Changing energy suppliers

[kellys_eye]

I checked, using one of the typical online comparisons, whether I was getting a good deal on my electricity (no gas here) supply to find that othr companies could do better to the extent of saving my some £350/year.

No brainer (you'd think) so I applied online to have the supplier changed. After a month of nothing happening I called them to see why they hadn't made the change to be told "it's because 'x-company' owns your meter" (or words to that effect, it was actually Mrs k_e that got that message when talking to them) so they WOULDN'T allow us to take advantage of lower rates.

Can an energy supplier REFUSE to take your business?? Why would a certain meter 'owner' stop a transfer request being processed? I know they can refuse you if you are in debt to your current supplier (we're not) or there is a pre-payment meter fitted (there isn't) but can't find any example online of anyone being refused a transfer request because of meter ownership issues????

They may have also indicated that they can't do it any cheaper (although that fact wasn't fully established by Mrs k_e) but their online comparison was pretty determined that substantial savings COULD be made.

Are we being given the run around? If so, why? and are those comparison sites 'accurate' (i.e. are the savings they state are possible actually valid?)

[camallison]

You are being given the run around. The meter is a so-called transferable asset and, as long as it isn't one of the new smart meters, it is transferred with the account. In the case of there being a smart meter currently, then the new supplier will just fit a new meter.

I was with an energy supplier's metering division before retiring and have just checked to see if my understanding is still current. YES, it is.

Colin

[big-all]

new one on me

you need to swap every year or at the end off your fixed contract or you will pay far to much

you also need to look at more than one switching site
mse are fairly impartial
and pay you half the usually sixty quid they get after a few months
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/

[kellys_eye]

Kind of expected the answer would be 'the run-a-round' - tw@ts...... Whether or not this indicates collusion between the suppliers I don't know (but suspect is the case, totally unprovable though).

Our current rate is around 18.1p/kW standard and 9p/kW off-peak. Sounds rather high to me but I kind of accept that rural Scotland picks up a 'remote location' fee which is sort-of acceptable but still, I've heard of people getting around 10p/kW so makes me wonder WTF is going on???

Our annual consumption amounts to some £1350 worth at last check.

[camallison]

Send me a PM with the name of your current supplier and the one you wish to move to, plus a rough location of your property. There won't be collusion (they're too thick to do that), but most likely a call-centre operator who is reading from the wrong script.

Colin

[caravan72]

Sorry Guys but most of this is wrong! They can refuse to take over certain electric supplies as some suppliers have what they call 'Radio controled Tariffs' that determine how long you have access to cheap rate times, in these situations when the tariff is supplied soley by the supplier in your area other suppliers are reluctant to take the supply on! as they have no control over the times supplied. I'm an energy advisor and deal with power related problems every day, if they do take over one of these supplies it can cause all sorts of billing problems as they don't have a computerised billing procedure for these tariffs, I've had clients in these situations that have been waiting up to 2 years for a bill! sometimes they try to change the meter so you do not have access to cheap rate power during the day such as in the Hydro area, typical 'Total heating Total control' and correct me if I'm wrong in the Scottish power area they have 'Comfort control' so when they chnage the meter you are being converted to 8hrs overnight cheap rate for storage heating and loose the access to any low rate during ther day, if I visit a client after a transfer like this and they havn't tried to change the meter or are going to I advise the client not to let them, if this has been already done, I advise them to transfer back to their original supplier and get the metering reversed back to the original. This situation can cause so much problems, one client had transferred and she had a pre-payment meter thery couldn't re-set this as they didn't have a suitable tariff so they worked out over a period what she had used for her heating rate and set an amount of.....wait for it £50 a week for her heating, she was on a low income so in order to access the emergency credit each week she had ro put in £50 for her heat then a further £20 to clear the EC to access it again! Wrong again, you can transfer with a debt but this moves to the new supplier and there is a limit to this, their is an official figure but this varies between suppliers. If any one out there manages to transfer in these situations, Do not let them change your meter and if you look at the tariff they are billing you with, If they bill you! most times you are better off. No supplier is obliged to take over these tariffs but if they do, this can cause tons of problems! I have seen this countless times.

[kellys_eye]

The promised savings by changing supplier amount to over £400/year If this figure is what I'm paying to (effectively) subsidise the cabling of power across the country then it's a scam of massive proportions.

I understand the 'comfort heating' aspect but surely any company that bills you can do so purely on the readings they take, whether or not these fall outwith the standard 8-hour economy tariff? OK so the customer is going to be paying more for those 2 hours but this surely can't amount to £400+ per year?

All I take from this 'complication' is that we're (the remote locations) are being right royally scammed. Tw@ts.

[Rorschach]

I dread to think what it is going to be like once these smart meters get installed. You will be locked into a company and then they can bleed you dry.

[kellys_eye]

I've heard reports (not substantiated by actual fact but the principle seems far too applicable to be ignored as anything less than potential...) that the 'smart meters' can be adjusted to make you pay whatever rate they deem is appropriate and that it's quite possible to add 'fees' and/or 'fines' to your electricity consumption/prices - for example, refusing to buy a TV licence? Jack up your electricity tariff to 'include it'. Got a parking fine to pay? Same. Council tax - ditto. The opportunities for using Smart Meters to get revenue don't just start and end at you paying for electricity.......

[Argyll]

I dread to think what it is going to be like once these smart meters get installed. You will be locked into a company and then they can bleed you dry.

Surely that can't happen. That would breach competition laws.

[big-all]

smart meters measure flow they do not determine the cost off a unit your contract determines that unless its prepayment meter

as for overcharging they are not you chose the contract at those terms
you are made aware off changes to charges at the end off your contract
yes the use use words like "cheaper than our standard tariff " but dont mention its still more expensive
also remember you can swap 7 weeks before you fixed term ends by law its actually 50 days but 7 weeks saves the argument off iff your contract started at midnight etc

[kellys_eye]

CURRENT rules may prevent the mismanagement of Smart Meters but the basic principle behind their introduction is to provide a means of 'sliding scale' for energy consumption - this is called "supply-side demand" - and the way they implement it is to adjust the RATE at which your meter measures the power flowing through it. Instead of counting (say) 1,000 pulses for each kW they can set it to count only 100 pulses per kW in which case you're paying 10x as much for the energy used.

Worst case is that they can limit your consumption (make it trip if you exceed a set level) or even turn it off completely if you don't make the payments etc - all remotely. Variable tariff rates are therefore perfectly possible and the reason why these 'smart' meters are being installed in the first place.

But they don't advertise all that........

[big-all]

any alterations outside the contract are illegal
yes i realise that doesnt stop them
i for one would notice a say 10% increase in use or costs
i read my meters every week and on the 21st

[caravan72]

I dread to think what it is going to be like once these smart meters get installed. You will be locked into a company and then they can bleed you dry.

you are are not locked into a company if you have smart meters fitted what you do loose if you change suppliers is the ability of the meter to send your meter information (readings) over the internet you still retain the use of the monitor inside your house that advises you how much energy you are using and what it has cost you, you can reset the unit price to suit whoever you have chnaged to.

[caravan72]

The promised savings by changing supplier amount to over £400/year If this figure is what I'm paying to (effectively) subsidise the cabling of power across the country then it's a scam of massive proportions.

I understand the 'comfort heating' aspect but surely any company that bills you can do so purely on the readings they take, whether or not these fall outwith the standard 8-hour economy tariff? OK so the customer is going to be paying more for those 2 hours but this surely can't amount to £400+ per year?

All I take from this 'complication' is that we're (the remote locations) are being right royally scammed. Tw@ts.

You don't have to be in a remote location you can be in a city and the same applies.