OFGEM should force all supplier to offer this

Jakubk

Since I last changed Energy supplier it has become a terrible place for consumers.

We have large companies only offering rates if you agree to have a smart meter and small companies disappearing, selling you off etc etc.

I am disabled so a pre-payment meter is a massive inconvenience and no way I want one of those.

I am not prepared to have direct debit because I have been burned before and Radio 4 You and Yours reports that energy companies have billions of overcharged customers money but do not have to give it back unless a customer demands it. Even then they have to wait 28 days and some still refuse to comply.

I am not prepared to have a so called smart meter, the ones they are putting in do not fit in Gas Meter enclosure for a start, then we have them putting in old tat meters that become dumb if you change supplier. Then we have them overcharging if you have LED lightbulbs and we have reports of people paying more. It is interesting that they refuse to leave the old one in place (for audit purposes).

The inhouse displays are a joke and guess what, I am the one that has to pay for the energy it consumes! Ooh look it goes red when you put the kettle on, that is really worth the £13bn cost of this project. Well I only boil what I need, that is 4 seconds of the cold tap which provides just enough for a large cup.

The reality is you do not need a smart meter to make yourself aware of where you are spending money on energy. You can get a device on ebay that tells you what you are spending on that aging fridge, that powerful gaming PC or that large fish tank. You also have a temperature setting on your boiler for water and radiators as well as thermostat.

The truth is that the Smart Meters only really benefit the energy providers, it allows them to move everybody to monthly billing but they offer no financial incentive to customers. I spoke to a company yesterday who said they only offer monthly billing now.

Then we have this Standing Charge which is obscene because it means that poor people like me have to pay £200 a year for nothing and can't economise.

It seems to me that OFGEM should FORCE all energy companies to provide a competitive Tariff that must allow for

• No Smart Meter
• Payment on Receipt of Bill
• Payment via cash using Bank Giro Credit (free to consumers)
• No Standing Charge

When I say competitive, the energy rates should not exceed the average standard variable tariff of the big six suppliers or maybe the average of the 20 lowest tariffs on the market.

This whole industry is such a rip off to the likes of me who have become the financial underclass.

OFGEM has actually made things WORSE, have you ever tried to find the unit rates and Standing Charges for this pre-payment meter cap, it is bloody Chinese, you have to follow links three levels deep and they still do not tell you. The fact that it requires an Explanation tells you everything

Explanation

The level of the cap for the fifth period (1 April to 30 September 2019) was set at £1,242
for a a dual fuel single rate customer paying using a typical amount of energy in annualised
terms.1,2

The same applies if you are trying to find out the "Default tariff cap level" they give amounts in money but not the underlying standing charge or energy rate.

I am not a using a typical amount, I spend about £40 a month for both fuels at least I was before the Solarplicity/Toto debacle, now it seems I have to pay an additional £200 for no extra energy, so I will have to cut back my energy usage by £200

THANKS OFGEM!

I tell you the more I read the OFGEM website the more I think it is just another bloated organisation spending other people's money. Huge board of directors, yet you can't contact OFGEM directly except for a bucket email that tells you so soddd off.

Talldave

Sorry can't resist- how do companies overcharge if you use LED lightbulbs?

JJ_Egan

Presume the OP has complained to OFGEM ??


No standing charge means revert to the old method ??
First xx units used at a higher rate .

Robin9

Talldave wrote: »

Sorry can't resist- how do companies overcharge if you use LED lightbulbs?

At a guess - consumer replaces his bulbs by LED and expects the DD to drop the next month. Magically the supplier is supposed to know about the LEDs being fitted.

Delburn

Talldave wrote: »

Sorry can't resist- how do companies overcharge if you use LED lightbulbs?

One example I am aware of is a provider that was offering to provide "free" LED bulbs which they typically never provided. They then built into their quoted monthly cost an assumed reduction in electricity usage from the LED bulbs which was probably far more than could be achieved, particularly when they had not even checked what bulbs the customer was currently using and even the bulbs they did supply had the wrong fittings, or were not enough to change all bulbs in the house.

Joyful

Just what I was thinking.

Talldave

Delburn wrote: »

One example I am aware of is a provider that was offering to provide "free" LED bulbs which they typically never provided. They then built into their quoted monthly cost an assumed reduction in electricity usage from the LED bulbs which was probably far more than could be achieved, particularly when they had not even checked what bulbs the customer was currently using and even the bulbs they did supply had the wrong fittings, or were not enough to change all bulbs in the house.

That's very different story to the OP.

The_Fat_Controller

My Smart Meters fit in their boxes with room to spare.

I pay on receipt of bill on a cheap online tariff, it is by Direct Debit, but I have at least 14 days from the bill being produced until the money is taken, so can easily check for any issues.

Paying by cash is pretty much a "dark ages" method now.

No Standing Charge tariffs are available, although very rare and the unit rates are pretty high.

I was born in the 1950's, so am no spring chicken, suggest you do as I have, embrace technology and always keep on top of changes and look out for the best deals available.

It really is a piece of p*** if you put your mind to it !

Gerry1

Your best bet would be a credit tariff with Variable Direct Debit, so there's no build up of credit. E.On and probably others offer this. However, you might want to pay the equivalent Fixed DD into a piggy bank so that you don't end up going overdrawn when you receive a few large bills in the winter.

The standing charge issue is a bit of a red herring except for lock-up garages and holiday homes where usage can be close to zero for long periods. In reality, with an inhabited property you'll pay much the same overall because the No Standing Charge tariffs always have higher unit rates.

You'd already have found a tariff that meets your requirements if you'd invested a fraction of the time spent writing very similar posts on the MSE forum and persevered with good whole market comparison websites such as Citizens Advice and Which?

18cc

I have a smart reader but never use the in-house display - for me it provides no useful information

the one and only reason why I have a smart meter is that now NEVER again will I ever have to to get my torch out, read two meters, log in onto an app or internet and enter the readings.

it is all done automatically for me my exact metre readings are sent daily to the energy company. what's not to like

JohnB47

18cc wrote: »

I have a smart reader but never use the in-house display - for me it provides no useful information

the one and only reason why I have a smart meter is that now NEVER again will I ever have to to get my torch out, read two meters, log in onto an app or internet and enter the readings.

it is all done automatically for me my exact metre readings are sent daily to the energy company. what's not to like

Out of interest, what type of smart meter do you have - SMETS1 or SMETS2? Also, who supplies your energy?