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Equites

This forum is really valuable in highlighting how Powershop's discount pricing system varies wildly between customers.

As a 2nd year customer (Electric only, now around c.4000kWh/pa consumption) the Oktoberfest Special Pack continues the recent trend of uninspiring discounts.
In my case a 18% discount for the equivalent of 5 days power.

I get a gut feeling that the amount of credit you have built up influences the offered discount - in the last few months I have allowed the balance to creep up, this corresponding to a trend in being offered generally poorer discounts.
Then again, maybe all a co-incidence.
Or maybe its linked to your local electricity distribution market costs?

Ultimately I do wonder why am I wasting my time trying to decipher a labyrinthine pricing structure when really all I should be doing is checking whose cheapest every six months or so and changing as necessary.
That's curiosity for you!

fewkeste

Equites wrote: »

I get a gut feeling that the amount of credit you have built up influences the offered discount - in the last few months I have allowed the balance to creep up, this corresponding to a trend in being offered generally poorer discounts.

I wondered about this as well. What I used to do occasionally was have a clear out of lower discounted packs/credit sitting on my account that I would never hopefully use - i.e. request a refund.

What happened with me was that in the early days I bought everything irrespective of discount level then, when I became a more knowledgable customer, I could afford to 'throttle back' on my purchases and only buy if the discount was above a certain level.

I compare this to a bit like a plane taking off - high throttle until I reached a safe height (credit balance) and then cruising/gliding slowly down with only occasional purchases of decent discounted Powerpacks.

If you've got poor discount level Powerpacks sitting on your account that you'd likely never use now you're a more experienced customer and you know how things work, you may as well ask for a refund.

I remember someone posting on this thread an estimate of how much money PS were sitting on as so many customers end up with so much credit on their accounts not being used.

I bet there are loads of PS customers with hundreds of pounds of credit on their accounts.

Talldave

Tafrock wrote: »

They have indeed moved up the charts but are still 50 to 60 pounds dearer a year than symbio for me. Thats at top shopper rates too

And the effort with Symbio is a meter reading a month.

I thought the attraction of PS was that the effort put in was rewarded with the lowest possible cost in the market? If you can pay less with another supplier that takes no effort, why stay with PS?

tlcgrantham

I'm dual fuel with economy 7. My Tariff was August Baseline 1. For the last 12 months I used Electricity
Day 2000 kw
Night 1466 kw

Gas 14,603 kw
I paid a total of £809 for both including a discount of £417
My new Tariff is Baseline 3 the same as currently offered to new customers.

fewkeste

Talldave wrote: »

I thought the attraction of PS was that the effort put in was rewarded with the lowest possible cost in the market? If you can pay less with another supplier that takes no effort, why stay with PS?

Exactly my thoughts. When I moved to Yorkshire Energy it was as though I was getting a 20 something % discount every month on what my Powershop baseline tariff was at the time.

I was also coming into a period (spring this year) when I knew decent discount Powerpacks were going to be in short supply. I could have stayed and been extremely selective with the Powerpacks I purchased (only buying ones that made Baseline equal to or beat my Top Shopper rate) but then that would have brought me closer to risking having undiscounted Powerpacks needing to be purchased.

I concluded it was not worth the hassle and anxiety and moved to a supplier where I was getting discounts equal to 20 plus % every month and only having to submit one meter reading a month.

I would return to PS if I thought/saw the discounts were once again there to be had such that excellent savings could be made, but at present the discounts forum contributors are posting are uninspiring.

Perhaps we will see a sine wave type of scenario whereby as discounts drop customers drop, then when customer numbers drop too far, discounts increase and customers come back again.

I'd come back again under the right circumstances but not with what I've seen at present.

MRB

This may be of interest, seeing as you're posting pack comparisons - some of my purchases:

Pack	                	Paid	Value
Oktoberfest Pack		£30.16	£54.45
Little Extra Pack		£5.69	£9.64
Jumbo	                	£66.64	£72.60
March Future Pack		£63.74	£74.12
March Future Pack		£63.74	£74.12
Simple Saver			£29.26	£36.30
Ask a Stupid Question Day	£16.73	£28.65
The Scrum Down Special pack	£25.05	£39.01
Game On Special pack		£34.61	£50.16
February Future Pack		£88.75	£113.78
Jumbo				£61.40	£66.88
February Future Pack		£88.75	£113.78
Little Extra Pack		£5.69	£9.64
Simple Saver			£26.95	£33.44
Summer Saver Special pack	£21.36	£27.96
The Ashes Special pack		£30.67	£37.31
Fringe Fun Special pack		£38.80	£47.96
Jumbo				£58.71	£63.95
January Future Pack		£96.32	£123.49
January Future Pack		£96.32	£123.49
Little Extra Pack		£5.69	£9.64
Simple Saver			£25.77	£31.98
BFF Special pack		£24.50	£30.10
Fast Track Special Pack		£33.38	£38.29
The Chocoholic Special pack	£39.38	£49.22
Jumbo				£60.25	£65.63
December Future Pack		£56.92	£81.32
December Future Pack		£56.92	£81.32
Little Extra Pack		£5.69	£9.64
Simple Saver			£26.45	£32.82
Sunshine Special Pack		£20.87	£28.82
Super Dad Special pack		£26.94	£34.45
Trooping the Colour Special	£34.06	£44.29
Jumbo				£54.21	£59.06
November Future Pack		£52.80	£80.00
November Future Pack		£52.80	£80.00
Little Extra Pack		£5.69	£9.64
Simple Saver			£23.80	£29.53
Test Match Special pack		£23.01	£32.68
Directors Cut Special pack	£34.31	£45.02
May Day Special pack		£43.35	£57.88
Jumbo				£70.85	£77.18
October Future Pack		£59.34	£69.00
October Future Pack		£59.34	£69.00
Little Extra Pack		£5.69	£9.64
Simple Saver			£31.10	£38.59
Good Knight Special pack	£27.34	£40.56
Easter Feast Special pack	£37.25	£50.88
Powchella Special pack		£47.04	£65.42
September Future Pack		£54.51	£63.38
Jumbo				£80.07	£87.23
September Future Pack		£54.51	£63.38
Little Extra Pack		£5.69	£9.64
Simple Saver			£35.15	£43.61
Mum’s the One Special pack	£27.57	£46.81
Top O’ The Morning Special 	£37.84	£58.48
Pancake Special Pack		£47.30	£75.19
August Future Pack		£51.62	£60.02
Jumbo				£92.03	£100.25
August Future Pack		£51.62	£60.02
              

If I were going to stick with PS, it'd be interesting to see, as some of you have discussed, to see what would happen if I got a refund. Current credit is around £2400. As it goes, there's every chance I'll move. I'm not happy that a future pack I bought can be devalued if it falls into a new tariff contract.

Also, they're going up in rate so I figure around £600 more per year.

I've contacted Octopus about their Agile but they're not... hah... very Agile at getting back in touch.

fewkeste

MRB wrote: »

I'm not happy that a future pack I bought can be devalued if it falls into a new tariff contract.

The best way to think about purchasing Powerpacks is that you are topping up a 'pot' (your account) with discounted credit.

You haven't actually bought discounted power (even though their marketing messages suggest otherwise) you've just increased the amount in your pot.

But £2400 in credit - wow! I would work out the difference between your Baseline tariff and your Top Shopper rate as a % discount then request a refund of all packs with a % discount less than the % needed to achieve your Top Shopper rate.

Hope that makes sense.

MRB

fewkeste wrote: »

The best way to think about purchasing Powerpacks is that you are topping up a 'pot' (your account) with discounted credit.

You haven't actually bought discounted power (even though their marketing messages suggest otherwise) you've just increased the amount in your pot.

But £2400 in credit - wow! I would work out the difference between your Baseline tariff and your Top Shopper rate as a % discount then request a refund of all packs with a % discount less than the % needed to achieve your Top Shopper rate.

Hope that makes sense.

I'm prepping partially for winter when the usage skyrockets, so I expect a chunk of that to vanish over the next three or so months (if I stay).

I've also never quite understood the requirements to get the TS rate other than buying all the packs, so I just threw money at it to make sure I did.

As I say, if Octopus ever replies to me about their Agile, I may make that move as from what I can see, there's big savings to be made there. Potentially huge.

Umiamz

I'm on Agile - what do you want to know? You have to join on one of their standard tariffs - 12m fixed, variable or Super Green, then you let them know you want to switch to Agile for your electricity and they'll arrange for smart meters to be installed. You'll get either SMETS 1 or 2, depending on what works in your area. 7-10 days after the meters are installed you should be on Agile.
I left PS for Octopus because I now have an EV - Agile allows me to charge it at ridiculously low rates (less than 2p/kWh in some cases). The average for electricity since I've been on Agile is around 9p/kWh. Of course, it will rise over the winter months but it's definitely the right tariff for me and my usage.
If you join I'd be happy to provide a URL that gets us both £50

fewkeste

MRB wrote: »

I've also never quite understood the requirements to get the TS rate other than buying all the packs, so I just threw money at it to make sure I did.

You are not 'given' the Top Shopper rate - you achieve it by buying discounted Powerpacks.

Now they say if you buy all Powerpacks available you will achieve Top Shopper rate but really all you need to do is buy the higher discounted packs to achieve the Top Shopper rate.

In fact any Powerpacks you purchase that have a lower % discount than the % discount your Top Shopper is off your Baseline Tariff will make it harder to achieve the Top Shopper rate.

When I was a customer my Top Shopper rate was a discount of about 29% off my Baseline Tariff. Therefore, once I had a reasonable balance I would only ideally buy Powerpacks that had a discount of 29% or greater. Later I had to reduce my prepared to buy % to around 20% as there were less and less Powerpacks with discounts of 29% or greater available.

So, if you stay with PS, work out what discount off your Baseline Tariff your Top Shopper Tariff represents i.e 100 -((estimated annual bill on Top shopper/estimated annual bill on Baseline) X100) which will probabaly give you a % somewhere between 20 to 30% and then try to avoid buying Powerpacks with a lower % discount than that which you've calculated.

Hope you helps.