Have I misunderstood the price cap? My new standard tariff is £2812.50!?

diystarter7

molerat said:

diystarter7 said:

Btw - the "average user" rubbish is not just misused by the gas/elc suppliers but even worse by the water co outfits. Yes, they installed meters so they could make more money out of more people. Sure some will save but the majority pay more.

These so-called "averages" as NOT a cap but figures used by these outfits to make things appear better than they are.

If the max price per unit of gas/elec and the standing charge was readily displayed, they'd be much more competition once things settle down but of course we know they want profits not competition/good value.

The averages have nothing to do with the supplier, it is mandated they use them by the regulator. The unit price is only one of the factors in determining how much you pay.  On its own it is of no use whatsoever. Back in the good ol days  I remember switching to a dearer unit price because it saved me money, the reason why the comparison sites quoted annual price with the unit and daily charges secondary.  The problem is that a lot of people do not understand what to do with the figures if they are put in front of them. In fact I should shorten that statement simply to a lot of people do not understand, we are in the age of dumbing down and anything more than a one line statement is too much for many !

Fair enough but I firmly beleive that people, most are not "dumbing down" as you put it.

Most, the ones I've spoken with inc me initially got confused with the CAP and it took me a few moments of thinking the cAP can't be a CAP as mansions that require much more heating would be unfairly advantaged etc.

Give almost and tom and jerry on the road just like fule prices at the petrol station, it does not indeed need a brain surgeon to work out that diesel was let's say 1.35 at most pums and now around 200p a litre. They will easily see that the cost has risen massively. There, if a unit of gas was 10p and it went to 20p, most people would note they would be paying almost double.
Its nothing to do with what you said re "dumbing down" but what needs to happen is clarity in plain English. Why make something more complex when it can be explained in simple terms. You know the answer.

There is nothing stopping the profiteering suppliers from displaying their standardised unit price on the front page. There is no need for cloaks and daggers. People are fed up with the BS from the gas/elec suppliers, OFGEM , oil suppliers and the government who are only interested in saving their skin from their own woes.

The CAP is definitely the wrong way to bang on about these figures.

I may not have a degree but that does not make me stupid and the people that worked with me did have a degree or two and even they are/were confused until someone like me points it out and I'm no rocket scientist.

Coffeekup

SAC2334 said:

pochase said:

But than you cannot have a headline with just a scary number like 54%.

And a price per unit and standing charge will also not work due to the regional differences. Add to that E7 and E10 tariffs with different splits between day and night, direct debit, pay by cheque and prepaid.

How many threads have you seen xxx is overcharging me, they are charging 29.2p per KWh instead of the 28p cap from Ofgem, or my xxx has a standing charge of 32p why are they overcharging me.

If you want to really give all the information required you will end up with a rate booklet that needs to be published, and that is not the sense of a newspaper article.

Also it will overwhelm 90% of the readers. 

Better would be to lead with the headline and than provide a link to detailed information, but please not the Ofgem information that is completely useless for a normal person, extremely hard to understand and forces you to calculate the unit rates yourself.

I disagree completely .Its far far better to drill into everyones heads the price per kwh that they are paying .

 People glaze over when I talk of kwh s in relation to forthcoming huge rises we got in April and another one due in Oct. They don t know what a kwh is or that an electric shower uses a hell of a lot of them ! 

People need to know the price of apples in the same way they have got to learn the price of a litre of fuel .

So well done that poster who told it as it is.

Martin Lewis must also be heartily sick of explaining the "average user " annual bill and this is going over the heads just as much . 

Totally agree

funny.money

I have another thought on the price cap, fixed tariffs and understanding what to do.  I'm firmly in the 'if Martin says it's ok then it's ok' camp. So when EDF had a fixed deal,  at 24% above the current cap,  I took it.  However,  after becoming quite addicted to this energy forum, I began to read threads about usage,  that maybe staying on the variable might be better,  pages of people's figures for comparison, asking whether it's the right thing or not.  It's baffling to me,  my cooling off period has passed.  But should I have put more thought and 'figures' into it before just signing up?

prowla

If you think about it, they didn't say that your bill will be £1971 max, regardless of how much you use.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

did you use your own annual usage figures when comparing, or just go for Mr Average, always best to use your own.

The_Fat_Controller

@funny.money I took the May 2024 fix at +24% too, starting on 1 July.

Three summer months on the fix will obviously cost more, but those are low usage months.

On the latest predictions for 1st October and the following 9 months I think I will be on a winner over the first year.

However, the second year of the fix is looking like a large gamble, both by EDF and the customers who have taken it, Martin Lewis said the same.

Devongardener

This might help, download from MSE in March 

victor2

Maybe the annual cost approach is just not going to work. After all, how many people know how much per year it will cost to put fuel in their car? They may well have an idea what sort of mpg they can get, but buy fuel in litres, not gallons.
Is pence per kWh and no standing charge going to be impossible to accept?

There are of course more alternatives to using a car than there are to using electricity, but the energy system needs a major overhaul, in my opinion.

Mstty

funny.money said:

I have another thought on the price cap, fixed tariffs and understanding what to do.  I'm firmly in the 'if Martin says it's ok then it's ok' camp. So when EDF had a fixed deal,  at 24% above the current cap,  I took it.  However,  after becoming quite addicted to this energy forum, I began to read threads about usage,  that maybe staying on the variable might be better,  pages of people's figures for comparison, asking whether it's the right thing or not.  It's baffling to me,  my cooling off period has passed.  But should I have put more thought and 'figures' into it before just signing up?

Did you get a good deal = yes

Should you have your own spreadsheet of usage and prices = yes

When your deal is up will you be ready then = now you will👍

diystarter7

funny.money said:

I have another thought on the price cap, fixed tariffs and understanding what to do.  I'm firmly in the 'if Martin says it's ok then it's ok' camp. So when EDF had a fixed deal,  at 24% above the current cap,  I took it.  However,  after becoming quite addicted to this energy forum, I began to read threads about usage,  that maybe staying on the variable might be better,  pages of people's figures for comparison, asking whether it's the right thing or not.  It's baffling to me,  my cooling off period has passed.  But should I have put more thought and 'figures' into it before just signing up?

I think you ar saying it should have been clear, more clear.

Advertising on the front page the max price per unit and standing charge per plan would be easy, peasy to digest.
Most people will be able to see online, call or get a bill giving their 12 month/annual usage

Lets say my unit rate for gas and elec was 10p but new plan was 20p per unit and standing charges remained the at 25p daily. The another co offered a plan at 19p and 25p standing. It does not take a rocket... to work it out but it's not in the interest of the suppliers and OFGEM does naff all about it.