Sick to the back teeth!!!

donaldtramp

I am now at the stage that I have almost given up with the energy companies, price fixes etc etc.

There are just too many if you do X, your bill will be a certain amount, if you do Y it'll be something else.

When you call the call centres the folk answering the phones have no idea what's happening because things are changing too quickly.:mad:

For example the Scottish power call centre operator just told me 10 mins ago that they have another new deal till 2009 coming out tonight!!

She then tried to tell me that the new deal would be best because it's 3 percent cheaper. I asked her to clarify. She couldn't. I asked her 3 % cheaper than what? I eventually worked out that it is held to 3% below the standard price. So if standard prices go up so will this deal. Just a wee bit less.

I still am tempted by the Npower fixed deal till 2011. But the comparison websites kick out different prices for my spend and usage. It also (from what I can work out) has a big premium (30ish percent) for fixing the prices.

I work in the oil and gas industry as a chartered engineer. I KNOW Oil and gas prices are going to keep on trucking. Trust me, the UK now has to import a huge percentage of its gas (we can't support ourselves from the North Sea any longer)

But if I am frustrated as an engineer with all these tariffs and deals and lack of knowledge of what's going on, I dread to think how a lot of folk out there are dealing with this.

Just wanted to see if anyone else was as fed as me with all of this??;)

Cardew

Confusion marketing rules!

They have taken lessons from those who make up tariffs for mobile phone companies.

Ken68

Hi Don....Southern has good ratings on this board. At least get confused efficiently.
The big suppliers could well be buying forward at todays prices and charging 30% premium to the end user.

SwanJon

There's a lot of threads/comments about the number of tariffs on the market, but it is the same as many other areas. The tariffs are there to suit different parts of the market.
Think about a supermarket, you can get veg loose, prepacked or fully prepared depending on your preference. With energy, like mortgages etc, previous offers are still mentioned on comparison sites so that make sit look like there are more than are currently available.
You can either go with the cheapest one on the list, or look at what each offers and which will suit you most and see if it is worth the difference.

DGJsaver

SwanJon wrote: »

There's a lot of threads/comments about the number of tariffs on the market, but it is the same as many other areas. The tariffs are there to suit different parts of the market.
Think about a supermarket, you can get veg loose, prepacked or fully prepared depending on your preference. With energy, like mortgages etc, previous offers are still mentioned on comparison sites so that make sit look like there are more than are currently available.
You can either go with the cheapest one on the list, or look at what each offers and which will suit you most and see if it is worth the difference.

I dont agree , i think the number of tariffs is aimed to confuse , first and foremost

Ken68

Fragmenting the customer base is done when suppliers can't compete on level price. Just a spoiler.
And joy of joys on some sites you even have customer support telephone lines open for longer........

Ken68

If the issue with the Ombudsman is resolved and i
f you're in credit you are entitled to move.
In the meantime use a comparison site to find a cheaper supplier, move on.
Best of all become a low user, hit 'em where it hurts.