Standing Charge

beebearshouse

Hi Everyone.

I've just had a letter from my energy company telling me that from now on they will be charging me a standing charge. This is aparently an attempt to simplify my bills.

As I am a very low energy user I have always opted for the no standing charge option on my bills and yes before anyone says, I know I am still paying a standing charge in the higher rate per unit I pay, however in the summer there are days when I do not use any gas at all and on these days I pay nothing at all. As a result of this change I am going to have to pay approximately £120 a year more for my gas!

Has anyone else had a similar letter from their energy company? When I called up to complain I was told that every energy company was removing their no standing charge tarrifs. I'm with Npower by the way so if you're with them and haven't had this watch the mat it's on it's way.

amcg100

Why not switch to a company that has no standing charge options - there are plenty.

beebearshouse

amcg100 wrote: »

Why not switch to a company that has no standing charge options - there are plenty.

According to the operative at Npower all energy companies are going to have to charge a standing charge so even if I find a non standing charge tarrif by the time I switch they will hacve changed to to a standing charge one

OMG!!!! :eek:

Lies lies lies!!!

I did a price comparison and Ebico came up top so I thought I'd call them to see when (if) they were going to be introducing a standing charge and what it would be. I was told they are not going to introduce one so it looks like I may be about £170 better off :T

wakeupalarm

It's Ofgems way to make everyone who uses gas/electricity to pay for the upkeep of the pipes and infrastructure.

System

Hi, I have had the same letter through from NPower and am in the same boat as you, i have compared prices on energyhelpline.com and all of the tariffs seem to have standing charges, i assume this is a uniform thing now as NPower say to 'simplify' things.

The best one i have found is first:utility as their standing charges are the lowest i've found at 10p a day for both (£36.49 each per year), this company is unknown to me and based in the East Midlands, apparently they have a lower rated customer service due to them not getting new customers on supply with them very quickly. I am going to read in to them a bit more before making my decision but they are looking like the cheapest.

So all i have to do now is get my money back from NPower!

andym1965

My previous energy supplier told me they were introducing a standing charge so I used U-switch to find the best offer.

Now my new supplier tell me they are introducing a standing charge!

Like a good money-saver I've been frugal with my energy usage. I'm paying about £15 a month for gas and electric and cannot see how a standing charge will save me any money at all!

Any suggestions for no standing charge suppliers that won't change their mind gratefully received.

beebearshouse

I've now called EBICO and confirmed beyond doubt that they are not planning to introduce a standing charge and the unit costs are going to be 15.9pence for Electric and 5.06 for gas and they have no price increases in the pipeline at the moment

Nada666

amcg100 wrote: »

Why not switch to a company that has no standing charge options - there are plenty.

Liar. Be delighted to be proved wrong and have to retract, though.

System

I have just phoned Scottish Power after finding their tariffs were top of my comparrison list on MoneySupermarket and they said that they dont know of any standing charges being added but if you were to go for a fixed tarif then the prices will stay the same for the duration of that contract, they also added that there are no tie ins / charges to leave on their tariffs ... i would check just in case though but i think they are definitly worth a look.
Good luck price hunting!

bendipa

Npower used to be ok, but have become one of the worst energy companies for customer service. More often than not it can take an hour to get through to them by phone. If you arrange for a call-back, they don't call back If I do finally get through after a very long wait I'm told "sorry, but we can't help you today - call back next week":eek: They don't respond to letters either, it would seem. Avoid this energy company like the plague, or sign up with them at yourown peril.

Nada666

bendipa wrote: »

Npower used to be ok, but have become one of the worst energy companies for customer service.

For ninety-nine percent of people ninety-nine percent of the time customer service is irrelevant. You read your meter, you look at the prices, and you make your choice.

There is no need to engage with customer services. The one percent of one percent of cases that require more than cursory remedy will be equally involved regardless of supplier.