Ebico energy reviews: Give your feedback

Snakey wrote: »

Check the inbox in your online account - in mine was a letter dated yesterday, advising a price increase from 1 March.
Elec - from 16.15 to 17.12
Gas - from 4.91 to 5.16
(all including VAT)

I'm reviewing alternatives, but as a very low user unless there's another "no standing charge" tariff out there I expect I'll be better off staying put.

There's nothing in my inbox - Yet.



Darren

Xbigman wrote: »

Thats 5% on gas and 6% on electric (round figures).

Could be worse.

I agree, although I've not had the letter either (yet).

When Ebico switched from SSE to RHE they gave a discount of at least 4.5%, or 5.5% by going to DD. So even a 6% increase is only putting prices marginally over what I was paying a year ago, against a background of sharp increases across the market.

Had I stayed with SSE then an effective increase of 5p/kWh (day) and 2p/kWh (night) would have applied from 28 April 2017, followed of course by the introduction of standing charges.

So if the increases now are only 6%, then personally I think I've done quite well.

And as the rises would start after the bulk of the Winter season has passed then it seems an even better outcome than we could have reasonably expected.

I went to the Cheap Energy Club after posting, and it reckons Solarplicity (who I'd never heard of before today, not sure whether that's a concern or not - it's not as if I trust the big companies) are cheaper. The comparison was presumably against current prices so would probably still be cheaper even if they put their prices up too just as soon as I joined them.

Trouble was, when I went to their website they didn't recognise my postcode. Don't know whether that means they don't supply to my area or what, but I suppose I'm in no hurry so I can always check back in a week just in case it's a temporary glitch.

EachPenny wrote: »

That's what I do though. I get the bill, check it, and ask to have it changed if it is wrong.

Well, that is exactly how Ebico worked when SSE were in charge, but no so now. Have you tried getting a bill changed after receiving it?

In my reply from customer services this time, someone has actually explained why they "can't" do it.

Take my latest bill - for the period up to 26/12/17, and the bill is dated 12/01/18. That's a slightly longer gap than normal, but with the holidays etc that's no big deal. I receive my bill, see that they've estimated the bill, check my meter and see that the current read is quite a bit different (lower) to the estimated one.

I inform them of the read as of today when I've read the meter. They DON'T reissue the bill - I would love to know if anyone has had success with this. What they say is that as the billing period for the bill ends on 26/12/17, the only reads they can accept are reads for the billing period of the bill - so if I could tell them what the meter said on 26/12/17 they could reissue the bill.

Of course, unless I lie I cannot tell them what the meter said on that day. I could mathematically work out a presumed estimate on that day based on current read, but that still isn't being totally truthful - and anyway that kind of fiddling around isn't my job and too much faffing about.

They have told me I need to give them a read BEFORE my next bill is produced for the billing period up to 28/03/18.

SSE reissued bills no problem. This system seems a bit daft.

Would love to know if anyone is successfully getting bills reissued. Do you have to lie and give a read during the billing cycle? Is this unique to monthly direct debit payers or is their billing this daft for everyone?

Seems very tempting to switch to these people for my electricity if I'm honest. Their video reminds me of what Ebico used to be shouting about - no standing charges, one tariff, pay how you like. Wonder what their billing is like?

It's hard to tell which of those things has already been factored in to the MSE estimate, still, cheaper is cheaper.

I had another play around with the site and came at the postcode from a different screen - it still told me it hadn't been able to quote me but this time it did suggest that they might not supply to my area (rather than implying that I must be typing with hooks for hands, as previously ). There wasn't an option to put in my address.

(I'm in W2, if you are bored enough to want to see whether you can make it work? Perhaps I am just repeatedly putting it in wrong after all!)