e.on's heavily pushed new fixed tariff

[Andy Burns]

My stat hasn't even thought about coming on yet

I'm half way through a two year fix v4 with e.on,

ex-EMEB/EMGAS region

12.663p for leccy, 4.064p for gas 25.715p, 28.413p standing charges £15 paperless+dual fuel discounts, £70 direct debit discount £10 per fuel early termination charge

the new e.on one year fix v9

11.634p for leccy, 3.633p for gas 16.422p, 21.903p standing charges same discounts £5 per fuel early termination charge

Looks worth paying the £20 to save £156 based on last 12 months actual usage.

They've certainly changed the way of quoting since last time I switched, how come they are allowed to monkey with the standing charges like that? I thought Transco were bumping-up network charges to them?

[fred]

Oh yeah, I forgot you were you :-)

Blue bottles will be ice cubes where you live.

[nemo]

I agree. Maybe the comparison should be based on the assumption that you may choose to switch to a different supplier *now*, including any penalty, and it should include your current supplier's best tariff available *now*. ...which I thought was what the Cheap Energy Club web site meant by this:

"1. Check you're on the cheapest deal We'll do a full market comparison to check you're not overpaying on your current deal. If not great, if you are we'll help you switch.

1. Constantly monitor your tariff Energy bills move all the time. Just because your tariff is cheapest now, doesn't mean it always will be. Both because yours may get more expensive and the competition's may get cheaper.
2. Alert you when it's time to switch again When the time is right for you to switch based on your current tariff and preferences, we'll alert you and show you the best deals."

The present misleading saving calculation is likely to encourage more consumers to switch, more often. Cynics might wonder if there is some benefit to the comparison site for each switcher...

[Dave Liquorice]

er, yes. How do you think the comparison sites get the money reuired to run them?

[Dave Liquorice]

We keep 'em inside so they are warm. Did have one be a bit reluctant to vapourise fast enoough for even a single element of the fire once but that had come straight in from the garage where it was close or below 0 C. Was warm enough in less than an hour.

[JimK]

/ Oct 1F

- show quoted text - Try signing up to

Put your present tariff in and they monitor what's on offer and email you if there's a change worth having/q

+1

Jim K

[nemo]

There I was thinking they're purely altruistic.

[dennis]

You can always use the gas heater to warm them up.

[bert]

In message , Dave Liquorice writes

Beware. The "savings " quoted by switching sites can be the nominal saving you would achieve compared to the standard tariff your current supplier would use when your current agreement comes to its natural end. |Read the small print.

[Dave Liquorice]

We've been through that loop already. B-)

The £280 saving I quote is based on actual use over a 12 month period. Had a bit more of a dig about on a couple of comparision sites today(*) and that e.on offer is way ahead of any other companies *current* tariffs.

I think I'll leave it for a little longer and see what the reaction is. £280 is around a months worth of groceries...

I think I have spotted a "gotcha" with EDFs Price Promise. They don't tell you when another EDF tariff will save you more than £1/week.

(*) Does any body know which front ends are using the same backends? No point in filling in the details across a few sites if they are all using the same backend as you'll get the same answer.

[alan_m]

They don't get a commission if they advise you to stay with your current supplier!

I've had the same false savings indication. I could work for myself the cost of my suppliers cheaper offers based on their published tariffs and found that the savings effectively vanished.

British Gas also tell you that they have a cheaper tariff giving a saving of, say, £20/year but fail to remind you that you signed up for a deal with a £30 penalty per fuel if you swap immediately. I keep a record of when penalty charges expire.

[dennis]

E.on send you a letter when your tariff is due to expire. I thought the new ruling meant they all had to.

[alan_m]

Yes BG also tell you when your tariff deal is due to expire 4 to 6 weeks in advance BUT if you swap, even a day before the deal ends, (even to another BG tariff) the penalty charges apply. With BG the penalties don't appear on the bill - they just take them via DD.

Been there, done that and got my money back

[Chris French]

Not my experience with Scottish Power.

I recently looked at whether it was worth switching, as my tariff was at and end. Though in the end I just switched to a new fixed tariff with Scottish Power.

I was contacted at least a month before it was to end I think. They said that if I applied to switch with 45 days (IIRC) before the end of the tariff then no penalty charge would apply.

My tariff expired on 31/Agust, they said that as long as I either switched to a different SP tariff, or had applied to switch to another company by the end of Spetmeber then the terms of the fixed price up until 31 August would still apply

[fred]

In article , Chris French writes

It's a mixed bag, OVO have a similar policy on early switching to SP but it isn't mentioned anywhere in their T&Cs, in fact the opposite is stated. You have to ask them before they will admit that the policy exists. If you read and believe the T&C's, and delay switching until the deal formally ends, then you are stuck with their increased variable rate deal for the duration of your switch (up to 6 wks) - scam.

[Reentrant]

Saturday morning: article in the paper saying that wholesale energy prices are expected to fall over the next year or two.

Saturday afternoon: email arrives from my supplier offering a new fixed rate deal until 2018, at a rather higher price than I'm paying now.

[dennis]

With eon you can decide to switch and they do it on the day your current tariff ends. No fees for cancelling or period on the standard tariff.

[Dave Liquorice]

ends,

Good, but as it's BG I suspect "c*ck up" rather than anything else. As the "c*ck up" is in the computer systems it may appear policy and as most people won't jump up and own it's not in their interest to fix it, unless the (toothless) regulator starts looking.

That is my experience with nPower as well. I'm pretty sure that is what is supposed to happen.

It can't be a "mixed bag" as the rules for switching are dictated by the regulator.

Well you simply start the process before the end of the current contract and set the switch date to the end of that contract. You haven't terminated early and you have no period at the default rate. Starting the process is NOT terminating the contract.

[fred]

And who do you complain to if they break the rules? Ofgem do not accept complaints from the public and the Energy Ombudsman only resolves financial disputes, they have told me that it outside their remit to investigate issues related to misleading terms and conditions.

The situation I referred to occurred last year and on checking that supplier's latest terms I see that they now reflect what I would expect, ie they will hold prices for your switch if you initiate it just after the end of a fixed price contract. Based on my experience however it is not a company I would consider in the future.

I'm not aware of any energy supplier that will accept a direction of when you want a switch to take place. IME they only let you initiate the process and then it is up to them. I have had a very switched on team move an account in about 10 days but they all say that it can take up to

6 weeks so when exactly should I have initiated my transfer to avoid a termination charge?

[Andy Burns]

Having signed up for the v9 deal

11.634p for leccy, 3.633p for gas 16.422p, 21.903p standing charges £15 paperless+dual fuel discounts, £70 direct debit discount £10 early exit fees

I got an alert from them today about the even newer v10 deal

same unit prices same standing charges £20 dual fuel, £10 paperless, £70 direct debit discounts same early exit fees

so in short the V10 compared to the v9 has an extra £15 of discounts.

I'm still within the 14 day cooling off period, so might as well go for it, at the risk of their billing system cocking something up and charging me multiple exit fees ...