Economy 7 question.

CovKid_4

I've been on Economy 7 for years, without thinking about it much. Had a recent spat with Outfox the Market about billing - they'd been billing me the day rate for all my electricity use, due to a fault on the meter, and to their credit they sorted it out and credited me the difference between the day and night rate for the estimated usage for that period.

But that exchange and the current publicity makes me realise that Economy 7 isn't right for me, as I use very little at night (no storage heaters, no EV, no immersion heater). I have a second-generation smart meter, should it be straightforward to switch to the standard rates? Last time I enquired about this with a previous supplier, before the smart meter was fitted, it would cost £120 to change.

Outfox always says on its bills that I'm on their cheapest available tariff, but never make any mention of standard vs economy 7.

Gerry1

CovKid_4 said:

should it be straightforward to switch to the standard rates? Last time I enquired about this with a previous supplier, before the smart meter was fitted, it would cost £120 to change.

IIRC Ovo and Bulb won't play ball, but most of the others will happily switch you to single rate with no payment or meter change required.  Switch supplier if OTFM are unhelpful.

EssexHebridean

If you need a quick switch, try for Octopus would be my suggestion - they switched me in about 48 hours a few months ago. 

Spoonie_Turtle

If you decide to go for Octopus, find or ask someone for a referral code for £50 credit (each customer has their own but we're not allowed to post them on the forum).

Slinky

EssexHebridean said:

If you need a quick switch, try for Octopus would be my suggestion - they switched me in about 48 hours a few months ago. 

If you want a slow switch, go to EDF. I moved there from Outfox as they wouldn't bill me single rate after coming off a single rate fix. EDF said they'd switch me onto single rate after 28 days on E7. Took 3 months and a complaint via Resolver. It was backdated, but that wasn't the point, I was still trying to shove my usage in overnight as much as possible in case I couldn't get the promised single tarriff rate.

I'm convinced that the energy suppliers who have upped the day rate and dropped the night rate recently  have realised there are loads of their E7 customers for whom E7 isn't suitable anymore and who haven't noticed they are paying more than being on a single rate.  It's the only way the suppliers have of making more money out of somebody at the moment.

EssexHebridean

In my experience EDF are second only to Utility Warehouse for being truly dreadful to deal with. When things go well, they are just about competent. When things go badly, they are a complete shower of…well, you know! 

Gerry1

EssexHebridean said:

In my experience EDF are second only to Utility Warehouse for being truly dreadful to deal with. When things go well, they are just about competent. When things go badly, they are a complete shower of…well, you know! 

Starts with M and rhymes with Herd?

dunstonh

If you want a slow switch, go to EDF. I moved there from Outfox as they wouldn't bill me single rate after coming off a single rate fix. EDF said they'd switch me onto single rate after 28 days on E7. Took 3 months and a complaint via Resolver. It was backdated, but that wasn't the point, I was still trying to shove my usage in overnight as much as possible in case I couldn't get the promised single tarriff rate.

I switched to EDF earlier this month from bulb and it moved over within 5 days.  I choose to waive the cancellation rights period wait though.

Its not been perfect though. They asked for a reading and they didnt indicate which of the two boxes was peak or off peak.   Once that was resolved, it is still asking me to input a opening reading despite showing the readings on the app.  I knew EDF wouldnt be perfect but I rarely need to deal with their service side and their low price made up for it.

SmithyST170

Gerry1 said:

SmithyST170 said:

Gerry1 so my parents should look at their bills from 2022 and add all the usage up for the year? 

Yes, ideally they should find out the most recent 12 months' day and night electricity usage from actual meter readings (not estimated ones).  Then just do the sums at today's prices for E7, and again for single rate.

However, if they can't find the bills (or if it's difficult to find ones with actual meter readings) then just switch to single rate because it will almost certainly be cheaper.

From now on they should take monthly meter readings to ensure that single rate really remains cheaper and that the bills are accurate.

They are billed quarterly and British Gas contact them when they require a meter reading by an automated phone call and they take the reading and give the reading back to them over the phone. Can they take a monthly meter reading and do it over the phone or would it have to be done online? 

Sorry for all the questions but I just want to get it straight what they have to do before they change to single rate. 

Gerry1

They don't really have to do anything before switching to single rate: they can always switch back if they don't like it.  However, it's a good idea to check that it would be cheaper for them based on the proportion used at night, but as they have GCH that's pretty much a certainty now with the new E7 rates.

They might also be interested in having monthly billing so that it's easier to check consumption, and perhaps Variable Direct Debit where you pay for the amount you've used since the last reading, just like a petrol pump.  For example, bills are easier to understand with Variable Direct Debit and they won't end up with BG sitting on a pile of their money, but there will be big bills in the winter and smaller ones in the summer.

You might wish to consider setting up an online account for them so that you can phone them every month to get the readings and you then log in and enter those readings.  You can then do the sums to confirm that single rate is working out cheaper.

BTW, do make sure that they are on BG's Priority Services Register if they qualify.