First Utility 18.6% rise.

sebado

Hi,

Just received this e-mail from First Utility. I only moved to them at the end of December. Am I tied to them or can I move again? My decision to move to them was marginal and this smashes the savings out of the water.

This makes the sales guy at British Gas sound like the oracle....rather than a commission driven blood hound.

Shocking price rise.

Important notification regarding your tariff.


I am writing to let you know that your tariff will be changing to our iSave Everyday variable rate tariff from 1st June 2013, which unfortunately means that your prices will be increasing on this date. I appreciate this will be unwelcome news, but hope the context I outline below explains why this is a necessary decision.

Context of our price change


The energy industry as a whole is under pressure from increasing costs. These include charges for delivering electricity
and gas to your home, mandatory government environmental schemes and social obligations, as well as the price we have to pay for energy on the wholesale markets.


Although First Utility has been subject to the same challenging cost increases as other energy suppliers, I chose to delay changing our prices for as long as possible and until customers were through the coldest winter months. The Big Six all announced price rises by the end of 2012 during a period when heating your home costs you the most.

Unfortunately the combination of factors above means that the average increase for our customers will be 18.6% but this
is dependent on several factors including your energy usage*. I have included a personalised view of this below. Recognising the pressure on household budgets we have worked hard to find ways to protect our customers from future price
fluctuations with the launch of our Price Promise and our new Fixed Price Tariff.

dogshome

From the title of your tariff it probably doesn't have a lock-in period, ( Read your T & C's to confirm this or phone FU )

But even if does, the price rise gives you a 'Get-out-of-jail-free' card - If there is a lock in you must Write/Email FU saying you reject the price rise and are arrangeing to Switch, with this notice FU must continue to charge your present prices till the Switch is complete

sy123

I have received the same email and transferred back in December. What annoys me is after some internet seach, there is a reference to this practice that ofgem only noted but took no action (of using a low price deal to sign customers on then raising their prices very shortly afterwards). I suspect it is a very successful strategy but not the most honest.

I signed onto their isave v12 plan and the email offers to take me on the isave everyday plan which is not their current best deal (isave v15)

I wonder if anyone knows how you can register this sharp practice with people like ofgem(is there another organisation out there interested in helping the consumer on these sharp practices)? I had a look on ofgem website and it is clearly not interested in hearing from consumers.

I am going to contact First Utility to see if they are interested in offering the better deal to me, otherwise its a change (ironically) back to my previous supplier.

sy123

dogshome wrote: »

From the title of your tariff it probably doesn't have a lock-in period, ( Read your T & C's to confirm this or phone FU )

But even if does, the price rise gives you a 'Get-out-of-jail-free' card - If there is a lock in you must Write/Email FU saying you reject the price rise and are arrangeing to Switch, with this notice FU must continue to charge your present prices till the Switch is complete

There was a lock in or more precisely a penalty fee if you left within 3 months. Other than that I think you can just leave .. although I have to read the old conditions.

MillicentBystander

It really is about time OFGEM looked at this sort of practice.

bellandbottle

I waited 10 minutes to talk to First Utility, and I was informed that:
1) the V12 deal dies in June
2) the next best deal is V15
3) there are no penalties for moving

I will need to cast around now to find out what the best deals are elsewhere. I must admit to feeling a bit of a prat at being caught out like this - though I did get the wine!

bellandbottle

This is an update to my recent post.

When I got off the phone to FU, I received an email telling me of the current deals on offer.

The cost of the iSave Everyday (the one they were switching me to) for our usage would be £1272.

The cost of iSave V15 would be £1192

I really don't understand what is going on here.

James_Lahey

I also switched at the end of last year and got this mail today. Pretty sure I was also "tied" in for 3 months and would imagine this hike is designed to catch people who can't be bothered changing again.

£40 cashback tracked and confirmed but not payable yet... according to the email "If you do decide to leave us before these prices come into effect, you need to you let us know on or before the 1st June 2013." So think I'll leave it a few weeks to see if TCB clear my payment before switching.

I would be grateful if others who are migrating could post the best deal they find (I usually factor in cashback at 80% chance of getting it and am a member of the main cashback sites.)

Wywth

James_Lahey wrote: »

...
I would be grateful if others who are migrating could post the best deal they find (I usually factor in cashback at 80% chance of getting it and am a member of the main cashback sites.)

I suggest you consult a comparison site, hopefully like you did when you chose FU in the first place.

Other posters posting their choice, unless they are in the same supply region and consume exactly the same amount of energy per year in kWh, are unlikley to help you

James_Lahey

Ty Wywth, good point.

I did (and will) check the comparison sites carefully before clearing details and finalising through the site with the best cashback rate.

lol @ the acronym for this company, exactly what I though when I saw the new rates!

Former_MSE_Darryl

"32,000 First Utility customers will be hit with massive jumps in their energy bills from 1 June...."

Read the full story:

First Utility customers face 18.6% price hikes



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