Getting a new energy tariff - or not

Do any suppliers have quarterly billing combined with quarterly variable direct debits ?. BT used to offer this but I think they have removed such a payment option.

I'm waiting for EDF to get back to me and email the relevant information. Hmm - do I see hell freezing over?...

I know my exact usage, and have fed both annual kWh figures into the calculators at EDF and comparison websites.

The whole system is designed to be as opaque and impenetrable as possible. Why else do we need all those switch sites to do what should be a fairly simple calculation? I didn't actually check the total number (including those no longer available), but when I looked at the EDF tariff list, it seemed there were approaching 100 different tariffs there. I have no doubt the other big players have a similar number.

One other thing which really annoys me is that nearly all websites require your actual address as well as your postcode. Why? How many places are there where the houses on either side will be on completely different tariff offers? Some comparison sites don't need the full address. If they don't, why do the others insist on it? It's just to get you on yet another database somewhere.

There used to be a company called Enron who did that, and more recently Greensill.

EDF tells me that "Pay As You Go" is a new way to pay if you have a smart meter. I assume that means monthly or quarterly direct debit based on actual usage. But it's not easy to find that method on their website or comparison ones.

But there was a strange comment on what seemed to be a similar type of tariff. They set up a standard amount DD to be paid quarterly, but asked for the actual meter reading when the bill was due. They added that a meter reading should not be sent to them unless it was asked for. Why am I cynical enough to believe that they /might/ forget to ask for one in summer when the DD would be much higher than the actual amount used, but be quick off the mark in winter when the actual amount would be higher than the DD?

I'm not convinced - it's ripe for cartels.

That said, my supplier (Yorkshire Energy) has just gone bust, which was of no surprise to me as the prices were about 25% less than the nearest competitor. I had relatively cheap fuel for a year, and I'm sure those managing it all did OK too.

Err, are you confusing EDF the state-owned operator of some of Britains Nukes, and EDF *Energy* which was sold (by EDF) in 2012 to a Hong Kong based zillionaire (but still uses the EDF moniker for the retail operations) ?. This company is actually called UK Power networks or something similar. It is nothing to do with the French government. quite why they are allowed to trade as 'EDF' is a mystery.

Before EDF Energy, it was known as SEEBoard and after privatisation was bought by EDF (France).

Or bother with customer service, like GPO telephones who made customers remember that they should be content that the GPO accepted them a customer.

And without a profit (actually massive losses every year) the only money for investment was by government dictat and public borrowing. This is why raw sewage was just dumped into the sea all around the coast (cheaper than treating it).

Seems to make sense with the car industry, TV industry, Smart Phone industries, ...

Why did BMW and VW thrive while British Leyland and Rootes Group self-destructed ?

There is no way of interconnecting water supplies across the country. Until that happens there cannot be a way for a 3rd party to buy water from the cheapest source.

And water supply is only half the equation. removing and treating 'grey /foul + surface water' is the other half.

So am I. EDF sent me an email stating that prices would be going up in april and it is all Ofgems 'fault'.

I am seriously considering Octopus Agile because I can easily shift usage away from 16:00 to 19:00, but needs a dreaded smart meter.

Well, as EdF have given you such a rough time I'd guess that one definite decision is to leave them !

PA

Are you insinuating BMW and VW should have been bankrupt in short time and BL / Rootes should have cornered the market?

The cost is more like 1/3 for the water and 2/3 for treating wastewater. I had a water meter fitted to a garden tap because I was paying the water company for something they weren't doing. The meter will pay for itself in 2 - 3 years at current usage.

I think it is called variable direct debit. Pay As You Go may be a specific EDF product name.

I certainly would not agree to that. I want them to create the bill, allow me access to check it and collect the money a suitable number of days later. That AIUI is what variable direct debit does.

I don't have one either, but I would consider one and DD *IF* the supplier would guarantee that the payment, whether monthly or quarterly, would be based on actual usage and not on assumed usage. Heating here is by gas, although the logburner helps in winter. I reckon I've got enough logs and some solid fuel to last another 5 years for "average" winters. It'll probably be banned after that as environmentally unfriendly!

My annual Southern water bill was £330/year. Since being on a meter I pay about £120/year (v little garden usage).