Equigas and Equipower

iannewbery

roger56 wrote:

If you are going for DD, why not make the DD from an interest earning bank a/c and keep your money until payment is due? That way you'll earn a little interest as well to save more money. :j

Not sure if they accept payment by credit card, their FAQ mail is info@ebico.co.uk. If they do then maybe a credit card with cashback might be better than interest from a bank account and the DD. You'll have to work out for your own circumstances.

Hey thats a cracking idea.....i'm gonna do that.....

cheers

loon_2

I'm a little confused...

What's the big deal about paying the same price regardless? At present everyone pays the same price for gas with the same supplier in different areas, and as per ebico, electricity costs vary depending on area.

Prepayment meters usually run a little bit higher, but there are good reasons for this. a) pre-payment meters are usually installed for debt as a way to collect outstanding monies without the customer getting deeper into debt, b) the distributors charge more for these meters, so the suppliers have to charge more, its that simple. All suppliers are charged a rental fee for meters, pipes, networks, etc, which used to be charged directly to the customer as a standing charge, until one supplier decided that it would be a good idea to 'drop' the standing charge and mislead customers into joining them.. oh the complaints! So, regardless of the tariff, supplliers are charged this fee and have to compensate for it somewhere, otherwise they will be running their business at a severe loss.

The other point I have to make is this.. DISCOUNTS for prompt payment, dual fuel, direct debits, etc are just that... discounts. Gas and electric for the above is not cheaper, merely sold to the consumer at a discounted rate for 'benefitting' the supplier. eg with DD the supplier automatically gets paid without having to chase payment or wait lengthy periods to balance accounts; as this benefits the supplier, they in turn benfit the customers. Surely by charging the same amount regardless of payment method, Ebico are simply saying.. ' you scratch our back.. and we'll kick you in the teeth!' ( or words to that effect.) Also, being the cheapest pre-payment supplier screams laziness... 'we want customers who do all the work for us, and as a bonus, customers who cannot get into debt.'

To me, this company has no customer loyalty.They do not discount those customers who 'aid' them and do not even handle their own customer services.

I have no direct 'beef' with Ebico, just airing a few views. It's just that with such companies as Amerada, Atlantic, etc supplying under-the-odds gas and electric and then going bust.. I feel for the consumer, and at the end of the day... is it not us that count, not them?

charlie12

Customer loyalty doesn't exist anywhere.

At the end of the day, it's all about moneysaving. I've calculated and researched that Ebico are the best option for me, for both price and service. They are essentially Southern Electric with a different tariff. Surely this is a good thing, as Southern Electric are already established as a good supplier.

Not interested in how it all works behind the scenes, if they work for me, I'm happy. If they turn out to be rubbish, I'll just switch.

loon_2

Thank you for the last post, it was very informative... Previously WE thought that Ebico were a new independent company that were using the southern network, but from your post it appears that they are just southern using a different tariff. If this is the case, southern are in breach of about 20 regulations, and Ebico will have to look for new owners. Thank you... WE will be investigating.

As for customer loyalty... As I stated before, the majority of suppliers discount for DD, dual fuel, etc, is this not a loyalty benefit. Also, certain companies, eg Powergen (this is not biased, but i could not think of any others) have 24 hour call centres and all of their phone numbers are free phone. Surely this is customer loyalty, not just for new, but for all customers.

iannewbery

Oh dear.....Ebico in breach of regulations!!!!...i think not!!!

Southern electric do the day to day running......its a seperate group and southern electric have their own tarriffs.....

As for customer loyalty there is none..............

just lots of gimmics to make you think your getting the best deal....the beauty of Equipower and gas is that you get one price and its cheap!!!!

Lady_K

I took a look at the site and for me in my area east midlands its cheaper on southern electric per unit anyway but its so confusing because I know southern have a service charge and different levels per unit so how would I find out if its really chreaper to go to equigas and equipower, would southern electric work it out for me as this company has something to do with them too?

BexTech

Southern will tell you how much they would charge, although they provide the service for Equigas / Equipower they are still competitors, so will not tell you their charges.

Looking at Southern's website I see they charge around 9.6p/day service charge for gas, and around 4.35p/day service charge for electric this is before you have used any energy whereas Equigas / Equipower do NOT have any service charge, you only pay at one rate for the energy used.

Southern charge 1.77p (quarterly bill) 1.66p (Monthly DD) per kWh for gas
Equigas charge 1.620p per kWh

Southen charge 7.22p (quarterly bill) 6.79p (Monthly DD) per kWh for electric.
Equipower charge 6.74p per kWh

So not only do Equigas / Equipower have lower per unit prices, they do not have the service charge Southern have.

BexTech

For Economy Seven:

Southern charge 7.80p (quarterly bill) 7.33p (Monthly DD) per kWh for day rate.
Equipower charge 8.13p per kWh

Southern charge 2.76p (quarterly bill) 2.59p (Monthly DD) per kWh for night rate.
Equipower charge 2.49p per kWh

Southern has a 6.70p per day service charge, Equipower do not.

drlight_2

loon wrote:

... As I stated before, the majority of suppliers discount for DD, dual fuel, etc, is this not a loyalty benefit.

Prepayment meter users cannot use DD or duel fuel, your loyalty dosn't extend to them at least.

roger56

Some interesting points, I think the point of EBICO is clear. They are a not for profit company and their purpose is to trade fairly to all gas/elec users.
Gas and electric are basic needs, and to charge those who are on lower incomes a higher rate just because they use pre-payment meters is unfair. So I for one will support companies with this approach.
Yes, perhaps a DD payer subsidises pre-payment meters but IMHO there are times when saving that absolutely last bit of money has to be put aside to support fairness for basic needs such as water, elec, gas etc.
It just also happens that because EBICO is a not for profit company they also come out about the cheapest supplier so in this case fairness and money saving are combined!