Unsuitable tariff for years - Challenge energy company?

Slinky

We have E7 rates and I can only get an E7 quote, but if I want to check what I could get on single rate billing, I just use my neighbour's house number and my actual usage to see what possible single rates there are out there. Obviously I'm careful not to do anything which would initiate a switch for my neighbour! If I did want to move supplier, I'd call and deal with someone over the phone, as I'd need to get them to bill a dual rate meter at a single rate, which is what you might need to do til you get sorted.

GrubbyGirl_2

I bought a house that had economy 7 meter and I had to be clear right from the off that I was looking for a single rate. When I opted to have smart meters installed soon after moving in I expected just standard meters but the installer replaced it with another one as he said he is required to replace like with like. There have been several times that my current supplier have tried to put me on an economy 7 tariff when my old fixes expired so I have to watch them like a hawk.

Having said that it's all there in the bill, separated out into day and night usage but the rates are the same. I don't think you can blame the supplier when you don't check the bill and haven't done so for so many years.

Do you check your water bills to make sure you're not paying for a leak?

la531983

Energy companies are only obliged on bills to tell you if there is a cheaper tariff on the SAME rate you are currently on (single rate or dual rate).

They dont have to tell single rate customers that dual rate will be cheaper (or in your case, vice versa)

Scot_39

At no point have the energy supplier (the same company throughout)
questioned or highlighted that we are on the wrong tariff due to our
usage.

Are you sure about that - they never offered you a cheaper deal in all that time - or told you were on their cheapest deal (*)?

Who is your supplier and what tariff have you been on for all this time ?

As Cheaper Tariff Messages (CTM) in Ofgem speak have been around for a very long time - over a decade - as part of the general license conditions on providing customers with information (section 31 and 32 iirc). And if not having done so by normal comms - send you the info at least once per year iirc (it's too late to read the whole sections and all the definitions etc)

From 31F.16

"“Cheapest Tariff Message” means a statement informing the Domestic Customer of:

(a)the Exact Tariff Name of the Tariff which is the Relevant Cheapest Tariff;

(b)the Estimated Annual Savings for the Relevant Cheapest Tariff;

(c)the Exact Tariff Name of the Tariff which is the Alternative Cheapest Tariff; and

(d)the Estimated Annual Savings for the Alternative Cheapest Tariff."

I can barely remember a statement from EOn without them in fact - but thats easy in my case as im on an expensive E10 tariff vs even E7 all the time (if presume as they do when offering e7 to me - my off peak mix would be maintained (confident it wouldnt)) let alone single rate.

So like take my latest monthly statement from EOn - on the right hand of first page in its own column - as well as my current annual cost estimates - it includes info on 2 of their other tariffs and the savings.

"Could you save money and pay less?

Remember - it might be worth thinking about
switching your tariff or supplier.
For your electricity (on meter point xxxxxx)
Our cheapest similar tariff is Next Flex - you
could save £xxx.xx a year by switching to this.
Our cheapest tariff overall is Next Pledge
Tracker 12m v12 - you could save £xxx.xx a year
by switching to this."

Their form of CTM for me.

(*) In fact even if your on their cheapest deal - or only deal - they have to tell you that instead - as an alternative CTM.

Scot_39

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82117198#Comment_82117198

Check out the definitions of "Relevant Cheapest Tariff" and for "Alternative Cheapest Tariff" and I think (although I had heard that in posts here before) I'm no longer 100% sure that last part is true - as the following wording is in both

"consideration of both Time of Use Tariffs for which appropriate consumption data is available and Non-Time of Use Tariffs;"

Now that might stop them offering E7 to someone on Single rate conventional register based metering at least (as no split data available) but it certainly shouldnt stop them the other way - as E7 will give total use too.

Reed_Richards

The house we bought in 1997 had an Economy 7 meter and a very old oil boiler which gave up the ghost almost as soon as we moved in. I could find no indication that the house, built around 30 years earlier, had ever had storage heaters but it had an Economy 7 meter nonetheless. Sometime in the 2010s my old rotating dial meter was changed to a smart meter but still on Economy 7. And the house was still on Economy 7 when we moved in 2017. I was never aware that there was anything I could do about this, other than trying to shift some of my consumption to the night hours. At no time in those 20 years did any electricity supply company suggest to me that I had the option to move onto a single-rate tariff.

MWT

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82117695#Comment_82117695

Our house was built in 1986, with an E7 meter (electric clock) and without any reason to have an E7 meter.

Back then few if any suppliers offered the option for a single rate tariff on an E7 meter so your meter dictated the tariff type.

It is the main reason I changed to a smart meter as soon as I could, but I'd have never thought it was up to the supplier to tell me about the implications of having an E7 meter, it was all rather obvious.

dunstonh

Yes, there were previous storage heaters and changed to full central heating just before we bought it.

That happens frequently. Usually an attempt to tart a place up on the cheap without caring for who will be living there. Landlords and property flippers are the main culprits. Electric heaters are cheaper to install than storage heaters but more expensive to run.

I have always looked for a cheaper offer however when I put my address in it seems to only give me back economy 7 prices (which I have checked on 3 different sites today).

It wouldnt have stopped you moving to a single rate. They just apply the same rate to both registers.

Scot_39

Even today, not all suppliers support totalisation.

Under the now I believed expired (in line with the June 25 not quite final RTS Deadline) equivalent single rate meter tariff special conditions for complex metering - or rather specifically RRMI (an Ofgem mouthful - Relevant Restricted Meter Infrastructure iirc - RMI being anything driving a restricted part time live signal) - standard modern multi-rate - E7 and the SP (WM E8/8.5 hr ) equivalent - were specifically excluded.

I guess on the basis that E7 and SR were both Ofgem recognised and stipulated mandatory offerings (unless a small startup - with only 10,000s of customers iirc).

And to a certain extent - people therefore had the choice - whereas old legacy RTS metering - were kind of stuck and often couldn't change.

But from posts here many suppliers - even those who initially resisted - caved - once realised they would lose customers presumably and offered flat rate billing on legacy E7 systems too - despite the Ofgem exclusions.

At no time in those 20 years did any electricity supply company suggest to me that I had the option to move

I couldnt find a final date of implemention - consultation exercise to bring in c2012 - consultation exercise to bring suppliers "whilte labels" into scope - c2014 iirc - but Ofgem CTM's kicked in - at least in initial form in early 2010s - I guess before then there was no need to provide the info.

And as above - there is still doubt if that mandates - even now - offering SR to those on E7.

Slinky

We had an E7 meter (old one) in our house when we bought it. I worked out that the meter readings were transposed. Day rate being charged at night, night rate in the day. I could see from the meter readings that the previous occupants had skewed their usage towards nighttime use, despite not having storage heaters, and having GCH, It was fairly obvious to me that they never really checked or understood what they were paying for. I should have left the situation as it was really……… but I didn't want a massive bill biting me on the !!!!!! at some point, so had to do battle with the supplier to convince them to correct the error. Then the Ukraine kicked off and I would have been quids in if I'd left things as they were (doh).