Ofgem blanket ban on energy companies taking on new properties

944238

I live in social housing, a small 1 bed bungalow, and I am in receipt of state pension only. My housing association has been helping me to move as my current property has no insulation and cannot be insulated due to being in conservation area. A property has been offered which is insulated. On contacting my current energy provider, with whom I obtained a fixed tariff 6 months ago, I cannot take the fix with me to new property and on top of this I will have to remain with whoever the current provider is due to a blanket ban by OFGEM on energy companies taking on new properties. So this means that anybody moving house is stuck with whichever provider currently provides that property. Does this also mean that people are currently unable to switch providers at all? Who is running OFGEM? I stupidly thought energy providers were meant to be helping their customers more than ever currently! 

TheMilkmansDad

When you move into the new property you will need to register with the existing supplier on the deemed tariff. Once registered you are free to move supplier so no idea where your information is coming from (unless I've missed something?)

pochase

Some suppliers allow you to take a fix with you, others don't. The fixed tariff is for a property, not a customer, so they don't have to allow you to keep the fix.

There is no Ofgem ban on people switching. Suppliers are just not interested to have new customers join them when they are every likely to make a loss on them.

There are EDF and Octopus who might let you join. You will need to call them (maybe repeatedly) and hope you find an agent who will allow you to join.

You will have the supplier who currently supplies the property automatically as your supplier, and the prices for SVT are the same with all suppliers anyway.

944238

Hi Milkmans Dad, I have been told this today by my current provider -that I have to register with existing supplier at new property and cannot switch due to OFGEM ban which they told me has just come into force for an indefinite period.

Robin9

............. due to a blanket ban by OFGEM on energy companies taking on new properties. ...........................

I don't think that is true - it's the individual companies who have taken business decisions.   I understand Edf are still open to new customers.

But generally you are stuck  - in practise they have virtually identical SVT's .

TheMilkmansDad

944238 said:

Hi Milkmans Dad, I have been told this today by my current provider -that I have to register with existing supplier at new property and cannot switch due to OFGEM ban which they told me has just come into force for an indefinite period.

OFGEM would not have the authority to do this.

Your current supplier may have a ban on onboarding new customers but that would be on a supplier by supplier basis. Many are not taking on new customers right now on the SVT. I think either you have been misinformed or misunderstood what was said?

pochase

944238 said:

Hi Milkmans Dad, I have been told this today by my current provider -that I have to register with existing supplier at new property and cannot switch due to OFGEM ban which they told me has just come into force for an indefinite period.

That is not a ban or anything new, you always had to register with the current supplier first and than could start a switch to another supplier.

When you move in and switch on the light you start a (deemed) contract with the current supplier, they are starting to supply you with energy and of course they want to be paid for doing so. A switch is taking a few weeks, a 14 day cool off period, and than the time needed for the switch.

For the time until you are switched to somebody else you need to pay the current supplier. 

As described above you now have the problem that nobody wants you, but that has nothing to do with Ofgem.

944238

Perhaps I was misinformed by Scottish Power agent then. I did clarify with him what he was telling me, as I specifically asked who had made that ban decision and he told me it was OFGEM and they were just doing as they were told! What is SVT??

ChaunceyGardiner

What is SVT??

Standard Variable Tariff, which is subject to the price cap.

markin

Some have been banned, But not Scottish Power or any big companies.

macman

markin said:

Some have been banned, But not Scottish Power or any big companies.

No one has been banned! But no supplier wants to take on new customers on SVT because they are doing so at a loss.
OP, you have been misinformed by SP: you can't expect a tier 1 call centre drone to knows the fine detail of the limit  of Ofgem's powers.
You will be in a deemed contract with the existing supplier and will be placed on SVT by default unless you choose another tariff.
You cannot port your tariff or account from SP to another property.