Add your feedback on energy supplier Powershop

Boohoo

Boohoo wrote: »

My 1st year with electric Powershop comes to an end in 3 weeks time.
I am with Economy Energy for gas which runs out at the end of August.


I did a quote for getting both from Powershop but the prices are to me a bit misleading as the newer tariff for electric is higher than what i pay now which is 13.45 pkwh and for gas i pay 2.559 pkw with Economy.
I use 3200 kw for electric and 12,000 kw for gas.
I know prices have gone up but do i stick with Powershop electric and then find another firm just for gas or change all over to Powershop?
I have done duel fuel and single fuel comparison's on websites and i will have to pay more but i just wanted get people's feedback on the "new" Powershop tariff's.

I sent an email to Powershop about the above post of mineon MSE 2 days ago and i got a reply an hour ago.
The reply said to add gas to my address i had to go to energylinx.co.uk and put in a ref. No. and my post code and that will give me gas prices.
They also said that my electric prices would stay the same rates and i can buy powerpacks to use on the the duel fuel and these packs would be bigger to cover the cost of duel fuel( i think they mean i would have to spend more to cover the gas/electric) and not a higher discount.
Also any packs that i have already bought so far can be used for future bills which means the higher discounted ones get used 1st.
When i did a comparison with Powershop my prices were the same as somebody else on here who put up a screenshot and the electric was higher than what mine is now.
I am not sure if the person who sent the email is correct in saying that my electric prices would stay the same and reading back a few posts on here they got an email saying about the "new" price soon to be added to Powershop.

Essexuser

November, December and January powerpacks all came as 2 packs each at a discount of 27.6% with each one being for about 5.days each (I think). What is strange though is that, although I am paid up until 18th December, there is a gap of 10 days between 27th November and 6th December. Haven't got a clue why though. I use about 3700kw PA.

Tafrock

I have asked the question. I've posted my comments on powershop Uks Facebook page. They tend to respond to comments made there.

Here's what I've posted. We do need some answers I feel
"Now into my 14th month as a satisfied powershop customer. Last year was an excellent year with very large discounts throughout winter. The ability to purchase 5 packs of monthly future packs ensured my credit was built up and I am still using the remains of that credit now

However recent months have started to cause myself and other customers concern over on the money saving expert powershop feedback board..

Discounts available have plunged to to be quite honest a paltry amount. We can now only buy 2 future packs instead of 5 and to make matters worse the quantity of power each pack provides has massively reduced. Last year everyone could spend 50 pounds on 5 x £10 packs. This year you can't even spend Twenty

Add to this the recent discovery by forum members of a two tier pricing structure. New customers are getting far higher discounts than longtime existing customers like myself.

This has been explained by those new customers being on a higher cost tariff than myself so therefore they need higher discounts on their powerpacks to even come close to the low price us early adopters of powershop have been paying

But now...

I receive an email informing me I will be going onto one of these new baseline tariffs. Therefore myself and other similar customers wish to know will our discounts be raised to a similar level as these new customers.

I wish to remain a loyal powershop customer as I find this new approach to purchasing electricity somewhat refreshing but all these changes and reduced discounts has left me somewhat disillusioned I have to admit"

fewkeste

@Tafrock An excellent post - I assume more people read their Facebook page and so hopefully your post will spur them on to give a meaningful response. Let's wait and see;)

fewkeste

Essexuser wrote: »

November, December and January powerpacks all came as 2 packs each at a discount of 27.6% with each one being for about 5.days each (I think). What is strange though is that, although I am paid up until 18th December, there is a gap of 10 days between 27th November and 6th December. Haven't got a clue why though. I use about 3700kw PA.

I suspect it's because your Future Packs don't cover the whole month/accounting period they apply to. Remember, they are only applicable from a particular date in each accounting period. You'll have to fill the gaps with the purchase of various Special Packs and monthly Simple Savers when they are released.

Tafrock

We have an answer

Good afternoon, Taf.

Thank you for once again taking the time to voice your own concerns as well as the concerns of other customers. We are very keen to address these issues and hope that our explanation can give you some peace of mind.

As you pointed out, we did change the way in which we offer Future Packs and I can see how this may not have necessarily been beneficial for users like yourself.

Future Packs are now sized to cover 50% of a customer's total monthly usage. We received a lot of feedback regarding the original Future Pack sizing from high user customers that a fixed cost for the Future Packs did not benefit everyone equally. Whilst the re-sizing benefited many customers who had not previously been able to enjoy Future Packs in the same way, we also acknowledge that it did unfortunately also impact lower users negatively. We are looking for a solution that allows us to differentiate between high and low users in order to find a happy medium that suits everyone. We will keep you posted as to how we get on!

We are, indeed, also ending Standard as a plan and introducing new Baseline. As we are expecting industry and wholesale energy costs to increase indefinitely for the foreseeable future, we decided to move away from the Standard Variable tariff as this can change at any time and does not offer any security. The new Baseline will be fixed for 12 months with the aim to provide more certainty to our customers and allows us to purchase more energy in advance (and thus provide better discounts).

Finally, we'd like to address your point regarding new customers and existing customers Powerpack discount percentage. You are absolutely correct in saying that the Baselines that are currently on offer are more expensive than our original Standard prices. This is why the discounts appear to be larger when displayed as a percentage. As these tariff changes are rolled out in the future, our aim will be to ensure that existing customer baselines and new customers baseline are approximately aligned. There are a few things we are working out around this to ensure that we can keep any and all changes in line with regulations.

As always, we really appreciate you voicing these concerns so that we can ensure we can preserve what our customers love about Powershop whilst we make and changes that need to be made. I hope that this explanation has helped with any concerns that you have. Please don't hesitate to drop us a message on Facebook or give us a call with any further concerns and we'll be happy to discuss these with you.

BrianD

mmm I'm coming up to my 12 month point with Powershop and that reply did not make me feel too comfortable about staying, too many things do not seem to have been worked out yet.

fewkeste

BrianD wrote: »

mmm I'm coming up to my 12 month point with Powershop and that reply did not make me feel too comfortable about staying, too many things do not seem to have been worked out yet.

I know what you mean. I suggest you get a quote as a new customer and use the rates you get quoted and your projected annual cost as the new basis for a comparison on a price comparison website. I use Energyhelpline and the Which energy suppliers comparison website.

When you get the results, make sure you tick the box to say you want to see all quotes NOT just the ones the comparison sites can switch you to.

To be fair, the reply says they are going to harmonise the discounts new and existing customers will get. If they do I suspect PS (with Powerpack purchases) will still be cheaper than the next most competitive quote for me in the East Midlands. There is one supplier based in Leicester with a Fox as their logo that looks quite good price wise (can't remember their name) but the customer feedback is appalling so I'll be avoiding them.

fewkeste

@Tafrock - interesting reply. The key bit of info is the bit about 'our aim will be to ensure that existing customer baselines and new customers baseline are approximately aligned.'

This is vital. The question is - is this a commitment or just an aim? They say aim - and I've seen words like 'aim', 'aspire' and 'intention' used as weasel words (mostly by public sector organisations) instead of 'we will'. I will watch with interest.

Tafrock

To be fair I quite happy with that reply. Powershop seem to be happy to engage with their customers and listen to their views and react accordingly. I always get a good and quick reply to any queries I have and they seem to be listening. The electricity market is so competive at the moment its not easy.