Add your feedback on energy supplier Powershop

Umiamz

I must admit that I wasn't sure how it worked when I was waiting for the shop to open after I switched. However, after buying my first powerpacks it was obvious to me that it was simply a discounted monetary credit to my account. I then immediately started ignoring the "this is around 3 days of energy" comments on powerpacks and treating it simply as a credit. It's working well so far.

fewkeste

gwr19 wrote: »

So, did you get sent a document that I didn't?

I don't think so - just the terms and conditions PDF. I think I watched some videos on Youtube as well.

Incidentally, as a newcomer it may pay you to read this entire thread from the very beginning. It might take an hour or so but your knowledge will be vastly improved and hence your ability to optimise your use of your account and the savings you make.

I do remember the many many questions I had when I first joined PS so I do have some sympathy for new customers, BUT the answer is invariably in this thread somewhere - you just have to put the time in to read it.

[Deleted User]

Yes, I remember going through the "PS Learning Curve"...
What really bugged me was that there was no history of discounts offered so I could "get a feel" for when to buy and when not to.
Thankfully, I discovered through this forum, that PS will refund specific credits. So I periodically get a refund on outstanding credits that were purchased at a discount of less than 10%.
This ensures that if "push came to shove" I would have at lease a minimal discount.
Way back I published the discounts that were offered from October 2017, when I joined PS.
I'll republish with details up to current date (although a couple of low discount deals will be missing).

gwr19

I'm a newcomer to this thread, but not to Powershop. I joined them in May 2017 and complained a few times about their shop not showing units and kwh, so had to create a spreadsheet to calculate the true value of the powerpacks.

There's nothing in the terms and conditions that describes the powerpacks, really, so I relied on the welcome pack description of them as packages of energy and their website also describes them as set amounts of energy.

It only became clear that they were treating them as monetary credits after October last year, when they raised the prices and it was also about this time that I switched to them for gas. By this time I had built up quite a lot of credit.

They make it seem like you're future proofing your energy costs by buying energy in advance, but in reality they can raise the prices at any time, which effectively devalues all the powerpacks you've bought.

Umiamz

gwr19 wrote: »

They make it seem like you're future proofing your energy costs by buying energy in advance, but in reality they can raise the prices at any time, which effectively devalues all the powerpacks you've bought.

The baseline tariff is fixed for 12 months so the only way they can "raise prices" is by offering lower discounts on the powerpacks.

gwr19

Yes, you're right, that is true now, but wasn't when I bought the powerpacks.

fewkeste

Umiamz wrote: »

The baseline tariff is fixed for 12 months so the only way they can "raise prices" is by offering lower discounts on the powerpacks.

You have hit the nail on the head!! The discounts available on Powerpacks definitely seem to be reducing compared to what happened in 2017 and 2018.

When I look at the Future Pack discounts offered for spring and summer this year, they are less than 50% of what is required to achieve the Top Shopper rate discount off the Baseline Tariff.

I'm not convinced that the three or four winter months where higher discounts are offered will compensate for all the spring/summer/autumn months where much lower discounts are on offer.

If the Top Shopper rate (approx 29% off the Baseline Tariff) is supposed to be achieveable overall for the whole year, then why not offer a flat 29% discount all year round?

I am now starting to believe that the occurrence of low discount packs in the spring/summer/autumn months that are supposedly balanced out/compensated for by higher discounted packs in the winter, is merely a ploy to obfuscate the simple calculation of the real annual tariff being paid on an ongoing basis.

It is very difficult to calculate as a customer if you are actually achieveing the relevant Top Shopper rate at any given time and, worryingly, it relies on the higher discounts obtained in just three or four winter months to offset the much lower discounts recieved for the remainder of the year.

Only after completing a full year as a customer will you know/be able to calculate if you have actually achieved the the 'advertised' Top Shopper tariff rate that attracted you to PS in the first place.

The supposed explanation for the practice of differential discounts throughout the year is that they are giving higher discounts in the winter when bills are higher and lower discounts at other times of the year. However, cynical old me now thinks this might be a clever smokescreen for price obfuscation.

Surely what matters is what we pay per annum, and the current system makes it very difficult to easily calculate if you are on target to achieve or beat the relevant Top Shopper rate for your Baseline Tariff.

Does anyone else feel like this or am I alone im my suspicion/frustraion as to the reason why discounts vary greatly throughout the year?

neilsedaka

All I am doing is to buy all of the powerpacks that look sensible, then sit back and wait until the year is completed. Only then spend time to check what has been paid meets expectations.

fewkeste

neilsedaka wrote: »

All I am doing is to buy all of the powerpacks that look sensible, then sit back and wait until the year is completed. Only then spend time to check what has been paid meets expectations.

And that's what they are hoping people will do.

Imagine going to a supermarket and they tell you that if you buy all your shopping from them all year round, overall at the end of each year, they will give you discounts on your bills such that you will have paid 29% less than what the price sticker says on the shelf or individual items.

Would you accept that scenario and wait for the end of the year to verify that what they say has happened?

I can't use the word 'promise' because the Top Shopper rate is not promised.

I am just concerned that the whole basis for The Top Shopper rate being achieved is dependant on the discounts offered in a few winter months.

If after a year you fail to realise the discount you thought you would achieve, you leave to be replaced by yet another naive customer unsure of how exactly the PS system works and can be optimised and consequently, unlikely to be able to achieve the Top Shopper rate for their tariff.

neilsedaka

As I conduct a huge amount of research before buying almost anything, I don't think I can be classed as a naive customer.

At the end of my first year with Powershop I achieved the rate that I expected which was lower than the competition. I am now well into my second year so will again wait until my second year has completed before I check it out again. I do actually trust that Powershop will deliver the rate indicated.

I don't have the time to continually fret and check frequently thoughout the year.