EBICO Zero Variable Tariff To Be Withdrawn

wavelets

Stompa wrote: »

There used to be some other companies that offered a zero standing charge, I don't know if that's still the case. They can be found on comparison sites by entering a very low annual usage. Ideally 0kWh, or if that doesn't work 1kWh.

Yes, there are a number of various alternative suppliers out there offering zero standing charges tariffs, but they all seem to be variable tariffs at present

As I said, if Ebico have identified this is no longer viable to offer as a variable tariff, then it won't be long before other suppliers spot the problem too.

Use of a comparison site does help. Always use your best estimate at annual usage to find the best deal for you. If you really are a zero usage customer, then the comparison sites won't accept 0kWh, but will accept 1kWh p.a..

If you are a zero usage customer, you probably don't want to be setting up Direct Debits either (which may limit your options). If you set up a monthy DD, the supplier will probably try and take something every month (as I said Ebico suggested £600 per year per fuel to me initially)

Even if you elect to pay quarterly by direct debit (after billing), remember direct debits fall dormant after 13 months of non-collection, (and you will not be notified of this) and so if you then happen to get a bill for a small amount, you'll get issues because the supplier will then claim you've gone and canclled your DD mandate when they find they cannot collect against a dormant mandate.

I would suggest Ebico Zero customers who cannot find another supplier presently that beats Ebico Zero Green Fixed V2, except for a variable zero standing charge tariff elsewhere, takes up the Ebico offer and looks again in a few weeks/months time to see what else is available once the market has fully reacted as Ebico already have.

Remember, although the new Ebico tariff is fixed, there are no early exit fees to worry about, so you can still switch any time without penalty.
And for those of us that really are a zero usage customer, then however high the unit rates are is irrelevant.

Xbigman

This is all news to me as Ebico have said nothing so far. I've just logged on to my account and sure enough it tells me there are 0 days left on my current tariff and I need to choose what I go onto. Then it gets weird. Its offering to let me go onto Ebico Zero with the exact same details as I'm on now, which must be a mistake. Second choice is the V2 one which is 25% dearer on electric and 20% dearer on gas. Ouch. Time to do a proper comparison I think.



Darren

Xbigman

It's a sad day as I've been with Ebico since they started but I just switched to Bristol energy.
2 year fix issue 8. Electric is 100th of a penny cheaper whilst gas is 1.05p cheaper but the combined standing charge is £125.19, so £90ish a year dearer overall. On a 2 year fix with prices rising it's not that bad.

You need to be a seriously low user to stay with Ebico now.



Darren

zerog

I'm a bit confused, I guess I will be going with the new 0 standing charge plan, but the email says the standing charge on the current Zero plan will be introduced on 29 November.

My unit price is currently about 17p, with the new no standing charge plan, it will be 20p, so shouldn't I wait for a month or so before changing over? Or have I missed something about the new plan only being available for a short time?

EachPenny

zerog wrote: »

I'm a bit confused, I guess I will be going with the new 0 standing charge plan, but the email says the standing charge on the current Zero plan will be introduced on 29 November.

My unit price is currently about 17p, with the new no standing charge plan, it will be 20p, so shouldn't I wait for a month or so before changing over? Or have I missed something about the new plan only being available for a short time?

I haven't had an email yet, but reading the statement on the Ebico website was wondering when the new tariff comes in as they surely have to give customers notice of a price increase.

As for switching to the new plan, the gamble you take is whether that plan will still be available when you decide to switch. Switch now to secure the deal (but pay more) or wait and find the deal has gone (and pay more). Which is it going to be? :huh:

My guess is that Ebico will maintain a zero SC tariff in some form for as long as it remains commercially viable. If the new fixed deal wasn't viable then - as with the prepayment cap changes - the zero SC tariff(s) would simply vanish completely.

zerog

EachPenny wrote: »

As for switching to the new plan, the gamble you take is whether that plan will still be available when you decide to switch. Switch now to secure the deal (but pay more) or wait and find the deal has gone (and pay more). Which is it going to be? :huh:

You are right, there was the option to fix the current price for the past month or so, which is now gone. I should have realised these sorts of things are usually precursors to price increases.

I think I will switch next week when I am leaving the property empty for 2 months, but have to make them accept additional meter readings so they don't attempt to average out the usage

Patr100

I just spotted this "standing charge due in Nov" on my bill so tried to update tariff hoping to stick with no standing charge then realised it still applies to the updated Epico zero tariff which is changing its name to Ebico Standard (as there's no "zero" in a zero standing charge any more)
Anyway , as I was waiting on the phone to them, I googled and checked this forum and realised the situation.
I queried why I wasn't informed of this impending standing charge and they said letters/ emails are going out now . I said paper letters seem to always take weeks to arrive compared to the date on the letters. Nothing has shown on my online account yet about the SCharge increase.
So for now I have switched to Green tariff V2 with no standing charge.
No fee to move away so as suggested, lets see how the market etc is later and we can still move away without any penalty.

wavelets

Xbigman wrote: »

...
You need to be a seriously low user to stay with Ebico now.
Darren

You always, for as long as I can remember, needed to be a very low user if you were choosing Ebico purly for financial reasons.

I think the last time I checked, you need to be using about 1000kWh or less per year electricioty, and/or about 4000kWh or less gas per year for Ebico on a zero standing charge to be chosen purely on financial grounds.

But not everyone choose Ebico purely based on the cost

(Unfortunately, their customner service has been poor as well, imho, since they teamed up with RHE)

Nowadays, Ebico have a range of tariffs to choose from. So they may have something suited today to the not so low users (but it's not a zero standing charge tariff)

But anyone seeking the lowest price deal for them should be consulting a comparsion site, not looking at Ebico (or any other supplier) website..

wavelets

zerog wrote: »

I'm a bit confused, I guess I will be going with the new 0 standing charge plan, but the email says the standing charge on the current Zero plan will be introduced on 29 November.

My unit price is currently about 17p, with the new no standing charge plan, it will be 20p, so shouldn't I wait for a month or so before changing over? Or have I missed something about the new plan only being available for a short time?

What you've missed is the V1 of this fixed tariff - it was the same prices as Ebico Zero, only fixed for 12 months (and no early exit fees)

If you wait another month, V2 may be V3, V4 or even V5 - who knows?

wavelets

Patr100 wrote: »

...
I queried why I wasn't informed of this impending standing charge and they said letters/ emails are going out now . I said paper letters seem to always take weeks to arrive compared to the date on the letters. Nothing has shown on my online account yet about the SCharge increase.
....

To be fair, the announcement on their website was only dated Tuesday (today being Friday) ... and the first person to have posted about it only did so yesterday, which may be when their first published the announcement.

The information is posted on the front page of their website.

You'll get a personal notification soon, as they have to give you 30 days notice of any adverse contractual change.