Preposterous standing charges!

AdrianMessenger

Hi all. Newbie here.
Apparently Ofgem are being blamed for this- but my supplier has begun the Standing Charge racket on my gas bill, saying Ofgem "want to make things clearer".
My flat is average size, I don't use the heating much these days; now my minimal gas account has now had a whacking 47p per day added. Not much on paper, but my gas usage was nothing like this. The current billing period has therefore had £40 more taken than I expected.
I'm looking at a gas account without the SC, or much less! British Gas are talking 25p a day as a great deal...! Does such an account exist?
Also, my account states 'cost of gas used this period' when hardly anything is used. So not entirely accurate.
Does anyone have similar experiences, or suggestions?
Thanks in advance...

AdrianMessenger

Hello me! Replying to my own post here...! :think:

A bit of extra searching online brought a similar thread on MSE-

The Cheapest Gas Supplier With No Standing Charge?

..which I'm finding useful...

ic

Look at ebico. Remember if you split your supplies, you'll lose any dual fuel discount you might currently enjoy.

AdrianMessenger

Thanks again. I've spoken with ebico, and will go with them soon. The MSE post I read (found via search engine) mentions them. It dates back to 2011, and they're still going...

I got caught out with this one! Anyone else in a similar spot might want to check their new charges- but most people on here are already 'savvy', I think.

Wywth

May I remind you that in the good old days(?) of nationalisation, a return to which is often called for on this site by some, we all paid these preposterous charges

AdrianMessenger

Hi, I wasn't aware of that, as I grew up (allegedly) with deregulation and privatisation being the norm.
Methinks that the normality of standing charges has been replaced with the 'free market's' cartels being free to do what the heck they like, ergo, whacking these charges over most of the industry- thankfully, not 100%.