So Cameron will force Electricity providers to switch customers to cheapest tariff

[escapeUK]

Just heard this on the radio, does this man have any clue? Any real world experience of anything?

So Im thinking to myself that clearly the providers will simply raise all prices to make up for this loss.

So I gets home to find an e-mail from Scottish power, from December they are putting my unit price up 21%

The reason peoples energy bills are too high isnt that people arent on the right tariff David, its because the providers are greedy fecking barstewards.

[doodab]

But it's a free market and benefits the consumer. St Margeret said so.

[d000hg]

There are already bodies who watch them for price fixing.

It's not exactly moronic to say a provider should automatically put customers on the best package for them. It might increase customer loyalty as well if you don't have to keep swapping provider every year or two to get the new deals.

[bless 'em all]

I don't want the cheap electricity. I want the best money can buy.

[hyperD]

There are already bodies who watch them for price fixing.

It's not exactly moronic to say a provider should automatically put customers on the best package for them. It might increase customer loyalty as well if you don't have to keep swapping provider every year or two to get the new deals.

I think mentioned in another thread, it's become the de facto in acquiring services nowadays to spend each year trawling through comparison sites to find the cheapest, rather than the olden days assurance of customer loyalty.

I may be wrong, but I get the feeling that the "free market" energy provider industry, amongst others, is masquerading as a quasi-cartel, with the assurance of the energy monitoring bodies being about as beneficial as the FSA is to the financial industry.

[Troll]

But it's a free market and benefits the consumer. St Margeret said so.

I seem to recall the role of the regulator being created to act as the market

Ofgem is the Office of the Gas and Electricity Markets. Protecting consumers is our first priority. We do this by promoting competition, wherever appropriate, and regulating the monopoly companies which run the gas and electricity networks. The interests of gas and electricity consumers are their interests taken as a whole, including their interests in the reduction of greenhouse gases and in the security of the supply of gas and electricity to them.

In case you are wondering where to direct your bullets

Lord John Mogg - Chairman
Alistair Buchanan - Chief Executive

Would be a good place to start as they have failed spectacularly & I also agree the politicians who dreamt up this and other monopolies (i.e. Railways) should also face the bullets

[louie]

I have premium grade electricity so it costs a bit more, but my devices will last much longer so it's worth it (So the chap told me), apparently its filtered for bad electrons. Glad I spoke to him, he is selling me a bridge that he owns for way below the real value.

[escapeUK]

I think mentioned in another thread, it's become the de facto in acquiring services nowadays to spend each year trawling through comparison sites to find the cheapest, rather than the olden days assurance of customer loyalty.

Who does that with utilities? Unlike insurance where you pay in advance for a year, its pointless to keep changing utility providers as as soon as you do the one you changed to put their prices up too.

[d000hg]

Maybe not every year but yes it's common. You DO have to keep an eye on which companies are already updated their prices each 'cycle', but there are websites which let you know when it's a good time to do a new comparison and when everyone isa bout to change prices.

[DodgyAgent]

Just heard this on the radio, does this man have any clue? Any real world experience of anything?

So Im thinking to myself that clearly the providers will simply raise all prices to make up for this loss.

So I gets home to find an e-mail from Scottish power, from December they are putting my unit price up 21%

The reason peoples energy bills are too high isnt that people arent on the right tariff David, its because the providers are greedy fecking barstewards.

British gas margins are 5% hardly greedy. The problem is that people are too lazy to shop around and look for the lowest prices. They prefer to moan instead, and this stupid government (who like labour have no understanding of how business works) pander to it.