For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
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By eltonioni
#1884192
Price caps are like speed limits - a target not a maximum.
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By Sooty25
#1884230
Propwash wrote:Things generally work better where any government involvement is either non-existent or kept to an absolute minimum. I have never understood why there should be a government imposed price cap on energy prices in a market which is supposed to be competitive. Left alone, surely market forces would self-regulate as consumers ditched uncompetitive companies? At least then, in unusual times like these where global prices are so volatile, companies would be more likely to accept customers who are forced to switch rather view them as additional liabilities.

I always thought Ronald Reagan had the right idea about government meddling in things.

PW


I think the caps are partially in there to protect those on low incomes who buy energy a fiver at a time from the corner shop. Their choice of supplier being even smaller, and the ability to change even more difficult.
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By Flyingfemme
#1884246
Indeed; in order to go to a new supplier, first you must have an account to give them. I still don't have one.........

Next, you must find a new supplier. Nobody is accepting new customers at the moment.

And the cap is predicated on everyone having both electricity and gas. If you only have electricity you are spending a whole lot more than the cap would seem to indicate.

The whole "balanced payments over 12 months" thing was broken. Yorkshire Energy set a silly, low monthly payment and went bust - I owed them £400. I paid that instantly when asked and spent the next 6 months fighting off debt collectors claiming they had not received any money...........Green Energy had a policy of "reviewing" DDs every 3 months - actually after the first month (January, so quite high) and refusing to drop the DD when consumption dropped in the spring. Eventually I simply cancelled the DD, used up the huge credit balance until they went bust as well, this time owing me £150. No sign of that yet.

Just as well I'm not on a strict budget. I'd much prefer to get a monthly bill and pay it but few suppliers allow that. I'm sick and tired of spending so much time and effort on what should be a small, routine part of life. Doing it for 4 properties is life-sapping.
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By skydriller
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1884278
@Flyingfemme I feel for you.

EDF sends me a bill every 2 months. I pay it. End of.

Regards, SD..
By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1884353
Just renewed with EON Next increase of £40 pcm on the DD
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By Flyingfemme
#1884622
Today Shell sent me an email saying I sould "activate" my account online. Great, I thought, at last some information. It made me set a password and asked me for a reading............
Nothing there about my actual account; no account number,no address, no meter details, no tariff or prices. In fact, a total waste of effort.
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By Propwash
#1884629
Just had an email from my energy supplier saying how they regret the necessity but my direct debits will be going up by:

£9 per month for electricity
£7 per month for gas

Then they gave me the good news that both accounts are currently in credit. :roll:

PW
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By Sooty25
#1884654
Flyingfemme wrote:Today Shell sent me an email saying I sould "activate" my account online. Great, I thought, at last some information. It made me set a password and asked me for a reading............
Nothing there about my actual account; no account number,no address, no meter details, no tariff or prices. In fact, a total waste of effort.


An account isn't the same as a contract, just make sure that any t&c's you agree to setting up the account don't terminate your existing contract.
By Colonel Panic
#1884655
Having been booted out of green.energy and swept up by Shell it was amazing just quite how quickly (less than a week) they sent the men in to remove my meter upon my request - it was almost as if they were happy to cease the supply ... :roll:
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By Flyingfemme
#1884714
Sooty25 wrote:
Flyingfemme wrote:Today Shell sent me an email saying I sould "activate" my account online. Great, I thought, at last some information. It made me set a password and asked me for a reading............
Nothing there about my actual account; no account number,no address, no meter details, no tariff or prices. In fact, a total waste of effort.


An account isn't the same as a contract, just make sure that any t&c's you agree to setting up the account don't terminate your existing contract.

I have no contract - absolutely no idea what I am supposed to pay. They sent me some prices a few weeks ago, for a single rate tariff. Then later, sent an email saying that, if I was on Economy 7 (I am) I would be getting an Economy 7 tariff. No details.
In any other business I would be free to take my custom elsewhere. But here, I am trapped since I cannot exist without power..........
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By Flyin'Dutch'
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1884718
Another free market experiment gone south and left for the population to pick up the pieces when the shareholders have gone with the dough...

Private enterprise is good but maybe not for everything and not without some sensible regulation and after some thought has gone into the process.
johnm, kanga, Flyingfemme and 1 others liked this
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By Tall_Guy_In_a_PA28
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1884804
Flyin'Dutch' wrote:Another free market experiment gone south and left for the population to pick up the pieces when the shareholders have gone with the dough...

Private enterprise is good but maybe not for everything and not without some sensible regulation and after some thought has gone into the process.


Agree with that except for the shareholders dough. I doubt any of the failing energy companies have paid a penny in dividends as they are in the growth / investment phase. Investors will have lost everything.

I just had a quick look through the accounts for Bulb and their parent company and that is certainly the case there. I was about to fall into the same trap and accuse the Directors of overpaying themselves, but actually the published salaries and pensions of the top two directors is pretty low for that level (about the same as a London GP). They and other staff had lots of share options but they are worthless now.

I think the only winners here are the Russian oligarchs at the top of the gas 'tree'. And Putin of course.
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1885423
Slight tread drift :
I have a two year fixed rate dual fuel contract which runs till June next year with EDF.

My problem is they are getting increasingly active trying to get me to have a smart meter.

I have resisted so far as I I have always believed smart meters to be ‘a bad thing’.

Am I right to continue resisting?

I frankly don’t see how we can save any more money ; we have LED lights throughout the house andI am anal about turning them off . We have a mega insulated draught proof house with a vacuum test certificate to prove it .

There is a Heatmiser in every room and upstairs heating is off unless we have guests.

I turned all the baseline temps down a degree this year and overnight temp settings in main rooms are reduced, though Im not convinced of the value of this given the ‘lag’ of underfloor heating.

Should I yield and get a smart meter or continue to tough it out?
By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1885427
Smart meters aren't, yet..... the only benefit is to the supplier who can do remote meter reading. In my house the existing meters are too far apart so smart meters simply don't work.

I wouldn't bother.
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