the demise of Ebico

MsLdn

Me and my partner chose to stay with SSE back in March as we didn't want to pay monthly (we currently pay quarterly and Robin Hood said we couldn't do that). But now we're going to switch to Robin Hood as these standing charges SSE are going to introduce are outrageous given me and my partner's low usage. On the projected usage given in the letter we received today, our gas bill will go up 75%! Yes, SSE say they're going to 'pay back' the difference for 6 months but I don't think that's satisfactory, given that they said a couple of months ago the tarriff would remain for existing customers. The biggest joke is the bit in the letter saying 'SSE a company you can trust'. I hardly think so!

EachPenny

MsLdn wrote: »

Me and my partner chose to stay with SSE back in March as we didn't want to pay monthly (we currently pay quarterly and Robin Hood said we couldn't do that). But now we're going to switch to Robin Hood as these standing charges SSE are going to introduce are outrageous given me and my partner's low usage.

It sounds like you contacted Robin Hood directly rather than through Ebico as the Ebico/RHE arrangement continued the option of paying quarterly (with the added bonus of a quarterly direct debit discount).

Make sure you contact Ebico, not RHE, if you are interested in switching to Ebico. You should still be able to get quarterly bill payment with the optional direct debit discount, or you can use any of the other supported payment methods.

ZiggyMoff

MsLdn wrote: »

On the projected usage given in the letter we received today, our gas bill will go up 75%! Yes, SSE say they're going to 'pay back' the difference for 6 months but I don't think that's satisfactory, given that they said a couple of months ago the tarriff would remain for existing customers. The biggest joke is the bit in the letter saying 'SSE a company you can trust'. I hardly think so!

I would love to know why some customers are getting this offer and some aren't, i got the letter yesterday and my electric will increase by just over 80% in cost and my gas will be close to 140% higher as it will go from a projected £72.21 PA to a projected £168.19 PA - its insane.

Yet despite my total bill increasing by just over 100% i have not been offered the "pay back" offer, i don't quite understand why only some people are getting this.
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Anyways, i'm trying to get a credit meter installed now in order to get the cheapest deal possible - the cheapest PAYG on electric is doable, however the PAYG option for gas is still almost double my old projected gas price.

MsLdn

I don't know why everyone isn't getting it, either. Could it depend on the type of meter you have? We have a credit meter not a pre-payment meter.

MsLdn

Thank you, Penny. Yes, it's possible we spoke to RH direct rather than via Ebico ... it was my partner who rang while I was at work. And we had such a mess of contradictory letters at the time. That was the one thing that made us stay with SSE (at the time, we're definitely going to switch now, however we have to pay!)

Edited to add: sorry, I'm not being clear, I think we could have paid quarterly if we did it via direct debit, but we wanted to pay how we do know - online but quarterly instead of monthly.

ZiggyMoff

MsLdn wrote: »

I don't know why everyone isn't getting it, either. Could it depend on the type of meter you have? We have a credit meter not a pre-payment meter.

Wouldn't surprise me it that is the reason, pre-payment meters always seem to get the short end of the stick.

EachPenny

MsLdn wrote: »

...And we had such a mess of contradictory letters at the time. That was the one thing that made us stay with SSE (at the time, we're definitely going to switch now, however we have to pay!).

Ah! If only you had followed the discussion on this site which was attempting to cut through the confusion... although not helped by some contributors who were determined to stoke the confusion and turn people away from Ebico.

Thriftmaster1973

I've just had the same letter today and to say disappointed is an understatement.

My combined annual bill will be around £200 extra due to the loss of the £0 standing charge.

Mee

pappa_golf wrote: »

been with ebico for many yrs , no standing charge , however SSE took over , promised to keep the tarrif , but within weeks have cancelled it

]

My sympathy. Other PP users have posted about the 'standing charge'. I think given *Ebico's ethos it is an unforgivable thing to do, but I guess it was part of the RH partnership.
Silly question, but do you need to be on PP?
* error see next post.

MsLdn

Mee wrote: »

I think given Ebico ethos it is an unforgivable thing to do, but I guess it was part of the RH partnership.

It isn't Ebico who are introducing the standing charge, it's SSE. It affects previous Ebico customers (including me) who stayed with SSE after the Ebico/SSE partnership ended and is irrespective of whether they have credit meters or pre-payment meters. (Although some of us have a letter saying SSE will pay back the difference for 6 months, whereas other people have a letter without that section, which may be dependent on which type of meter you have).