MSE News: Scottish Power cuts bills by £54

DragonQ

neneromanova wrote: »

Oh wow...£54...what ever will I do with and extra £4.50 a month?

Remember that thought when prices next go up by £54 per year.

Cardew

Mr_K wrote: »

.

As the £54 is being got from 'general taxation' you'll still end up paying it anyway - just a bit more hidden.

Agreed we will end up paying it from general taxation anyway.


That doesn't change the fact that the Government have given Scottish Power a 'rebate' which they intended to be given to all their customers, and Scottish Power have just pocketed £42 of that money.

NittyGritty

Cardew wrote: »

Agreed we will end up paying it from general taxation anyway.


That doesn't change the fact that the Government have given Scottish Power a 'rebate' which they intended to be given to all their customers, and Scottish Power have just pocketed £42 of that money.

British Gas and SSE are passing on ALL the reductions even people on long term fixes so something is wrong in my eyes why some are not and as you say just pocketing the money for themselves

why not ring ofgem and ask them if what they are doing is correct, ive put a complaint in with npower asking the same thing.so just waiting to hear what they have to say before making a decision on what to do next. end of the day if I do take it to ofgem the worst they can say is "theres nothing they can do etc etc"
on the other hand if these companys are in the wrong then not only will you get your reduction you also have the option of asking for compensation. should you wish too.

don't be afraid to use the ombudsman route if you feel you need too, I took T-Mobile to ombudsman (yes I know its different) but I won the case and also compensation after they found in favour of my complaint. most companys think the average person wont go that far. but It pays to complain and if need be take it that step further.

Cardew

NittyGritty wrote: »

why not ring ofgem and ask them if what they are doing is correct, ive put a complaint in with npower asking the same thing.so just waiting to hear what they have to say before making a decision on what to do next. end of the day if I do take it to ofgem the worst they can say is "theres nothing they can do etc etc"
on the other hand if these companys are in the wrong then not only will you get your reduction you also have the option of asking for compensation. should you wish too.

We can, with confidence, predict that ofgem will do absolutely nothing - as usual.

A letter to your MP will be likely to have far more effect. After all it is taxpayers money, that Parliament specifically intended to go to energy customers, that Scottish Power have decided to use to swell their profits.

NittyGritty

yup maybe, I thought that when I took on T-Mobile tho, but surprisingly I won. no harm in trying. like I say worst case, is they say no

markbernstein

Thanks for the responses to my question!

Just discovered that MoneySavingExpert's owner, MoneySuperMarket, has started a petition on epetitions.direct.gov.uk on this very topic (i.e. customers on fixed tarrifs not getting the benefit of the reduction in the Energy Company Obligation costs).

It's here:
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/58784

And their article about it is here:
http://www.moneysupermarket.com/c/news/demand-action-on-energy-prices/0031641/

Consumerist

markbernstein wrote: »

Just discovered that MoneySavingExpert's owner, MoneySuperMarket, has started a petition on epetitions.direct.gov.uk on this very topic (i.e. customers on fixed tarrifs not getting the benefit of the reduction in the Energy Company Obligation costs).

Thanks for that info. I've now signed.

It seems to me that the energy suppliers are manipulating the market for their own advantage.

In the real world, when prices are generally expected to rise, fixed-rate contracts would be expected to be more expensive than variable-rate contracts. How have the energy suppliers managed to turn this on its head? Variable tariffs are generally more expensive than fixed-rate tariffs at the moment. In my view this is because the suppliers want to lock customers into fixed contracts to stifle price competition.

I would urge all moneysavers to sign the epetition.

Pincher

Mystery solved, I think. The current February 2015 Fix from Scottish Power is now called v3, which is only £5 more than my March 2015 fix. I am pretty sure v2 was around £40 more in November 2013.

Does this mean anyone who is on v2 can save themselves around £40 by switching to v3? More over two winters. Does Scottish Power think we wouldn't notice the difference if they keep the name the same?

This way, they can say they actioned a proportional price reduction, and look good on comparison sites for new customers, but existing customer on v2 will carry on paying the higher tariff. Well played.

joe134

Hi Guys, I,m a long standing Scottish Power user, on the Freshstart social tariff, which ceases in march.
I cannot get a comparrison, because, it,s not listed amongst the 40 or so tariffs, and can only compare the standard tariff which I presume will be what SP will put me on come march.
According to the MSE comparrison site I can save £495 on my usage, BUT, that,s using SP,s standard Tarrif, then I will still pay £2000+
I only pay £120 a month now, ( just been upped) and it,s keeping up with what I use at present, so goodness knows how my bill will nearly double, yet still save £495+.
Freshstart must be a very low tariff compared to others, if, come March, my bill is going to double?
SP will not discuss it, they say, just wait, I have already lost the best Fixed deals, and cannot compare till March,thanks to Cameron, I will be paying a hell of a lot more for him simplifying tariffs.
There must be thousands like me on social tariffs with SP and other suppliers, kept in limbo, or jump ship now and pay double.?
Anyone else on this tariff?

Consumerist

joe134 wrote: »

I cannot get a comparrison, because, it,s not listed amongst the 40 or so tariffs, and can only compare the standard tariff which I presume will be what SP will put me on come march.

I doesn't matter that your current tariff is not listed. There is little point, anyway, in comparing your future energy costs with a tariff that will not be available to you any more.

What is important to you is getting the best tariff that will be available to you. Use any tariff you like as your "current" tariff because it won't change the estimated annual costs of the tariffs listed by a single penny. Disregard any "savings" claimed by the comparison site and just compare the annual costs of those listed.