Electricity company not backing up written offer

Swimmer69

Hello everyone,

It's time to renew my fixed tariff with my electricity company. They wrote to me. The letter took 11 days to arrive. I liked the offer so rang them to accept it. They said it was no longer available and that tariffs change all the time. They said I would have to take a more expensive offer.

The letter had no reply-by date or 'end of offer' period, which said I had to take up the offer or lose the opportunity. I rang them as soon as I received the letter which they admitted can take a while to reach me after being generated in their system.

I have raised a complaint saying that I never had the opportunity to take up the offer sent to me in a formal letter. Do I have a valid case? Can I hold them to deliver on the offer that was in their letter, and with no 'reply-by date'?

I am holding out for them to revert to the original offer then sent me, but don't know if I'm wasting my time.

Swimmer69

QrizB

Welcome to the forum.

They said it was no longer available and that tariffs change all the time.

Yes, energy companies change their tariff offers frequently. Sometimes several times in a week.

Do I have a valid case? Can I hold them to deliver on the offer that was in their letter, and with no 'reply-by date'?

No.

Ofgem requires them to write to you with details of the offers available at time of writing, but they're not obliged to hold those offers open for any particular period of time.

If today's tariffs were cheaper than the ones they offered you, would you be insisting on being allowed onto the older, more expensive one?

la531983

And this is why its always better to have an online account with them. Where the current rates are likely advertised.

MarzipanCrumble

Or to make your preferred method of contact email or sms.

(Letters take forever; gone are the days when a letter takes less than 24 hours or even a week to get to you.)

Exodi

Swimmer69

The letter had no reply-by date or 'end of offer' period, which said I had to take up the offer or lose the opportunity.

It's a tenuous point, I'm sure you can appreciate it would be an absurd position to believe I could dig out an old letter from my filing cabinet from 25 years ago advertising a tariff with an 8p/kWh electricity unit rate and expect it to be honoured today as the letter didn't have a 'reply-by date' or 'end of offer date'.

Unfortunately tariffs can change all the time, on occasion we've seen them change multiple times in the same week.

Due to the sensitive manner of energy pricing (especially now), it would be wise to use online pricing instead of relying on snail mail.

WiserMiser

Only 11 days? Luxury !

I'm lucky to get anything in under a fortnight, and three weeks isn't unusual.

Unfortunately you've missed the boat and as it's not the electricity company's fault there's not much you can do about it.

It's just the same as 'When It's Gone It's Gone' in Aldi and Lidl, you gotta be quick !

Swipe

I live in a rural village and of late I've noticed that my postie saves up my mail and delivers it all on the same day. I'll go weeks with no mail and then suddnenly get 3 letters in one delivery. Way too much of a coincidence for that to keep happening.

squirrelpie

If today's tariffs were cheaper than the ones they offered you, would
you be insisting on being allowed onto the older, more expensive one?

Why would anybody want to do that? It's a ridiculous question. The OP asked a reasonable question and deserved a reasonable answer IMHO. You were doing well up until this throwaway remark.