Shell Energy price rise

007jumanji

Hi,

Im guessing this is a similar theme here but I was with GREEN paying about £80 a month for Gas/Elec. Green obviously folded and I am now with shell on their Flexible 6 tariff. This is costing me £130 a month and they have just said that my tariff will be changing in April to Flexible 7 which will be £198 a month!

This all seems insane. Any ideas on switching? Im sure a colleague of mine said he was on a fixed tariff. Paying nearly £200 a month is ridiculous!

Many thanks

QrizB

On the face of it, those prices sound to be the right ballpark. £130/month is 22% over the current cap and £198/month is 21% over the April cap. I suspect you're using 20-25% more energy per year than Ofgem's typical customer.

What is your typical annual consumption of gas and electricity?

Phlik

007jumanji said:

Hi,

Im guessing this is a similar theme here but I was with GREEN paying about £80 a month for Gas/Elec. Green obviously folded and I am now with shell on their Flexible 6 tariff. This is costing me £130 a month and they have just said that my tariff will be changing in April to Flexible 7 which will be £198 a month!

This all seems insane. Any ideas on switching? Im sure a colleague of mine said he was on a fixed tariff. Paying nearly £200 a month is ridiculous!

Many thanks

Standing charge and unit prices have doubled in last 12 months, it's been all over the news for the last six months. Strap in because it'll be going up again in October.

007jumanji

Thanks for your replies. I was aware of the costs all going up but how is it that someone I know has been able to get a better fixed tariff just recently? Was that because his current provider had a good deal? Im just trying to figure out if there is anything I can do to switch / get fixed in.

EssexHebridean

Are you just assuming that it IS a good fix? It could be that they have been talked into fixing by a supplier even though in fact, staying on the variable might have been better for them. It could be that they've opted to pay a little more for security of knowing it won't increase again in October. 

Phlik

007jumanji said:

Thanks for your replies. I was aware of the costs all going up but how is it that someone I know has been able to get a better fixed tariff just recently? Was that because his current provider had a good deal? Im just trying to figure out if there is anything I can do to switch / get fixed in.

Who says it's a good deal? and when did they sign up to it? There's plenty of people who are on older fixed 1-3 year deals who'll be insulated from this, until their deal runs out.

Stevev99

Very similar situation myself, was Pure Planet and paying £138, transferred to Shell Energy and they've just told me I'm £267 in debt as my previous direct debit didn't cover their charges!!

They have also said from April my bill will be approx £289!!!! 
This is all insane.

I see no alternatives right now other than to wait for Shell Energy's March 9th bills to be sent out, clear the debt they've let accrue so at least I'm neutral, and then let the April horror show kick in when they're saying my estimated usage will be £3228 per year!!

I guess we'll have to let it all settle and start looking around but right now these companies and who they buy their energy off are licensed to print money.

QrizB

Stevev99 said:

Very similar situation myself, was Pure Planet and paying £138, transferred to Shell Energy and they've just told me I'm £267 in debt as my previous direct debit didn't cover their charges!!
They have also said from April my bill will be approx £289!!!! 
This is all insane.

At the risk of repeating myself ...

What is your typical annual consumption of gas and electricity?

Phlik

Stevev99 said:

I guess we'll have to let it all settle and start looking around but right now these companies and who they buy their energy off are licensed to print money.

The utility companies are losing money every second of every day, why do you think 30 have gone bust? 

You might think the cap is a wonderful thing holding the prices artificially low but it isn't, all it's done is force companies to supply below cost price and because of that 30 have gone bankrupt. Who do you think pays for that, it isn't the government, it isn't your supplier, it's you, and me and all the other customers. All the cap has achieved is an overall increase in your bills year on year as operational costs have increased substantially, that'll be your standing charge.

As for the likes of Shell who supply the gas making $19b profit, that's on a $200b+ turnover, less than 10%, should they be altruistic? non profit making?. Everyone loves capitalism provided it's coming out of someone else's pocket.

Stevev99

QrizB said:

Stevev99 said:

Very similar situation myself, was Pure Planet and paying £138, transferred to Shell Energy and they've just told me I'm £267 in debt as my previous direct debit didn't cover their charges!!
They have also said from April my bill will be approx £289!!!! 
This is all insane.

At the risk of repeating myself ...

What is your typical annual consumption of gas and electricity?

Hi, gas about 12000 kwh per year and electricity about 7000kwh per year

Stevev99

Phlik said:

Stevev99 said:

I guess we'll have to let it all settle and start looking around but right now these companies and who they buy their energy off are licensed to print money.

The utility companies are losing money every second of every day, why do you think 30 have gone bust? 

You might think the cap is a wonderful thing holding the prices artificially low but it isn't, all it's done is force companies to supply below cost price and because of that 30 have gone bankrupt. Who do you think pays for that, it isn't the government, it isn't your supplier, it's you, and me and all the other customers. All the cap has achieved is an overall increase in your bills year on year as operational costs have increased substantially, that'll be your standing charge.

As for the likes of Shell who supply the gas making $19b profit, that's on a $200b+ turnover, less than 10%, should they be altruistic? non profit making?. Everyone loves capitalism provided it's coming out of someone else's pocket.

Phlik said:

Stevev99 said:

I guess we'll have to let it all settle and start looking around but right now these companies and who they buy their energy off are licensed to print money.

The utility companies are losing money every second of every day, why do you think 30 have gone bust? 

You might think the cap is a wonderful thing holding the prices artificially low but it isn't, all it's done is force companies to supply below cost price and because of that 30 have gone bankrupt. Who do you think pays for that, it isn't the government, it isn't your supplier, it's you, and me and all the other customers. All the cap has achieved is an overall increase in your bills year on year as operational costs have increased substantially, that'll be your standing charge.

As for the likes of Shell who supply the gas making $19b profit, that's on a $200b+ turnover, less than 10%, should they be altruistic? non profit making?. Everyone loves capitalism provided it's coming out of someone else's pocket.

I hear you of course and favour another stealth tax on the big oil companies to help compensate those that truly cannot afford these rises.