State Sponsored Highway Robbery!
Hi all, really annoyed about this, and I am going to have a rant!
HWMO says my stubborn streak is my own fault for not switching Energy supplier over the years when he said we should. But you know how it is. We have been with our Electricity supplier for over 45 years and I hate change, especially when one hears of the many difficulties customers have experienced when changing their supplier. So it was always a case of “better the devil you know”. Not any more though. I fully intend to start shopping around for the best deal, scary as the thought is, especially as a lot of these energy firms offering tempting deals are in danger of going bust after winter. I could well end up choosing a supplier, it goes bust, and we end up on a replacement energy supplier not of our choosing, on a default tariff at the most expensive rate.
When we first bought our home all those years ago, there was already a pre-payment electricity meter installed. Great!, I thought, we’ll keep that, no Electricity bill, just buy as we use it.(mind you, bills were so much cheaper then). So over 40 years ago we used to buy £20 of Electricity every Monday, which did us fine until the following week. Of course, I knew that we always paid more than those not on a pre-payment meter, but I stubbornly thought “At least I will never receive an electricity bill”.
Now, many years later. That price has of course doubled and we buy £50 each week over the winter period and by the time spring/summer arrives, we are always in credit and that does us fine. Our Gas supplier, is paid quarterly by DD.
Anyway, I was really pleased at the end of last year to learn that OFGEN had placed a price cap on energy suppliers supplying electricity to prepayment customers (now known as pay-as-you-go) and was to commence 1st January 2019. This would be reviewed every SIX MONTHS. Very good. Something in the customers’ favour for a change.
Then, before the ink on their desks were flippin dry, customers were THEN informed by OFGEN that because fuel prices had risen, they were going to raise the price cap for energy companies to take wholesale fuel rises into account. (correct me if I am wrong, but 1st Jan to 1st April in anyone's book is three months, not six!!)
Today, we received a notification stating that they are increasing my price on 1st April 2019 but not above the price cap) I looked at how much extra we would be paying and my jaw dropped. It’s an extra £209 per annum! (£17.42 per month). So much for OFGEN and it’s six monthly review.
Old Annual account details
Tariff - Standard Payment Method - Pay As You Go.
Current annual cost £1,729 New annual cost £1,938 Increase in Cost £209.
(This is based on previous 12 months energy usage)
Now I appreciate that as pensioners,and being just the two of us now, we have £200 per annum towards energy bills, and we are most grateful for that, also for the fact that we are fortunate to be able to afford to pay the extra.
But how in God’s name are vulnerable people such as pensioners on a fixed income and those on benefits able to afford such a price hike???? And how can a government allow such a rise to fall on those who are least able to afford it?
OFGEN are absolutely useless and has no teeth. They seem to be full of concern that the energy companies have seen wholesale fuel charges rise and bending over backwards to accommodate them. What about the dozens of times energy prices have tumbled? where was the concern for customers paying too much?
Do you agree?