MSE News: Prepaid energy bills to be capped 10 March 2016 at 10:33AM edited 10 March 2016 at 1:56PM in Energy 29 replies 2.8K views

Former_MSE_Steve_1

Four million households on prepaid energy tariffs will see prices temporarily capped and energy suppliers will be forced to open up customer databases to allow rivals to offer those on standard tariffs better deals, under wide-ranging plans to reform the energy market announced today....

Read the full story:
'Prepaid energy tariffs to be capped as competition watchdog sets out plans to shake up market'

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molerat

https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/energy-market-investigation

My reading between the lines is that OFGEM has been as much use as a chocolate fire guard, much of their tinkering over the past few years needs undoing and they need to get their finger out and do something to actually regulate the market as is their mandate :eek:

One-Eye

Not enough people are switching energy suppliers so the government/CMA/Ofgem approve passing on your data so you can receive cold calls from every other supplier.

What next? Government approved and mandated cold calling from Insurance Companies? TV & Broadband suppliers? Banks? PPI reclaim companies?

backfoot

Why doesn't OFGEM ban all Standard Tariffs ?

There should be only one price for the same thing. i.e. all customers on standard are automatically moved to the lowest price offered by that Supplier. (currently the lowest online price).

After that each supplier can compete on price for those that which to switch.

Simple, effective and economic.:)

pineapple

I resent having my details passed on to other energy firms. The lack of privacy and amount of spam calls is bad enough anyway.
According to TV today they will only contact you if you haven't switched in 3 years. Yeah right. Plus once the information is out there it's out there.
Hey why not go the whole hog? Any firm that you buy anything off should be obliged to pass on your details just in case you might get it cheaper.
I'm furious and don't see how this is ethically right unless you have agreed. Will there be a choice to opt out? :mad:

One-Eye

Nobody, anywhere , has mentioned at what level this cap on prepaid energy will be set. It's not going to save you much if it is set at 20p/kWh and you're currently paying 18p

matelodave

All I can see it doing is raising the overall price to everyone else. For some to get cheaper energy, others have to pay more to compensate for it. It's just how the market works.

I also object most strongly to anyone passing my info on to anybody - I choose who I want to contact me and I get annoyed by the odd random cold call from an autodialler. I'd be livid if a raft of energy companies started bombarding me with "special offers". If people are too idle to do their own shopping around why should I get wrapped up in it all and have to pay for it as well.

Sometimes I wish Martin wouldn't keep interfering. It's Ok championing the vulnerable but let the bone idle lazy ones look after themselves

SoWhatIsNext

Other proposals in the report include the removal of the 'four tariff rule' – which restricts suppliers to only offering four different energy tariffs at any one time – and strengthening the ability of price comparison sites to offer customers better deals.

So we'll be back to the "having so many tariffs is confusing to customers" complaints?

The Government should not be allowing personal data to be shared amongst other energy companies so that they can spam you.

There is no way that anyone nowadays can make the argument that it is an awareness issue. It is purely an apathy/laziness issue and if that results in some people paying more, then that's their choice.

davidgmmafan

"Why doesn't OFGEM ban all Standard Tariffs ?"

This would not work. It's taken me all of five seconds to imagine the following scenario. Standatd tariffs are banned. All suppliers launch new tariffs. Lets call the one most customers are on non standaard tariff 2.0. Viola problem solved!

Except that nobody is better off.

"There should be only one price for the same thing. i.e. all customers on standard are automatically moved to the lowest price offered by that Supplier. (currently the lowest online price).

After that each supplier can compete on price for those that which to switch"

This is David Cameron's idea. It will never get off the ground as it would involed a similar tariff to above. Instead of non standard tariff 2.0 suppliers could simply get rid off all the other tariffs. Viola everyone is suddenly AUTOMATCALLY on the suppliers cheapest tariff.

As others have suggested Ofgem is part of the problem rather than part of the solution. For all the whinges I hear the water industry seems to be much better for customers, at least frmo my point of view. If Ofgem were in charge of that they would just nod through any price increase the water companies wanted.

Ofgem failed on gas sculpting, was spectacularly slow to react to a huge number of issues with NPower's billing system, and this report shows the four tariff approach has failed (I remember social tariffs starting to disappear when this was brought in).

I can't see a way forward if Ofgem is involved.

[Deleted User]

Dumb prepayment meters are a very costly way for a supplier to bill a customer.They are always breaking down or getting deliberately damaged or fiddled and cost the earth to run including a profit to Mr Khan etc .We are always having to visit these outdated old meters to either top up or reset or try and mend after someones rammed something into the slots.They are already subsidised down to standard tariffs ( they used to be higher ) after the MPs decided to have an uproar of indignation after they found out that the poorest in the UK were paying the highest rates. The answer to the problem..Smart prepayment meters... like they have over in Northern Ireland where they are very popular and attract lower than standard tariffs..No need to cap, just get smart with them as quickly as possible.

robin58

Is somebody playing the fiddle whilst Rome's burning?

The last two fiddles by the Ofgem persons, put up the basic price from one that was a two teer to a one teer price which has cost surprisingly more.

The second was the introduction of a meter daily charge. With my previous gas provider my bill was one third gas, 2 thirds meter standing charge.

All this will do cost me more somewhere.