Spark Energy- 'Loyalty Tariff' didn't save us money!

mkaylah9

In August 2019 we looked at switching to a cheaper supplier and found a cheaper one. When Spark found out they contacted us and told us they could match the price by changing our tariff to a loyalty saver. So we thought great we will stay with them then!  Our bills went from about £70 a month to £29.27 a month. There are 2 of us in a 1 bed flat with everything electric. 

We kept forgetting to do meter readings and finally did one today. The last meter reading we gave was in August so it has been about 8 months since then. 
Once updating the meter readings online Spark has now given us a big bill of £359 which has been backdated. We chatted with someone on their website and they said it's our fault because we didn't keep the meter readings up to date... fair enough.

However, we feel quite conned. The amount we now owe works out as the same amount we were paying monthly before they changed our tariff to a 'cheaper one' (£70 a month). We would have changed supplier if we had known this, as that was the original plan. And now we have a huge bill to pay all at once. 

Is there anything we can do about this? Can we take it further, it just feels like we were completely misled.
 My sister lives in a 2 bed flat with her partner and kid. She is a stay at home mum so must have bigger usage then me and my partner and yet she is only paying £30 a month with Eon!

MWT

You seem to be focused on the wrong end of the problem. Forget how much you are paying on your DD and what the bill is...

Compare the price per unit and standing charge on your old tariff to the price and standing charge on the new tariff, is the new one lower or not?

The size of the bill is down to how much power you used, that is on you.

The new tariff was promised to be cheaper so check and see if it really was as I suggest above...

... and for the future, always do the meter readings at least once a month and always look at the tariff details to compare costs, not the estimated monthly DD...

mkaylah9

Thank you for explaining this. That is really helpful... I wish they had explained this as you have.

I have checked the standing charge and that is £1 less for gas (which is not even plugged in, so has no usage but we still have to pay a standing charge as the landlady won't have it removed). and a penny less for electric standing charge.

As for the Unit price rate in the most recent bill, it says day rate: 21.930 charge: £71.05 and the night rate: 9.500p charge: £15.11
In a bill before the change to the cheaper loyalty tariff, our day rate was: 20.389 charge: £44.86. Night rate: 8.500p charge: £10.97

So it looks like in the new tariff we aren't saving money?  

Hasbeen

mkaylah9 said:

Thank you for explaining this. That is really helpful... I wish they had explained this as you have.

I have checked the standing charge and that is £1 less for gas (which is not even plugged in, so has no usage but we still have to pay a standing charge as the landlady won't have it removed). and a penny less for electric standing charge.

As for the Unit price rate in the most recent bill, it says day rate: 21.930 charge: £71.05 and the night rate: 9.500p charge: £15.11
In a bill before the change to the cheaper loyalty tariff, our day rate was: 20.389 charge: £44.86. Night rate: 8.500p charge: £10.97

So it looks like in the new tariff we aren't saving money?  

Probably not. But anyway just go onto any of the comparison site's.  Put in your ACTUAL usage per year not £££ and ensure all is clicked for any supplier not ones you can only change through the website. Watch for any cancellation fees from existing supplier.

Do it separate, not dual fuel. For gas get a supplier with the minimum standing charge if you do not use gas?

All electric? really expensive! Ensure you are sensible and supply  MONTHLY readings, in future.

And has been advised forget the £££ and direct debits, concentrate on usage! and rates etc. 

MWT

The new tariff is certainly not cheaper than your previous tariff, so not surprised your total costs have increased.

Now, do you have the details of the tariff you were planning to switch onto?

They said they would match that, so did they?

It is possible that they have done what they said they would do, if the other company was also going to be a little higher...

... unfortunately the way the switching sites show 'savings' will often exaggerate the amount you will save, if anything at all when compared to your previous tariff, which is why you always have to compare the unit costs and standing charges...  

mkaylah9

Thank you for the advice. This is the sort of thing they should teach at school! 
We were going to switch to Tonik. 
Tonik were going to charge us Monthly Direct Debit amount: £43.36 so more than our current tariff but less than our previous.

Unit rate	elec:15.94p/kWh	gas:3.31p/kWh
Standing charge	elec: 20.16p/Day	gas:18.07p/Day

Discount and additional charges

Dual Fuel Discount £20.00

I am finding it a bit hard to understand as it is written differently and doesn't give the breakdown for night and day. From what I can work out it seems Tonic's unit rate is cheaper. However, Spark didn't charge us a unit rate for gas, only a standing charge. The standing charge currently for Spark is £4.21 for 29days. I'm not sure if this is cheaper then Tonic?

Overall I'm still not quite sure what we would have been better off doing, changing to Tonic or staying with Sparks new 'cheaper' tariff? I definitely will be researching into changing suppliers now I know exactly what to look for. I used the comparison tool on cheap energy club on here last time.

JJ_Egan

Dont forget  annual cost is no more than an estimate .

Likewise Direct Debit is an estimate of a years usage .

key is unit prices  and standing charges .

mkaylah9

JJ_Egan said:

Dont forget  annual cost is no more than an estimate .

Likewise Direct Debit is an estimate of a years usage .

key is unit prices  and standing charges .

Yes because I swear I used my yearly usage when using the comparison tool to search for a better deal. Since it is an estimate I guess that explains a lot.

MWT

mkaylah9 said:

Thank you for the advice. This is the sort of thing they should teach at school! 
We were going to switch to Tonik. 
Tonik were going to charge us Monthly Direct Debit amount: £43.36 so more than our current tariff but less than our previous.

Unit rate	elec:15.94p/kWh	gas:3.31p/kWh
Standing charge	elec: 20.16p/Day	gas:18.07p/Day

Discount and additional charges

Dual Fuel Discount £20.00

I am finding it a bit hard to understand as it is written differently and doesn't give the breakdown for night and day. From what I can work out it seems Tonic's unit rate is cheaper. However, Spark didn't charge us a unit rate for gas, only a standing charge. The standing charge currently for Spark is £4.21 for 29days. I'm not sure if this is cheaper then Tonic?

Overall I'm still not quite sure what we would have been better off doing, changing to Tonic or staying with Sparks new 'cheaper' tariff? I definitely will be researching into changing suppliers now I know exactly what to look for. I used the comparison tool on cheap energy club on here last time.

So it seems that you are currently on an Economy 7 tariff which gives you cheaper electricity over night, but more expensive electricity during the day, but you were planning to move onto a normal fixed rate tariff with Tonic, perhaps accidentally.

Based on the usage split between day/night on your recent bill, you would have been better moving to Tonic, but without looking at your total split over the whole year it isn't easy to say which would have been the better choice.

Since you don't use gas at all I assume your heating is electric, possibly night storage heater? In that case your balance between day and night probably shifts considerably during the warmer months when you are not using the electric heaters.

The real answer to which is cheaper is going to be found if you can work out the split between day and night use over a full 12 month period and then calculate the effective unit price on your E7 tariff and compare it to the flat rate of the Tonic tariff..

I don't know if Tonic have an E7 tariff, but if they do then I would see what the unit costs are there for an easier comparison now...

matelodave

You really do have to understand that your direct debit is not your bill, just a payment toward the energy that you are using. The important figures are the cost pe rkwh, the standing charge and how much you actually use. These are how your bill is calculated and what you have to pay for.

However it's easy for a supplier to under estimate your consumption or lure you in with a low monthly payment which just means you end up with a large arrears at the end of your contract..

Your mistake was to not check the tariff (cost per kwh & standing charge), not comparing the estimated consumption with what you used last year and worst of all not sending in regular meter readings and checking your bills or online statements against your own meter readings - do not accept estimated bills. Hopefully it's a lesson learned

Most people would or should be suspicious if the direct debit was estimated to drop by more than 50% unless they'd really made major changes to the way they use energy and done their own sums to see if it was really feasible - as they say, if it looks too good to be true then it probably is is.

MWT

... also regarding Tonik, you may have dodged a bullet there anyway and there are many unhappy people reporting billing problems over there.