EON sent me an annual statement

[nottslad]

@thedabara

 

The cheapest tariffs are usually contracted products, which incur exit fees for moving or are for a fixed period. You wouldn't be able to enter somebody in to one of these contracts without their express permission.

[nottslad]

@Old Cogger

 

If there were no standing charges, then unit rates would be higher. It's a catch-22 situation.

 

There's more to an energy bill than just the wholesale cost and a bit of profit for the supplier; things like government levies, maintenance costs, the cost of getting electricity to the meter (distribution costs) and a whole host of other things.

 

I agree with what you say about a meter being essential for a supply and this should be included, but the cost of it has got to come from somewhere.

 

EOn's profit is about 4.5% of every bill, which isn't a massive amount when you consider the profit margin of other goods and services for example milk and eggs from Tesco

[nottslad]

@ThedaBara it's quite uncommon for a meter to speed up as they get older, in my experience (far too many in the industry to want to say in public!!) meters tend to slow down more frequently than they speed up.

 

If you think it's looking a bit dodgy, it'd be worth speaking with EON to see if they can fit you a new smart meter, that way you know your bills are based on accurate meter reads and it wqould put to bed the query of whether your meter is wrong without having to risk £90 for an accuracy test.

[nottslad]

Agree with what you're saying, however if you can't afford to chance £90 on a meter accuracy test, can you continue to afford to be overcharged, if indeed you are?

 

Maybe it would help to think about what you're using, appliance wise. What is the energy consumption of that appliance and how long do you have it on for each day. That would give you a rough idea of how much your meter should be registering. Have a look at https://www.ukpower.co.uk/tools/running_costs_electricity which may help you with the costs - if you have instruction books then these will have the wattage of your appliances in.

 

If you dont want to switch, have a look at your eon account online and the best deal for you tool, it gives you all of the options and the features of each tariff so you can compare

[nottslad]

Age UK has suspended its fixed-price energy tariff with big six supplier E.On, the two companies announced today, after the controversial deal came under regulatory scrutiny.

 

The elderly person's charity said that the two-year fixed deal will no longer be offered to new or renewing customers from midnight on Wednesday, although existing contracts will be unaffected.

 

There are no exit fees so customers can switch at any point without incurring a charge.

 

The announcements follow allegations in the Sun newspaper on Thursday that Age UK was raking in £6m a year from recommending tariffs to pensioners that were not actually the cheapest on the market.

 

The report alleged that Age UK received about £41 from E.On for every person who signed up.

 

The average Age UK/E.On deal would cost pensioners £1,049 a year – £245 more than E.On's cheapest rate last year, the newspaper claimed.

 

This happened quite a while ago old cogger, and was partly due to the fact AgeUK were paid per supply contract agreed, in the same way any energy broker was... At the time the tariff was launched though it was one of the cheapest on the market. When legislation was brought in to limit the number of tariffs a supplier can offer through the market reform this was a blow to consumer choice in my opinion. It was supposed to make the market clearer and easier to understand, but the same issues are still faced

[nottslad]

Hi TB, when was the estimate to? There will be a consideration of extra standing charges, but it doesnt sound right that 250kWh would come to the same amount as 400kWh, perhaps Malc could provide you with his email address so he can have a look?

[nottslad]

There's been no redundancies at EON...

 

I think part of the difficulty may be that as a customer service rep, Malc, like all agents, are going to be limited to what they can say and must use the official company response to these questions, which are crafted by people in marketing departments.

 

Re the cheapest deal, no supplier can tell you, but they can assist in helping you make an informed decision. Generally, go for the one with the lowest unit rate, even if the standing charge is a couple of pence higher - this is then going to most likely be the best option

 

TB - have you been through a list of what you're using as suggested previously? Have you spoken to the consumption disputes team at EON?

 

Also is your meter one rate or two rate - are you on economy 7?

[nottslad]

Well… I have signed up to EDF… probably swapped one rip off merchant for another… but we shall see… at least on the form I filled in, the quote for electricity (for a 2 bed bungalow with single occupant) was two thirds cheaper than it is at EON! TB

 

Just make sure the unit rate is cheaper, not just what they are quoting as your direct debit amount

[nottslad]

Thanks… yes they are! TB

 

Excellent