Last year I wrote about the substantial discount that I was able to get from my existing energy supplier (both gas and electricity) simply by ringing them up and asking for it. I had completely forgotten that my deal expired on 31st March, and my energy supplier didn’t think of reminding me.
Instead they sent me a bill where the expiry date for the tariff I was on, just two weeks on from the date of the bill, was deeply hidden. However what was not hidden was a very misleading page of ‘Predicted’ costs for energy gas for the coming year. The problem with the ‘Predictions’ was that they were based on the tariff expiring in a few days.
I would have expected to have been reminded that the discount tariff was expiring and offered a similar tariff to roll-over on to. But no, not a word, instead I was placed on the ‘standard’ tariff – for ‘standard’ read the highest amount we think we can get away with charging, which would cost me a couple of hundred pounds more than the previous tariff.
It was only when I got one of my regular emails from u-switch that I realised my predicament. I have since phoned my energy supplier, been put on to a new discount tariff for 14 months and been offered both an apology and a refund of the overpayment since the end of March.
This is a completely unacceptable state of affairs. I suspect that most households, in particular the elderly or those not paying close attention to their bills, are spending far more on energy than they need to and it is not a trivial saving, £200 – £500 a year is common. Loyal customers are fleeced while ‘new’ customers are given sweetheart bills. This has become the normal way of doing business for energy, phone and insurance companies all of whom have a convenient hand in your pocket because they supply essential services and are not adequately regulated.
I know it takes time and is boring and annoying, but if you don’t shop around for essential utilities and services you will be taken for granted and overcharged.