Am I being conned with switching ??

workingboy

Last week I applied for switching my Duel fuel supply using Uswitch.

Using my April quarterly bills for both Gas and Electric and having Direct Debit, I decided to go for EON as I would have my bills capped till Oct 2009 and have a saving of approx. £100/yr.

But now having the details in the post, I will be worse off as the rates are alot higher than my current supplier, not saving at all.

So it looks if I shall be cancelling my new contract with EON.

Cardew

You probably have been conned.

You need to understand that the comparison websites derive their income from commission, as do their operators.

So they have one aim, To get you to switch!

ContraryMary

WorkingBoy.......as a Sales Advisor for Npower, let me just say instantly that you have not been conned (and I say that on EONs behalf!)What may not have been explained very well to you is that the Fixed deals do not offer you a 'short term fix' - ie/ as you rightly say, the deal you have been offered is dearer than what you are paying now....But what you have got to take into account, is the forecasted (upto) 40% increase due later this year...So, although you are committing to a higher tariff now with EON - look ahead, and look at how that possible 40% increase will affect you if you don't fix your prices....I'm actually sticking up for EON here - I don't think you have been mis-sold; but just simply that you've not been told the longer term benefits in full detail.Between now and October 2009, there are 3 'expected' price rises.........Sept 08, March 09, and Sept 09 - what you've got to look at, is how the EON price fix til Oct 2009 will save you money OVER THAT PERIOD.And it undoubtedly will. Don't look at 'the here and now' - but look beyond 6 or 9 months.....Because in 6 or 9 months - if the prices continue to rise as they are doing - you'll be laughing.The only downside of all that, is that EON charge you for getting out of their fixed deal.....my company doesn't....!So if the prices DO fall, you will have to pay EON £35 (or £45) to get the lower prices.....So to summise, you've not been mis-sold - just not told enough about the deal.

ContraryMary

Can someone PLEASE tell me how I get paragraphs to work on here?!It drives me mad seeing me comments bunched up as one big paragraph!!

epsilondraconis

Use the 'return' / 'enter' key on you keyboard to create a new paragraph.

Hope that helps.

Good luck....

ContraryMary

Lol! I am doing, but however I type it, and however 'neat' it appears to me, it always gets bunched up into one huge paragraph when I click 'post reply'...!Not to worry (there were 2 'enters' clicked there I add!) - I hope my jist was understood - I don't think the OP was mis-sold - just that the long term benefits weren't explained clearly enough.

Cardew

ContraryMary wrote: »

Can someone PLEASE tell me how I get paragraphs to work on here?!It drives me mad seeing me comments bunched up as one big paragraph!!

It might be worth contacting MSE and asking that question.

My PCs(desktop and laptop) sometimes do that( appear as a solid block of text) and I see lots of other posts like that.

However

As you can see

not all the time:T

Incidentally I think you have missed the point on the OP's post about being 'conned'.

He was told that he would "have a saving of approx. £100/yr."

That the fixed tariff might turn out to be a good deal is not the point, it is not £100 cheaper but more expensive.

Anyway it was Uswitch that 'conned' him - not E-ON.

ContraryMary

"That the fixed tariff might turn out to be a good deal is not the point, it is not £100 cheaper but more expensive."I'm praying that this is not bunched up together! It certainly isn't as I look at it!The fixed price deals do not offer a short term solution - and as I said, yes, they are dearer in the here and now.However, they are cheaper in the long run. The downside is that online comparison sites do not offer the friendly word by word explanation that humans can!They don't explain the long term benefits and peace of mind.(I am now putting 2 'enters' between paragraphs - if this doesn't transmit as I hope, I shall contact MSE for guidance!!)

ABN

Whilst what you say for the long term is correct, assuming that prices do increase, the fact remains that according to the OP the comparison sites indicated that the new deal should be cheaper NOW not later.

Have found this myself on numerous occasions, the price quoted on those sites bares no relationship to what you actually get from the supplier. Thus if the OP decided to switch based on the info given then he has been miss-sold by the comparison site.

This seems to have been going on for a long time yet nothing is done about it

ContraryMary

As I've read the OPs post, he say's that he will save £100 a year - he doesn't make a mention as to the 'now' or to the 'future', but just a general saving per year...In short, I'm agreeing with you ABN - the deals you get online, although inticingly favourable, don't always explain things clearly enough.ie/ that £100 per year may be a long projected amount and based on previous rises being enforced in the future etc...For what its worth, I would encourage the OP to look at his tariff (as it stands today), and then work out a 40% increase.......and then another 15%.....and then another 15% on top of that.If the online tariff 'betters' his current deal with the expected rises, then stick with the online fixed deal.Hope that makes sense!

DirectDebacle

ContraryMary wrote: »

As I've read the OPs post, he say's that he will save £100 a year - he doesn't make a mention as to the 'now' or to the 'future', but just a general saving per year...In short, I'm agreeing with you ABN - the deals you get online, although inticingly favourable, don't always explain things clearly enough.ie/ that £100 per year may be a long projected amount and based on previous rises being enforced in the future etc...For what its worth, I would encourage the OP to look at his tariff (as it stands today), and then work out a 40% increase.......and then another 15%.....and then another 15% on top of that.If the online tariff 'betters' his current deal with the expected rises, then stick with the online fixed deal.Hope that makes sense!

Like your company. npower don't explain 'seasonally adjusted weighting' the definition of a 'tariff year' charging over their stated 4572 high rate units a year, saying a year is only seven months so we zero the 4572 and start again. Refusing to pay back what you have overcharged etc, etc. And of course none of this shows on a comparison site and somehow seems to slip the memory of your reps when it comes to signing people up. But I am sure you are giving good advice, shame your colleagues don't which is why npower is ranked the worst energy supplier of the lot by Energywatch.