E.ON price hike!

Rodtheplod

Since October 2014 I've been on the E.ON Energy Fixed 1 Year v9 tariff where I've been paying £168 per month. My house is electric-only (no gas) and with four teenage kids my usage tends to be fairly high. We do have economy 7 and so take advantage of that.

Anyhow, I received an email from E.ON today advising me to choose my next tariff for October, else I'd be moved to the standard E.ON Energy plan which would take my monthly payment to £265 per month! almost £100 more

The best tariff that E.ON quoted me (on their online system) was the Energy Fixed 1 Year v16, which is still £240-odd per month so still a major hike for me.

Anyone know why there's such a hike in prices? is this general across the board or does it sound specific to me?

I guess I'll do some comparisons to see if I can move to another supplier, but I also wondered if E.ON would be bringing out any better deals/tariffs between now and October. Anyone know how often they bring out new tariffs? Is it worth calling them to see if they can offer another tariff?

Thanks for any advice!

modsandmockers

Rodtheplod wrote: »

Is it worth calling them to see if they can offer another tariff?

Yes, definitely! They are flying a kite whilst simultaneously complying with the regulations about keeping their customers fully informed. Bear in mind that if your account has accumulated a debit balance since October 2014, then the new monthly figure may include some catch-up money. Do you know the current balance on your account with EON? Have you been checking that £168 per month is actually the correct figure to cover your annual fuel costs?

Rodtheplod

modsandmockers wrote: »

Do you know the current balance on your account with EON? Have you been checking that £168 per month is actually the correct figure to cover your annual fuel costs?

Thanks for the reply!

Yup - i do keep an eye on my account through the E.ON app. Currently, it's showing a balance of £124 which my next direct debit should cover. So nothing unusual from that point of view...

If you think calling is a good idea, I'll do that. Do they have other tariffs that they don't publicly disclose, then?

Carolyn500

Hi Rob, I just wanted to say that I am in exactly the same situation as you, having been on the E.ON one year fixed v9 tariff since I moved into this house a year ago. Admittedly the amounts involved are a lot smaller than yours as I live alone in a two bedroom house. As there is no gas in this area I rely solely on electricity. I received an email yesterday telling me that E.ON intend to hike my bill by about £30 per month which, as a pensioner, came as a bit of a shock. I'm not sure whether to go with the One Year v16 option from October, but am concerned that I might get another large hike at the end of the next year if I do. I also have an 'Age UK' option which will cost roughly the same per month, but is fixed for two years which sounds attractive, but again, would probably mean a massive increase next time round. I am shopping around, but dread the thought of switching in case it leads to all sorts of billing errors. It certainly is a problem.

System

If memory serves, E.oN first raised its fixed price tariffs in the early part of this year shortly after the MSE switch ended. Use a comparison site such as theenergyshop.com to determine the best deal. It does not use the inflated savings methodology and it provides you with a basic annual price comparison. You do not have to use them to switch.

Nada666

I had a look in two regions - increase per unit was 11% in one but 18% in another (between v9 and v16). Although their new cheapest tariff is more expensive you'll have to dig into your own quotes using kWh consumpions to check the change.

As electricity-only customers there are a large number of cheaper alternatives.

footyguy

Rodtheplod wrote: »

Since October 2014 I've been on the E.ON Energy Fixed 1 Year v9 tariff where I've been paying £168 per month. My house is electric-only (no gas) and with four teenage kids my usage tends to be fairly high. We do have economy 7 and so take advantage of that.

Anyhow, I received an email from E.ON today advising me to choose my next tariff for October, else I'd be moved to the standard E.ON Energy plan which would take my monthly payment to £265 per month! almost £100 more

The best tariff that E.ON quoted me (on their online system) was the Energy Fixed 1 Year v16, which is still £240-odd per month so still a major hike for me.

Anyone know why there's such a hike in prices? is this general across the board or does it sound specific to me?

I guess I'll do some comparisons to see if I can move to another supplier, but I also wondered if E.ON would be bringing out any better deals/tariffs between now and October. Anyone know how often they bring out new tariffs? Is it worth calling them to see if they can offer another tariff?

Thanks for any advice!

Having to choose another tariff because your existing fixed term tariff is ending is not considered a price hike.

If I'm not mistaken, wasn't V9 the unbelievably cheap fixed tariff offered by Eon. If it's the one I'm thinking of, it was withdrawn within a matter of days by Eon when they realised the prices they had advertised were wrong.

But to Eon's credit, they did honour any applications made in the short period the tariff was available to subscribe to.

My suggestion to you, as it is to everyone, would be to consult a comparison site to find the best deal for you

Rodtheplod

Thanks for the replies everyone - they're really helpful.

It's doubly annoying because over the last few months I've really changed my home and car insurance to get some great savings each month, and I've also done things like changed my lighting all throughout the house to use energy-efficient LEDs, etc. But with one fell swoop, E.ON's price rise threatens to cancel out all of the savings I'm making

Nada666 - how can you tell which regions have seen an increase? My postcode is NR12 (I live in the Norfolk Broads area). Does there show a steep increase there?

I guess I'll have to hit the price comparison websites, then!

molerat

For me their V16 is 25% dearer than the cheapest with loads in between. Can you can afford to spend up to 25% more than you need to, would you pay 141p for your petrol when others charge 113p ?

footyguy

There should also be some opportunity to reduce consumption if you are willing to do so as you are currently using almost 3 times more than the average household. :eek:

It doesn't really matter how many people are in your household as the majority of your energy is probably being spent on heating the house which you will need to do no matter how many people are in it (although it may be you have a slightly larger house than average, but that itself doesn't account for you using 3 times as much energy)

Rodtheplod

footyguy wrote: »

Having to choose another tariff because your existing fixed term tariff is ending is not considered a price hike.

Well - to me, seeing my monthly bill go from £168 to £265 is considered a hike!

footyguy wrote: »

If I'm not mistaken, wasn't V9 the unbelievably cheap fixed tariff offered by Eon. If it's the one I'm thinking of, it was withdrawn within a matter of days by Eon when they realised the prices they had advertised were wrong.

Possibly - I had no idea about that. When I had to renew last year that was the tariff their website recommend and so I chose it. I can't remember what my previous year's monthly charge was, but it wasn't £250-odd. I think I was paying just under £200 per month.

Anyhow - I appreciate your input.

Ta.