weeks (though you can get cashback for big suppliers). Which is why I think ebico is probably going to be the best for the least hassle, even if it isn't the aboslute cheapest.

Fire_Fox

zerog wrote: »

Well you always gain by using less, standing charge or not...

Not that simple. I gain by being extremely frugal but lose by not having anyone else to share the costs with - a family of four gains by splitting standing charges or cost of lighting communal rooms between four income streams. Many would say I also lose by having to adjust my life around barely using the heating and switching the shower on just for wet and rinse. Nobody is stopping a family of four doing the same.

MoneySavingMamma

oh poop! I've just switched to Npower for my old house thats still for sale! Fed up of paying standing charge when no electric is being used.

Is there any other suppliers who dont charge the standing charge?

zerog

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Not that simple. I gain by being extremely frugal but lose by not having anyone else to share the costs with - a family of four gains by splitting standing charges or cost of lighting communal rooms between four income streams. Many would say I also lose by having to adjust my life around barely using the heating and switching the shower on just for wet and rinse. Nobody is stopping a family of four doing the same.

Yeah ok, but unless a supplier has a negative unit rate, you will always pay more if you use more. The marginal cost of using an extra unit will vary of course.

sharloid

I certainly don't spend £28 a month on gas, so it's going to end up working out more expensive for me. It wasn't really that difficult to understand before...

Anyway, I'm going to be looking around to see if I can get a better deal elsewhere. Very disappointed! I don't want to have to pay when I am not using gas or electric. That means that when you go on holiday etc you still get charged!

MinnieHudson

I am an nPower customer myself, and was about to switch my brother's supplier from EDF to nPower because (at the time) they offered a tariff with no standing charge. Now I'm not sure what to do...

My brother lives in a council flat, which has a gas supply and meter BUT the flat is supplied by the council's 'district heating service' which means that he does not need to use gas for heating. Neither does he use gas for cooking, as he has a small tabletop electric cooker. He's been told that the Council won't allow the gas to be disconnected/remove the meter etc. - I guess because they want the possibility of a gas supply for any future tenants who might want a gas cooker. So, I really need to find a supplier with a NO STANDING CHARGE tariff, otherwise he's gonna be stuck paying for a supply he doesn't need (but that the Council want to keep)!

Personally I didn't find my previous tariff confusing!

I own rental properties too and can see why some people will be disgruntled that they are paying a standing charge on days when they are not using gas. However, if we look at it as an annual charge for 'connection/supply' which the providers have 'helpfully' divided into daily payments (so that we don't have to pay £100+ up front) I think it's a bit more understandable.

However, what to do for my brother? Am I right that Ebico and Scottish Power offer tariffs with no standing charge? Are there any others?

and what to do if they change their minds in future...?!

lobbyludd

zerog wrote: »

At least you have a bill, I had to complain to get my first bill. It's now 7 months later and no second bill. I've complained again but they ignored me so far.

I've been fighting with them since october to acknowledge the direct debit they took out of my account in that month. they request proof, I send it, I don't hear from them..... I complain, the direct debit is credited to my account and then a mysterious "miscellaneous adjustment" appears on my bill wiping out a month's direct debit", I complain, they ask for proof again, I send it to them, I hear nothing, then they take 2 direct debits out in one month.

shocking company