Market inducement scams

EssexAcDc

My house is a three bedroom end-terrace house with one bathroom and one kitchen.......NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY....I am with Octopus energy (dual fuel) and my tariff is about to end in the beginning of August.  They have sent me an estimate which will increase my monthly direct debit from £125.00 a month to £191.20 a month fixed for two years.  This is not the problem that I wish to point out, as I went onto their web site and got a quote for a MEDIUM house which they estimated at £101.34 a month which is around £90.00 per month difference to what they quote me on actual readings.  Now, they say that they quote on their website a national average MEDIUM HOUSE which uses they say....."wait for it" 2900 KWH electric units a year. I am a single man and 70 years old and I practically live in one room and I used without gas (central heating) 6832 electric KWH units (cooker) and that is just up until end of June and so I still have July's reading to enter as well.  To me, this is a sign up scam just to get people to sign up and once on their books,  with a minimum contract of at least one year you are hooked and cannot get out of it and then once you start giving actual readings, you will get the shock of your life or have a huge debt at the end of your contract. Energy companies should be realistic and base their estimates on real reading and real people simply because if I used nearly 7000 KWH electricity units this year on my own without heating, then what would a REAL MEDIUM house use with 4 people (2 adults & 2 children).  Surly, a medium house should be estimated at least on a minimum of 5000 KWH per year and not 2900.....KEEP THAT IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND. 

JJ_Egan

I always get a quote for what you call a medium hose . Then look at the actual prices .

No hook  as  apart from actual prices the rest are estimates  .I sign up for contracts based upon price and never ever get a shock .

Yearly usage and direct debits generally accurate but usage and total cost may rise slightly . say DD 45 may rise to 48 if a cold winter .

But i do agree pricing and details on web sites are confusing especially as so many have problems with basic sums .

BUFF

I am a middle-aged single man living in a 3-bed Edwardian terraced house & my annual electricity bill is ~1200 kWh  which includes a lot of TV/computer use ... Your usage strikes me as very high for what you have stated whereas I realise that mine is on the low side.

Octopus & others offer you the option on their websites of getting a quote using your actual usage figures.
Further, Octopus don't lock you into a contract even on a fixed tariff (which is unusual). On a variable tariff afaik no supplier can lock a consumer into a contract - you are free to leave anytime (as long as you aren't  in debt).

EssexAcDc

All I have is a fish tank, electric cooker, freezer in the garage, tele, computer and that's it. I am on my computer all day playing games and watching tele at night. so far, my electric was £1064.90 till the end June and my gas bill was £553.71.   

[Deleted User]

BUFF said:

I am a middle-aged single man living in a 3-bed Edwardian terraced house & my annual electricity bill is ~1200 kWh  which includes a lot of TV/computer use ... Your usage strikes me as very high for what you have stated whereas I realise that mine is on the low side.

Octopus & others offer you the option on their websites of getting a quote using your actual usage figures.
Further, Octopus don't lock you into a contract even on a fixed tariff (which is unusual). On a variable tariff afaik no supplier can lock a consumer into a contract - you are free to leave anytime (as long as you aren't  in debt).

You are free to leave any energy contract at anytime; however, some suppliers may charge an exit fee for doing so. That said, contracts that come with no exit fees do tend to have higher prices. For example, I can get a 2 year gas fixed contract with Zog for 3.18p/kWh and a one year contract with Octopus at 3.8p/kWh. Both have a 25p per day standing charge but Zog has a £30 exit fee. If prices fall next year, I would be better off paying the Zog exit fee than going for the Octopus offer. I am beginning to sense that Octopus is moving towards being just an electricity supplier providing ToU tariffs; heat pumps; EVs etc to the masses. 

Robin9

EssexAcDc said:

All I have is a fish tank, electric cooker, freezer in the garage, tele, computer and that's it. I am on my computer all day playing games and watching tele at night. so far, my electric was £1064.90 till the end June and my gas bill was £553.71.   

If that is all you really have (and you don't have an electric kettle, shower, fridge, immersion heater or lighting )- your electric is very high - it equates to over 7,000 kWh a year.   Out of what you do list old freezers can be expensive to run as can the fish tank

and assuming your read your meter every month and get no estimated bills.

PS Separate suppliers tend to be cheaper than dual fuel these days.

brewerdave

Just an observation - in a much bigger house with a wife who leaves lights on and uses the tumble dryer too often and three fridge/freezers (one very old and inefficient) we use ~ 4900kwh pa - you must be keeping a lot of fish very warm !!

MWT

EssexAcDc said:

To me, this is a sign up scam just to get people to sign up and once on their books,  with a minimum contract of at least one year you are hooked and cannot get out of it and then once you start giving actual readings, you will get the shock of your life or have a huge debt at the end of your contract.

The average usage definitions come from Ofgem not Octopus ( https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/decision-typical-domestic-consumption-values-2020 ) :

... and you picked the least restrictive supplier I know, so suggesting that you are locked into a 12 month contract with Octopus is to completely misrepresent the facts.

Best advice always remains to use your own actual consumption when comparing prices.

QrizB

We're a family of four in a 1950s 3-bed semi and we're pretty close to the "medium" numbers. 2200kWh elec and 12000kWh gas. (Our low(er) elec use is down to the solar PV on the roof, I guess).

EssexAcDc said:

I am a single man and 70 years old and I practically live in one room and I used without gas (central heating) 6832 electric KWH units (cooker) and that is just up until end of June and so I still have July's reading to enter as well.

That's a huge amount of electricity for a single person in one room.

bristolleedsfan

BUFF said:

Octopus don't lock you into a contract even on a fixed tariff (which is unusual).

Fixed rates with No exit fees are becoming as common as night following day, B.G Evolve, EON Next, Scottish Power 2 year fix , EDF Energy Direct Jul23v3 all no exit fees, that is without listing smaller providers that also have no exit fees on fixed rates,  out of those I listed only B.G Evolve currently more expensive than Octopus, SSE also no exit fees on 1 year and 2 year fixed rate tariff

BUFF

Yes, that has recently become true . However, their pricing tends to be higher than other suppliers + an exit fee.