Unfair Energy charges why do they discriminate

Gerry1

UnclaimedEnergy said:

If you go for a supplier which offers fixed direct debits, then you won't end up having any shock bills come out and you will also know exactly what you will be paying every month, arguably allowing for easier budgeting.

Nothing could be further from the truth if you fail to send meter readings every month, if you've used an unrealistic 'How Many Bedrooms?' guesstimate on a PCW or if you've just used more, e.g. by working at home.

There are countless wails on the forum along the lines of 'HELP !  I had a contract with Cheapo Energy at £20/month for electricity and gas, but they've suddenly put it up to £120/month'.

Vast numbers of people think that fixed direct debit is like unlimited broadband, but anyone who doesn't realise that energy is never All You Can Eat is guaranteed to get a shock bill sooner or later.

MWT

AndyP1957 said:

Using one of the comparison sites I have been quoted at best by one of them a mere £2 increase,...

Keep in mind that it is not a firm quote it is an estimate, and one based entirely on the annual consumption you gave them during the process, so hopefully you gave them your actual annual consumption figures.
Best to compare the unit rates and standing charges with the offer you have from your current supplier to make sure it is as good as it looks...

AndyP1957

MWT said:

AndyP1957 said:

Using one of the comparison sites I have been quoted at best by one of them a mere £2 increase,...

Keep in mind that it is not a firm quote it is an estimate, and one based entirely on the annual consumption you gave them during the process, so hopefully you gave them your actual annual consumption figures.
Best to compare the unit rates and standing charges with the offer you have from your current supplier to make sure it is as good as it looks...

Yes I have ensured using accurate figures ie. taking my bill readings from 12 months ago, and my current one because the figures EDF cited to me were not accurate to actual useage. Have written out pages of calculations checking the various rates because as I pointed out to one of the comparison sites, I had found one company who had given a monthly quote but their unit costs when worked out to actual consumption came in at £7 higher the the quoted.
My wife said to me she thought she had read something previously that things were supposed to be more open and easier to understand, makes you wonder doesn't it.

jbuchanangb

I notice from my dual fuel energy bill from March 2011 (10 years ago) that I benefitted from a 6% discount because I paid by DD monthly. There was also a discount for being on a dual fuel tariff. I believe that OFGEM have introduced regulations which now forbid the energy companies from openly offering such discounts. The outcome is the plethora of different tariffs offered which vary according to the customer's choice of payment method. This thread accuses the energy companies of discrimination. They might argue that what they do is offer choice. 

MACKEM99

Life is not fair get over it.

Tallerdave

jbuchanangb said:

I notice from my dual fuel energy bill from March 2011 (10 years ago) that I benefitted from a 6% discount because I paid by DD monthly. There was also a discount for being on a dual fuel tariff. I believe that OFGEM have introduced regulations which now forbid the energy companies from openly offering such discounts. The outcome is the plethora of different tariffs offered which vary according to the customer's choice of payment method. This thread accuses the energy companies of discrimination. They might argue that what they do is offer choice. 

I was updating my energy comparison spreadsheet yesterday and noticed that I created it with fields for discount and two rates for both gas and electricity in addition to E7. Just shows how old it is!!

jbuchanangb

My spreadsheets (one for gas, one for electricity) cover all my energy usage from 1983 to now. Based around quarterly billing, and gas charged in pence per therm originally. Covers the whole period of 2-tier billing when standing charges were included in by charging extra for some of the units of energy. It even calculated the nominal quarterly standing charge derived from such practice. It's quite odd to see so many recommendations in this forum that people use spreadsheets to track their energy, when I have been doing it for 30 years. I have another one for water, and one for council tax. Very revealing.

brewerdave

jbuchanangb said:

My spreadsheets (one for gas, one for electricity) cover all my energy usage from 1983 to now.

I thought I was bad going back to 2008 !  

Mouldymeat3

Just wait for  'Time of Use Tariffs'  to prevail. Today's reports from Texas for those on some variable tariffs needing loans to pay a month's electricity give cause for concern for the future.

MWT

Mouldymeat3 said:

Just wait for  'Time of Use Tariffs'  to prevail. Today's reports from Texas for those on some variable tariffs needing loans to pay a month's electricity give cause for concern for the future.

When the wholesale power costs for a single day exceed the cost for the entire previous year, it is a bad time to be on a variable tariff...