Tories announce energy price rises for those who shop around to protect big business

mrginge

michaels wrote: »

Lots of people shop at Asda as they perceive it as cheap but actually if you but special offers other supermarkets are cheaper. Are you demanding the govt intervenes?

Lots of people buy their iphones in a contract bundles direct from one of the big networks when they could have it much cheaper from a piggyback operator or by buying the handset and airtime seperately. I don't hear the howls for the govt to cap prices....

No I'm not demanding govt intervention.
Because as I've pointed out, the competitive environment for phones and food is nothing like energy supply.
It's beyond me how you think they are even remotely comparable.

If you don't like govt intervention in markets then presumably you'd like to do away with the regulator?

BobQ

michaels wrote: »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39685106

Basically the profit made on customers who are too lazy to look for the best deal will be capped. This will reduce the ability for companies to be able to cross subsidise new customers with cheaper deals so pushing up prices for those who do bother to look at how much something costs before buying it.

It will also make it harder for new entrant small suppliers because the headline savings they can offer compared to 'standard tariffs' will be lower so consumers will decide that if they can only save £10 per month it is better to stick with a big name that they know. Hence helping out the big companies that form part of the corporatist state. There is a reason why companies like google who disrupt markets are not founded in the UK.

The return earned by the suppliers overall is not excessive so the regulator will not insist that the total amount billed should fall - it will just be more evenly spread and with less completion it will probably be slightly higher.

And all this from a govt that claims that there is currently too much regulation.....

I do think there is a problem and I am a little suspicious when this is a Tory election promise. But while some people are being lazy, or at least are too busy earning a crust to spend time looking for the deals, just as people do not always bother to move to the best savings accounts, it is not fair to all. There are those without ready access to the internet or who cannot cope with the process of changing suppliers. Often these are elderly, frail or have disabilities and these people get ripped off by the system.

So I can see some benefits in the policy, although I think it could be addressed by requiring the energy companies to automatically switch people who have been on the SVR for more than four months to their best 1 year tariff, inform the customer what they have done and put the onus on the customer to opt out of the offer if they really want to be on the SVR.

BobQ

michaels wrote: »

Lots of people shop at Asda as they perceive it as cheap but actually if you but special offers other supermarkets are cheaper. Are you demanding the govt intervenes?

Lots of people buy their iphones in a contract bundles direct from one of the big networks when they could have it much cheaper from a piggyback operator or by buying the handset and airtime seperately. I don't hear the howls for the govt to cap prices....

But what is your solution to the problem of an 80 year old who has only ever used the post office to pay their bills and thinks the internet is what young people use instead of conversation, who has had the same suppliers for 25 years when they last moved house?

antrobus

BobQ wrote: »

But what is your solution to the problem of an 80 year old who has only ever used the post office to pay their bills and thinks the internet is what young people use instead of conversation, who has had the same suppliers for 25 years when they last moved house?

Why disparage the capabilities of an 80 year old? You'll be having a pop at the disabled next.

BobQ wrote: »

...There are those without ready access to the internet or who cannot cope with the process of changing suppliers. Often these are elderly, frail or have disabilities and these people get ripped off by the system.....

Oh, I see you already have. Well *** me, I'm disabled. I must be, I have PIP and a Blue Badge, and I'm not being "ripped off by the system".

Perhaps it's all those youngsters who are on SVR, because they spend all their time twittering or whatever, and have none left for anything else.

antrobus

BobQ wrote: »

I do think there is a problem and I am a little suspicious when this is a Tory election promise...

You should be suspicious of all election promises.

mrginge

I suppose market intervention like this should be withdrawn immediately.
After all, milk is cheap in Lidl.

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/ofgem-sets-prepayment-price-cap-protect-over-four-million-households-least-able-benefit-competition

Jon_B_2

There is a difference between food and energy. All foods have their own unique specification and raw material cost, except for fruit and veg.

When you change supplier, nothing changes. Your gas is still the same gas and your electricity is still the same electricity. You are basically paying for a logo on a bill.

Agree it's a bit socialist, but it's a scandal that you have to shop around for something that never changes.

michaels

I can pay different prices for branded heinz baked beans in different supermarkets and indeed different prices in the same supermarket depending on the offers. I take the time to check prices and stock up when and where it is cheapest. Without the internet or if I wasn't willing to take the time or if I was living hand to mouth then I would pay more.

Surely the govt need to crack down on this.

mrginge

michaels wrote: »

I can pay different prices for branded heinz baked beans in different supermarkets and indeed different prices in the same supermarket depending on the offers. I take the time to check prices and stock up when and where it is cheapest. Without the internet or if I wasn't willing to take the time or if I was living hand to mouth then I would pay more.

Surely the govt need to crack down on this.

Simply repeating the same flawed comparison over and over again does not make it any more valid.

michaels

I am obviously to dim to see the flaw. Is energy more essential than food? Is it easier to shop around for savings on food rather than on energy? I would have thought it takes much more time and effort to save 200 quid a year on food than it is on energy. There are only 4 major food retaillers and they are extremely skilled at manipulating consumers.

I really can not see how the energy market is in some way so much less competitive than the food market but I guess my iq is too low.