Add your feedback on energy supplier So Energy

timberwolf2000

So_Energy said:

timberwolf2000 said:

The So Energy Low Price Commitment pledges:
"The fixed tariff we offer will always be one of the best available, from any energy supplier. We look at the average annual cost of gas and electricity for an Ofgem ‘medium user’, across all regions of the UK, and make sure our fixed tariff is within the cheapest 10%."

But lets look at how this works out in reality.

Firstly, Ofgem describes a 'medium user' on a dual fuel tariff as using 12000kWh/yr gas and 2900kWh/yr electricity (not 3100kWh/yr)

If we then consider the London supply region as an example (as no one lives 'across all regions').

So Energy would currently charge £853/yr on their So Adler tariff.

There are about 70 licenced energy suppliers active within the UK domestic energy supply market, so to be within the top 10%, So Energy would be expected to be within the top 7 suppliers.

However, all the following licenced suppliers have at least one tariff on offer today that are lower cost than So Energy, starting from as little as just £722/yr. (an annual saving of up to £131/yr)

Avro
British gas
EDF
Eon
ESB
Goto
Green
GNE
Gulf
Igloo
nPower
Octopus
Orbit
OFTM
Scottish Power
Simplicity
Together Energy
Tonik
Yorkshire Energy

Hello Timberwolf2000,

Your comments around how Ofgem describe a medium user is correct as this was updated by them in April 2020.

In terms of our Low Price Commitment we would also consider that the other supplier has a similar tariff available. So, we only offer a 12 month fixed tariff and would not consider certain tariffs that other suppliers might offer (E.g. longer than 12 months or variable tariffs).

Regarding the list of suppliers you have mentioned, we are keen to look into this for you. Please can you email help@so.energy and provide us with the information that you used to generate the quotes. It would be best to mention your research to allow us to investigate and respond accordingly.

Thanks

Jas

So Energy Team  

Thank you for your reply. I'm not sure what further information you require. The results were based on an average user (12000kWh pa gas; 2900kWh pa electricity) being supplied to in the London supply region, as I previously stated.

I note the exclusions you now have included, and that would exclude ESB, Green and Orbit as they are variable tariffs, meaning the cheapest option would now cost £747pa (£106pa cheaper than So Energy).

This revised analysis does not exclude fixed tariffs that expire 30 April 2021 or 31 May 2021

Here is the revised list with some sample tariffs offered:
Avro - Simple and SuperFixed,  et al
British gas - Online Fix Apr 2021 (fixed until 30 April 2021)
EDF - Simply Online 1 Year Fix Apr21v5 (fixed until 30 April 2021)
Eon - Fix Online Exclusive v35
Goto - In Control Green Apr 2021 V2
GNE - GNE Spring Sunrise V4
Gulf - Gulf Home Renewable 12 May 21 v1 (fixed until 31 May 2021)
Igloo - Green Power (1 Year) v4
nPower - npower Select Uswitch Exclusive v49
Octopus - Exclusive Octopus 12M Fixed March 2020 v1, et al
OFTM - Fix'D 20 9.0, et al
Scottish Power - Super Saver April 2021 B6 (fixed until 30 April 2021)
Simplicity - 2020 Cabbage, et al
Together Energy - Green Together Fixed May21
Tonik - Green Super Power (1 Year) v2
Yorkshire Energy - Green Ilkley (fixed until 31st May 2021)

This is a total of 16 suppliers with 12M (or thereabouts) fixed tariffs cheaper than So Energy
(and excludes the 3 variable tariff suppliers)

Only if I now exclude as well those with fixed tariffs that end 30 Apr or 31st May (5 suppliers) and those described as an 'exclusive' tariff (usually only available via a comparison site - 3 suppliers) , it only then gets down to 8 suppliers cheaper than you.
- I would still need to knock out another 2 suppliers to get So Energy within the top 10% of suppliers.

Where does this data on suppliers come from? You should be able to find it from any comparison site
- the cheapest at £106pa cheaper than So Energy still remains even in that limited number of 8 suppliers; that's almost 20% cheaper than So Energy.

So_Energy

timberwolf2000 said:

So_Energy said:

timberwolf2000 said:

The So Energy Low Price Commitment pledges:
"The fixed tariff we offer will always be one of the best available, from any energy supplier. We look at the average annual cost of gas and electricity for an Ofgem ‘medium user’, across all regions of the UK, and make sure our fixed tariff is within the cheapest 10%."

But lets look at how this works out in reality.

Firstly, Ofgem describes a 'medium user' on a dual fuel tariff as using 12000kWh/yr gas and 2900kWh/yr electricity (not 3100kWh/yr)

If we then consider the London supply region as an example (as no one lives 'across all regions').

So Energy would currently charge £853/yr on their So Adler tariff.

There are about 70 licenced energy suppliers active within the UK domestic energy supply market, so to be within the top 10%, So Energy would be expected to be within the top 7 suppliers.

However, all the following licenced suppliers have at least one tariff on offer today that are lower cost than So Energy, starting from as little as just £722/yr. (an annual saving of up to £131/yr)

Avro
British gas
EDF
Eon
ESB
Goto
Green
GNE
Gulf
Igloo
nPower
Octopus
Orbit
OFTM
Scottish Power
Simplicity
Together Energy
Tonik
Yorkshire Energy

Hello Timberwolf2000,

Your comments around how Ofgem describe a medium user is correct as this was updated by them in April 2020.

In terms of our Low Price Commitment we would also consider that the other supplier has a similar tariff available. So, we only offer a 12 month fixed tariff and would not consider certain tariffs that other suppliers might offer (E.g. longer than 12 months or variable tariffs).

Regarding the list of suppliers you have mentioned, we are keen to look into this for you. Please can you email help@so.energy and provide us with the information that you used to generate the quotes. It would be best to mention your research to allow us to investigate and respond accordingly.

Thanks

Jas

So Energy Team  

Thank you for your reply. I'm not sure what further information you require. The results were based on an average user (12000kWh pa gas; 2900kWh pa electricity) being supplied to in the London supply region, as I previously stated.

I note the exclusions you now have included, and that would exclude ESB, Green and Orbit as they are variable tariffs, meaning the cheapest option would now cost £747pa (£106pa cheaper than So Energy).

This revised analysis does not exclude fixed tariffs that expire 30 April 2021 or 31 May 2021

Here is the revised list with some sample tariffs offered:
Avro - Simple and SuperFixed,  et al
British gas - Online Fix Apr 2021 (fixed until 30 April 2021)
EDF - Simply Online 1 Year Fix Apr21v5 (fixed until 30 April 2021)
Eon - Fix Online Exclusive v35
Goto - In Control Green Apr 2021 V2
GNE - GNE Spring Sunrise V4
Gulf - Gulf Home Renewable 12 May 21 v1 (fixed until 31 May 2021)
Igloo - Green Power (1 Year) v4
nPower - npower Select Uswitch Exclusive v49
Octopus - Exclusive Octopus 12M Fixed March 2020 v1, et al
OFTM - Fix'D 20 9.0, et al
Scottish Power - Super Saver April 2021 B6 (fixed until 30 April 2021)
Simplicity - 2020 Cabbage, et al
Together Energy - Green Together Fixed May21
Tonik - Green Super Power (1 Year) v2
Yorkshire Energy - Green Ilkley (fixed until 31st May 2021)

This is a total of 16 suppliers with 12M (or thereabouts) fixed tariffs cheaper than So Energy
(and excludes the 3 variable tariff suppliers)

Only if I now exclude as well those with fixed tariffs that end 30 Apr or 31st May (5 suppliers) and those described as an 'exclusive' tariff (usually only available via a comparison site - 3 suppliers) , it only then gets down to 8 suppliers cheaper than you.
- I would still need to knock out another 2 suppliers to get So Energy within the top 10% of suppliers.

Where does this data on suppliers come from? You should be able to find it from any comparison site
- the cheapest at £106pa cheaper than So Energy still remains even in that limited number of 8 suppliers; that's almost 20% cheaper than So Energy.

Hello Timberwolf2000,

Thank you for your reply.

So Energy’s Low Price Commitment is to be within the cheapest 10% of tariffs available when comparing against other suppliers and also using Ofgem’s definition of the average annual cost for a ‘medium user’.

You mentioned that from your research there were 8 suppliers that are almost 20% cheaper than So Energy, however, So Energy are not claiming to be the cheapest by 10%.

At So Energy we believe in providing a fair and transparent price for all our customers. We have had our Low-Price Commitment, which is to be within the top 10% of tariffs, i.e if there are 250 tariffs available to all customers, it is our goal to be within the cheapest 25.

The tariff available on our website is the same as the one we offer to renewing customers and the same as you see on comparison websites. Most other suppliers offer multiple tariffs, and many other suppliers offer tariffs that are only available on Price Comparison Websites or are only available to new customers. We do not include these “exclusive” tariffs when analysing our position as they are not available to all customers.

Some suppliers also choose to only release a tariff that is available in certain parts of the country. Since suppliers face different costs for supplying to different areas, this can make the average price for those tariffs either cheaper or more expensive depending on which areas the tariff is available. Therefore, to make a fair comparison, we look only at tariffs that are available in all parts of the country. The flip side to this is that unfortunately there can be certain areas where we might fall outside the top 10%, if there are large numbers of cheap tariffs that are only available in that area.

Using this methodology has meant So Energy have been amongst the best suppliers in consistently providing great value on our tariffs to all our customers, whilst not sacrificing great service too. https://www.so.energy/so/blog/blog-to-make-energy-savings-easier. More recently, there have been some significant changes in the market with 20 suppliers failing in the last two years. This has meant that the total number of tariffs has significantly decreased and also the 10% window being made much smaller. At the moment, we are currently in the process of reviewing our pricing in this regard, but we will always able to guarantee that our available tariff is one of the best value energy deals in the market.

I hope that clarifies the situation and if you have any further queries then please do get in touch with our Customer Service team.

Thanks

Jas

So Energy Team  

Matt17

Do So Energy charge exit fees when moving from from one So Energy tariff to another before the end of the minimum term ? 

Kitchen_Sink

Matt17 said:

Do So Energy charge exit fees when moving from from one So Energy tariff to another before the end of the minimum term ? 

https://help.so.energy/support/solutions/articles/7000046455-our-early-exit-fees

The good news is the early exit charge is only £5 per fuel, so £10 for a dual fuel tariff. Cashback (where available) for switching to another supplier will more than cover that.

Or as above comments indicate, we just checked the postition in Tyne & Wear, and an average user on dual fuel could save over £120 per year compared to the current So Energy offering, so on average the exit fees will be paid for by savings within a month.

So_Energy

Kitchen_Sink said:

Matt17 said:

Do So Energy charge exit fees when moving from from one So Energy tariff to another before the end of the minimum term ? 

https://help.so.energy/support/solutions/articles/7000046455-our-early-exit-fees

The good news is the early exit charge is only £5 per fuel, so £10 for a dual fuel tariff. Cashback (where available) for switching to another supplier will more than cover that.

Or as above comments indicate, we just checked the postition in Tyne & Wear, and an average user on dual fuel could save over £120 per year compared to the current So Energy offering, so on average the exit fees will be paid for by savings within a month.

Hello Kitchen_Sink

To also add to Matt17 question, exit fees cover the administration cost for interrupting your tariff agreement early. This includes our staff changing things for you, as well as rearranging how we buy our customers’ energy, as we have to buy this for customers in advance. 

We believe our low exit fee is a fair reflection of the cost involved. These costs are incurred by ending one contract early even if you go on to start a new 12-month agreement, so we do charge all customers an exit fee if they wish to do this.

If you have any further questions, then please do get in touch with our Customer Service team.

Thanks

Jas

So Energy Team

kes_65

I have been with SO Energy for a year .Their web site used to state that they only had one tariff.
I have just noticed they now have TWO.
Artichoke ESSENTIALS versus  Artichoke . The  " essentials"    tariff is much cheaper than "artichoke".
Can existing customers get the  "essentials" version ?
When I did a quote on SO web site it only offered the more expensive  Artichoke not the "essentials" version.
Also, I got my statement today and it notified me about the "artichoke" but NOT the "ESSENTIALS" cheaper version.
If existing customers are now being treated as second class citizens compared to NEW customers I will probably have to move supplier .

burntwood

kes_65 said:

I have been with SO Energy for a year .Their web site used to state that they only had one tariff.
I have just noticed they now have TWO.
Artichoke ESSENTIALS versus  Artichoke . The  " essentials"    tariff is much cheaper than "artichoke".
Can existing customers get the  "essentials" version ?
When I did a quote on SO web site it only offered the more expensive  Artichoke not the "essentials" version.
Also, I got my statement today and it notified me about the "artichoke" but NOT the "ESSENTIALS" cheaper version.
If existing customers are now being treated as second class citizens compared to NEW customers I will probably have to move supplier .

The 'essentials' tariff appears to be a tariff exclusively available via some comparison sites.
Put your details into the comparison site you found it on, and it will tell you if you are eligible for it.
It is NOT available direct from the supplier.

kes_65

burntwood said:

Put your details into the comparison site you found it on, and it will tell you if you are eligible for it.
It is NOT available direct from the supplier.

It's on MSE energy club amongst others. 
On Energy club, if you are an existing customer it states you can't sign up through them  (new customers only ) and displays the ' Go to site'  button which redirects to So Energy Web site , which as you said, will NOT   offer the much better  'ESSENTIALS'  Artichoke  tariff .
I liked So Energy for treating new AND existing customers the same but now it appears they are going the same route as the big providers (prefering new customers ).
What a shame. I suppose I'll have to leave when my contact ends.
Would the company representative like to comment ??

So_Energy

kes_65 said:

burntwood said:

Put your details into the comparison site you found it on, and it will tell you if you are eligible for it.
It is NOT available direct from the supplier.

It's on MSE energy club amongst others. 
On Energy club, if you are an existing customer it states you can't sign up through them  (new customers only ) and displays the ' Go to site'  button which redirects to So Energy Web site , which as you said, will NOT   offer the much better  'ESSENTIALS'  Artichoke  tariff .
I liked So Energy for treating new AND existing customers the same but now it appears they are going the same route as the big providers (prefering new customers ).
What a shame. I suppose I'll have to leave when my contact ends.
Would the company representative like to comment ??

Hello kes_65

Thank you for your message and apologises for the delay.

So Energy have recently released 2 tariffs.

The ‘So Artichoke’ tariff is available through both price comparison and So Energy website. This is available for both new and existing customers. This is also available to existing customers when renewing with So Energy. This tariff is for a 12-month period.

The ‘So Artichoke Essential’ tariff is only available via price comparison websites and is for a 12-month period. This is for new customers only as this will help us compete with other suppliers. This tariff is not available to existing customers that are looking to renew with us.

We do understand your comments and would like to help. Please get in touch with our Customer Care Team so that they can offer a satisfactory solution to you.

Regarding your recent statement, ‘So Artichoke Essential’ tariff is an introductory rate for new customers via selected Price Comparison Websites, so it is not ‘publicly’ available, this is why it’s not shown on the cheaper bill messaging. Please consider that advertising Price Comparison Website exclusives on bills is not an Ofgem requirement.

Please get in touch by either calling us on 0330 111 5050, using our live chat service or email our Team on help@so.energy as we are keen to provide a suitable solution to you.

Thanks

So Energy Team

pippers

Is this switch available without having or wanting a smart meter?