Ebico Misrepresentation & Low usage penalties

silverwhistle

squiggles wrote: »

I will certainly use your link if I find it a good option for me.

Thanks. Looks like my post has been removed! But yes, as I made clear it's only an option if it suits your circumstances.

Streaky_Bacon

I would question whether Ebico are compliant with Standard Licence Condition 22A, which says that all charges for supply activities must be contained in the unit rate or the standing charge.

There are other "special charges" that fall outside of that definition (disconnection, fees for late payment etc) but, everything else is covered

Charges for Supply Activities”means (excluding Separate Charges, a Security Deposit, a Dual Fuel Discount and an Online Account Management Discount) any charges or costs relating to activities that could reasonably be considered as being directly related to the supply of electricity to premises, including (but not limited) to:
(a)Customer billing;
(b)meter reading;
(c)data processing;
(d)the provision of an Electricity Meter;
(e)the transmission and distribution of electricity;(f)any form of electricity generation

So what are these "minimum spend" requirements?

I suspect Ebico would say that they are to cover their costs of supply for customers with very low usage.

Unfortunately for Ebico, and such costs need to be included in the advertised Unit Rate or Standing Charge.

There is at least one poster here who is staying with Ebico until they have used up the "minimum spend". I would suggest that they may want to consider a complaint on the above grounds (plus the obvious misrepresentation in their headline figures), and may even want to consider switching now, and demanding any minimum payment back.

Kernel_Sanders

squiggles wrote: »

Thank you. I’m looking around for options and I’m stuck with zero green v4 until I’ve used the acceptable min £104 gas and £52 electric. The gas will take a while until I reach it but the electric a lot quicker.

I will certainly use your link if I find it a good option for me.

That looks very much like £1 per week electricity and £2 per week for gas, but unless you have a smart meter they can't tell how much you are using each week. Does this get applied proportionately to the length of the billing period, i.e if quarterly, do you have to pay for at least £13 of electricity and £26 of gas every quarter? If not, when does the year start in which they assess your use?

squiggles

Kernel_Sanders wrote: »

That looks very much like £1 per week electricity and £2 per week for gas, but unless you have a smart meter they can't tell how much you are using each week. Does this get applied proportionately to the length of the billing period, i.e if quarterly, do you have to pay for at least £13 of electricity and £26 of gas every quarter? If not, when does the year start in which they assess your use?

I have only just started this new version of Ebico zero just 6 weeks ago and have not had a bill or even sure of the billing system.

I only found out about its minimum usage from a poster on this forum and I’m thinking that once I’ve used the minimum I can switch, but that’s just an assumption as I haven’t read the t&c.

Cornucopia

The minimum payment is pro rata, so if you are free to leave contract-wise, you are free to leave without having paid the minimum payment in full.

They will simply apportion the annual minimum across the number of days you have been with them and then bill you that if your actual usage was less.

That's my understanding and the attached Ts & Cs confirm it.

https://ebico.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Ebico-Zero-Additional-Terms-20191010-v1.8-FINAL.pdf

Streaky_Bacon

As I've previously posted, these charges are unenforceable under the SLCs, which state that all charges for supply must be contained in the unit rate and the standing charge.

What Ebico have done, in fact, is introduce two separate low use penalty charges for the supply of gas (£104) and electricity (£52).

They will deduct any usage from those charges, but that is not the same as the charge for supply being included in the unit rate, they have instead put the charge for supply in those penalty charges (but then waive the charge if you use enough).

There is no standing charge and if your usage is zero, you pay both penalty charges in full, so they are clearly not part of the unit rate (because you are charged even if you don't use any units).

The same applies, of course, even if these charges are applied on a pro-rata basis.

I really hope that somebody does challenge them on this, and take it to the ombudsman.

Kernel_Sanders

matelodave wrote: »

Why as a low user do you think that you should be exempt from paying for the infrastructure to get gas or leccy to your house.

For the same reason that when I go to the supermarket for a couple of items, I don't expect to pay (for their warehousing and delivery) more than a fraction of someone with a trolley-full.

Kernel_Sanders

Gerry1 wrote: »

Companies claiming No Standing Charge got around it by adding a surcharge to the first umpteen units in a quarter to claw back the equivalent sum. Ofgem eventually cottoned on to this and banned the practice as misleading.

I had this quote today off the Citizens Advice tool and it shows that Utilita are still at it...