MSE News: Pensioners face energy hike as Eon withdraws tariff 4 October 2013 at 5:39PM in Energy 33 replies 3.4K views

Former_MSE_Helen

"Tens of thousands of pensioners will face a hike in energy prices as Eon withdraws its StayWarm deal on Sunday..."

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Pensioners face energy hike as Eon withdraws tariff




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PollySouthend

Why should (a house containing one person) over 60 get cheaper energy than the rest of the population?

Many people in their 20s cant even dream of owning a house and pensioners / people approaching pensionable age (50+) are one of the richest sections of uk society.

matelodave

I wouldn't agree that pensioners are one of the richest section of the population but I do wonder why we should be picking out certain people for special consideration or special pricing.

I can't see why there should be a reason for a cheaper electricity deal for pensioners or those on benefits and not anyone else - in fact why should anyone get special consideration. If we go that way then should there be two tier or special pensioner or benefit pricing for petrol, cornflakes, milk or even cigarettes??.

Pincher

The E.On AgeUK tariff was only a whisker away from the standard tariff, and was never competitive any way. In over ten years of checking for my OAP mother, it was never worth going on it.

Nada666

Where in your report do you justify your claim that prices will be increased for people coming off StayWarm?

a) You do not state what the base price for determining the annual reassesments or provide information that it was protected or cheaper

b) If British Gas and everyone else (including Eon) raise their prices then surely Eon would have raised the base price of future reassessments

c) Customers have time to grab a 'normal' fixed deal before they are jacked up or just a cheaper variable tariff (previous to the withdrawal there were always plenty of voluntary switchers who discovered other tariffs were cheaper than StayWarm)

d) StayWarm was changed to be based on individual usage over the previous twelve months rather than size of home. You could always have one last hurrah if you intended not to stay with it but otherwise you had to pay for any excess the following year and that, of course, could always be at next year's price!

About the only fear is the lack of future comfort and good sense - some users will now be nervous about putting on the heating because they will not take the time to work out how much it costs averaged over a year. Bills will change but they will in nearly all cases be going down.

Atidi

Tens of thousands of pensioners will face a hike in energy prices as big six supplier Eon is to withdraw its discount tariff for over-60s...

The staywarm deal was never exactly cheap. It was a true fixed price tariff (irrespective of what was used).
It was individually priced based on what the customer used previously, with an added amount in case they happen to use more.
But it did give customers the comfort that prices would not change for the year (but if they did use more than expected, then their next year would cost even more!)

Now this deal has been axed, hopefully those pensioners will consult a comparison site and see how much over the odds they have been paying in the past, and realise that they are now charged only for what they use, so if they economise, they could save even more :beer:

But that doesn't make good Daily Mail style news that MSE has so lately become so fond of does it? :cool:

st999

A few years ago when I became a pensioner I looked into the staywarm tariff.

Eon, at that time, wanted £50 a month more than I was paying by DD.

I bet most staywarm customers will end up paying less for their gas and electricity because they will have to pay for what they are actually using and turn the heating down if the the house gets too warm instead of opening the window and taking off their clothes and wandering about in their underwear.

JezR

I calculated the potential savings each year for my parents when their StayWarm contract came round each year. StayWarm was never the cheapest option, but for their use it was never that more expensive either, and they preferred to stick with it rather than have the hassle (in their minds anyway) of regularly changing supplier.

gt94sss2

I see the article downplays the fact that this is partly MSE's fault.

Eon have stated that they are doing this as they are now limited to offering only 4 tariffs a fuel by the regulator - something that MSE (foolishly imho) campaigned for.

I would expect all the 'special tariffs' for elderly people/supporting charities etc will be pulled and those of us who switch provider will all face higher bills on average in future.

Regards
Sunil

penrhyn

Exactly, unintended consequences from misguided consumer groups.
Martin once posted that people would be happy paying more for simpler tariffs.
Well now we have them.

JezR

Wasn't there that MSE poll where 83% said they would prefer fewer tariffs even if it meant prices rise.