False advertising of energy prices? - a recurrent problem?

Rachel_Pierson

I recently joined MSE's Cheap Energy Club. The first deal that caught my eye was with Ovo. It wasn't the cheapest, but they had the best rating for customer service, so I went with their fixed tarriff until December 2017. However, when their Welcome Letter came through, the deal therein didn't reflect the tarriff that had been advertised on Cheap Energy Club or shown in my account on their website:



Bigger Image: http://i.imgur.com/DLkvgIL.jpg

I asked them what they were playing at, and they admitted their actual fixed rates were far higher than those advertised. They just hoped I wouldn't notice, it would seem.

I thought I'd just got unlucky, so I cancelled the switch, and chose one of the newer, cheaper suppliers whom I'd avoided previously as they had no customer service record to speak of - Places For People Energy. But they were £20 a month cheaper for the same usage. The Welcome Letter showed my tarriff correctly, however their website showed "Internal Error" when I tried to confirm the tarriff had been recorded correctly in my actual account. Getting them to fix that problem was a debacle that took around 8 emails, two phone calls, and two weeks. But tonight, it finally got fixed. This is what I discovered when I went to confirm the tarriff was as had been advertised and stated in my Welcome Letter:



Bigger image: http://i.imgur.com/m9Ez9Nd.png

My question is, is this the same old mis-selling scam of yesteryear? Or has lightning just mysteriously struck twice? I have't bothered changing my supplier before, because frankly it all seemed too much hassle, dealing with people that are either incompetent, trying to rip you off, or both. Was I right to have reservations? Should I complain to Ofgem?

Rachel_Pierson

Update: actually, I just realised I was being a bit unfair in the second case. The prices quoted in the Welcome Letter are exclusive of VAT. The ones shown on the "My Tarriff" page are inclusive of VAT. If you multiply the figures shown in the Welcome letter by 1.05 (so, add 5% VAT for fuel), they're the same price.

footyguy

Someone had exactly the same issue last month in this thread
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4415655

and here
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5571832

Oh, it was you. :cool:

Which tariff did you actually apply for?
The Ovo Simpler tariff is their variable rate tariff. It says so not only on their website but the the CEC which you say you used to switch via.
So not really clear where the false advertising accusation that you are repeatedly spamming this site with stems from. :huh:

If you applied for a tariff that was not the Simpler tariff, then ask Ovo to put you on that tariff (or explain why you cannot be put on that tariff)

Good luck!

Edit:
Details of currently available Ovo tariffs are available from the Ovo website here:
https://www.ovoenergy.com/binaries/content/assets/documents/products/prices-paym/8th-dec-2016/ovo-energy-paym-prices-08-12-16.pdf

(These may be different from those you applied for last month, as many suppliers have changed their prices recently)

System

Rachel_Pierson wrote: »

Update: actually, I just realised I was being a bit unfair in the second case. The prices quoted in the Welcome Letter are exclusive of VAT. The ones shown on the "My Tarriff" page are inclusive of VAT. If you multiply the figures shown in the Welcome letter by 1.05 (so, add 5% VAT for fuel), they're the same price.

Sadly, this occurs frequently. FWiW, I have never found MSE CEC's stated prices to be in error.

PS: Ovo makes great claims about its CS but, having been with them twice now, I found their CS to be both good and bad. You will note that recently they had to repay £54K in redress payments to customers for missed appointments, plus a voluntary donation of £4K to charity.

Southernbell

Apologies if this comment or 'observation' has already been made but I cannot emphasise too highly the fact that energy customers must be aware of exactly how their possible energy savings are calculated, either by switching companies or their own energy provider, that is: they will show 'savings' on your current tariff/s based on the fact that you will go onto your energy company's STANDARD tariff as soon as your current plan ends! This can definitely distort so-called better tariffs or savings that are offered to you. I can't be the only energy user who has NEVER in recent years ever defaulted to my supplier's standard tariff. Any projected 'savings' illustrated or offered by switching companies or current suppliers must be viewed in this context! Beware!!

Rachel_Pierson

footyguy wrote: »

So not really clear where the false advertising accusation that you are repeatedly spamming this site with stems from. :huh:

If you applied for a tariff that was not the Simpler tariff, then ask Ovo to put you on that tariff (or explain why you cannot be put on that tariff)

When I asked Ovo why they had advertised one thing and supplied another, they admitted they had inappropriately described their variable rate unit prices as "fixed". That's where my accusation stems from.

Sorry if it's causing you such pain, me talking about problems with utility prices on a forum about utility prices and everything. Please find Ovo's email confirming their mistake, and showing the actual prices they should have advertised below. This email felt extra slimey, since it expressed the actual Variable rates with VAT, and the fixed rates without, in the hope the fixed rate would seem cheaper than is actually the case:

Rachel_Pierson

Southernbell wrote: »

Apologies if this comment or 'observation' has already been made but I cannot emphasise too highly the fact that energy customers must be aware of exactly how their possible energy savings are calculated, either by switching companies or their own energy provider, that is: they will show 'savings' on your current tariff/s based on the fact that you will go onto your energy company's STANDARD tariff as soon as your current plan ends! This can definitely distort so-called better tariffs or savings that are offered to you. I can't be the only energy user who has NEVER in recent years ever defaulted to my supplier's standard tariff. Any projected 'savings' illustrated or offered by switching companies or current suppliers must be viewed in this context! Beware!!

Definitely good advice. I'm sure that's why most of these deals exist. They hope consumers will continue on an extortionate variable rate after the fix ends. I guess that's where Cheap Energy Club reminder emails come in handy.

Flt._Lt._Biggles

Oh dear, what a kerfuffle you are attempting to create here on MSE over a small mistake.

You appear to have applied to switch to Ovo on their Simpler tariff.
That is the tariff Ovo arranged to supply you on

It is clear from the Ovo website that the Ovo Simpler tariff is their variable tariff
It also says so on the Cheap Energy Club that you say you used to compare prices with

It was also confirmed in the confirmation email Ovo sent you

The only mistake they have made is that for some reason there is the incorrect indication on your online account with Ovo that the Simpler tariff has prices fixed. Whilst that is an error that Ovo accept, it is not advertising, as it is only available (a) to you and (b) after you applied for the tariff.

As it is Ovo's varaible rate tariff, there are no early exit fees applicable, and Ovo have invited you to transfer to one of their fixed tariffs if that is what you wanted.

You decided to cancel the entire switch on or before 8th Dec 16.

You then created this thread 12th Dec 16.

Idle hands and all that ...

Dird

OP what are you even crying about? The product page when you signed up says the tariff is variable. The bill says variable. So the online profile says fixed, so what?

You should be on fixed anyway, !!!!ing money away on your Simpler Energy tariff