Equigas and Equipower

Nicholas

I've heard that they are putting up their prices in July. They will still probably be the cheapest, but will it be by enough to make it worthwhile? It's worth remembering that the big savings will not kick in until around Christmas time, assuming they are still ultra competetive then.

Don't know what to do at the moment. Staying with British Gas for gas and SWEB for electric is not an option, but will a good deal today be a good deal tomorrow

At the moment tossing up between Ebico, Powergen, NPower and SWEB (for dual gas and electric they can be fairly competetive).

The only thing about Ebico, is if I give them my business, I will deliberately NOT go down the DD route (as I have done in the past with British Gas). Why subsidise others? I can hold on to my money just that little bit longer.

BTW, if paying quarterly with Ebico, I am unclear whether I get a bill through the post every three months, or do I have to administer the account online?

Nicholas

Nicholas wrote:

I've heard that they are putting up their prices in July. They will still probably be the cheapest, but will it be by enough to make it worthwhile? It's worth remembering that the big savings will not kick in until around Christmas time, assuming they are still ultra competetive then.

BTW, if paying quarterly with Ebico, I am unclear whether I get a bill through the post every three months, or do I have to administer the account online?

Anyone in a position to reply?

Nicholas

Judging by the lack of replies, I take it that no one else is with this company.

I have also e-mailed Ebico, but they have not replied yet either.

It appears that I am able to answer my own question: the company is cheap at the moment, but no one else on these forums seem to want to go with them - there must be a reason for this, as some of the posters on this site seem tighter than me (and that's saying something).

Given the fact also that EBico cannot be bothered to reply to my e-mail, they obviously do not want or do not need my custom.

That just leaves the likes of Powergen and N-Power to choose from, but is it worth it to save the paltry sum of 40 pounds a year, especially when I hear some of the horror stories on other threads about Powergen demanding money off someone 4 years after they left them!!!!!!!!!

I like to save money as much as the next person, but the switching sites do not seem very accurate, every company is constantly changing their prices, and there does not seem to be any definitive answer as to who is cheapest.

Is ANYONE able to offer me any constructive advice?:wall:

Update: Just rung their enquiry line number at 16:20 to be greeted by a recorded message to say that the enquiry line is only open Monday to Friday 9:30 to 1:30 :wall:
Am I a sucker for punishment or what?

cheapychappy

Hi Nicholas,

I switched to Ebico for both gas and electricity in December last year without any problems and from my own experience can highly recommend them.

With regards to payment I am billed quarterly but you do have the option to pay online should you so wish.

roger56

"Given the fact also that EBico cannot be bothered to reply to my e-mail, they obviously do not want or do not need my custom."

I too switched earlier this year and am happy with them.
They responded to my emails OK and kept me updated during the changeover.
You should however give them reasonable time to reply.

Comment from Nicholas
"I will deliberately NOT go down the DD route (as I have done in the past with British Gas). Why subsidise others? I can hold on to my money just that little bit longer."

Why subsidise others? As I've said before, Ebicos principle is one of fair trade which I am in strong agreement with for basic utilities. Why should low income earner be forced to pay higher rates on pre-pay meters? Many probably budget and want pay on time anyway.
The real issue is with those who do not pay bills and do not communicate problems to the companies. They should be penalised.

Nicholas

roger56 wrote:

"Comment from Nicholas
"I will deliberately NOT go down the DD route (as I have done in the past with British Gas). Why subsidise others? I can hold on to my money just that little bit longer."

Why subsidise others? As I've said before, Ebicos principle is one of fair trade which I am in strong agreement with for basic utilities. Why should low income earner be forced to pay higher rates on pre-pay meters? Many probably budget and want pay on time anyway.
The real issue is with those who do not pay bills and do not communicate problems to the companies. They should be penalised.

Sorry. I did not explain myself properly.:o

What I meant to say is that even though I am able to sign up for direct debit, I am not about to go out of my way to to benefit others, when I pay quarterly at the moment (I used to be direct debit with British Gas and then there was a bit of fuss over how much I should pay a month and then getting my overpayment back out of them) and I intend to pay quarterly with whoever I switch to.

Nicholas

cheapychappy wrote:

Hi Nicholas,

I switched to Ebico for both gas and electricity in December last year without any problems and from my own experience can highly recommend them.

With regards to payment I am billed quarterly but you do have the option to pay online should you so wish.

I have no doubt that the service is good (southern electric has 5 stars on the energyhelpline site), but I am more concerned with the pricing. I know that they say they are not always the cheapest, but they are always the cheapest for prepayment meters. Trouble is, all the prepayment tariffs for all the other energy companies would put me in a worse situation that staying as I am.

I do realise that Ebico cannot always be the cheapest, but if their benchmark is against prepayment tariffs, then that is deeply worrying for me. BTW, I know of several people that have switched to companies because of their good rates, only to have price increases leaving them not so competetive just a matter of days/weeks later.

Nicholas

Just looked at their terms and conditions and it says that they require 28 days notice.

Does that mean that I would have to give them notice before finding a new supplier? I always thought you just went to your new supplier and let them do all the work

Again, just erring on the side of caution, as Martin did quote "Todays cheapest supplier could be tomorrows most expensive". And as they have not put their prices up at all yet, just wondering what the jump will be.:eek:

loftus

I am in the process of switching to Ebico for gas and elcctricity from Powergen. Although their ethical policy appeals to me, I am doing so because they also appear to be the cheapest.
The 28 day rule applies to most, if not all, customers changing supplier I believe. I am currently in my 28 day notice period for Powergen. I just had to tell Ebico I wanted to switch and nothing else. If I wanted to switch away from them in the future I assume this would be the same.

macky_2

I think it's totaly unfair that the prepayment tariffs are the highest with every supplier. As I uderstand (I am a foreigner temorarily living in UK and I have never seen this kind of meters before) prepayment meters are invented for people with difficulties to pay their bills. So the poorest have to pay the highest price.
I am not in such situation but being a tenant I have no choice but use the prepayment meter fixed by the landlord. I tried four different suppliers and British Gas is no doute the worse and none is really good both for prices an for customer service.
From the beginning of March I am with Ebico but still didn't feel a difference. Their scheme works in a very strange way for prepayment meters. Currently I am paying a standard Southern Electric tariff WITH standing charge and 2 tiers prices depending on cosumption. These prices are very high and compare only with British gas prices. Ebico promises to "credit the customer with the standing charge and the difference between the EQUIGAS or EQUIPOWER rate and the rate the meter is charging so as to ensure the same financial result " but I still don't know how. A brief comunication with Soutern Electric didn't give me answer. At least I know it should happen every quarter. As it seems there are no internet accounts for prepayment customers.
By the way Powergen provides internet accounts for all customers.