Too Much Energy Needed to Swap Tariffs!

We've heard from Chris Huhne at the Lib Dems conference today that energy companies are going to have to make it easier for consumers to spot cheaper deals and switch suppliers. Take our situation for example. We've been with e-on for nearly a year now - the deal was good at the time I took it out. They have written to me to say the deal I had with their SaveOnline 3 tariff is coming to an end and they are transferring me to their Energy Online tariff. This they will do automatically if I don't get in touch; as they say, "you don't need to do anything else, we'll take care of everything."

But it then says, if I don't want to renew, I should have a look at their website where they are sure there's a deal just right for me.

So I have a look, and there is one, namely SaveOnline 10, which seems just about the same as what I'm already on! So I ring them up and ask why they haven't suggested I go onto this tariff. Ah, well, they tell me, that would involve going on to a new contract and they are not allowed by the watchdog to tell me about it!

Either there is something very badly wrong with the current regulations or they are lying! Or maybe it's a bit more complex. Maybe they make the most attractive tariff a new contract, so they don't have to tell me about it. Then they can try to 'con' me by automatically moving me to a more expensive rate.

Whatever the truth of it is, something needs doing about all this! With my estimated consumption for a year, this is how the monthly figures work out according to the spreadsheet I have created in order to try to compare prices:

Current tariff (which I'm on at the moment):	£80.45
New tariff (that they will put me on if I don't do anything):	£96.83
Alternative tariff (according to their website):	£90.07

As Chris Huhne said today, "We want simpler tariffs." Indeed we do!

(sorry about the big gap above, but the nice blog editing program seems to want to put lots of extra lines in before my table; even though I delete them, it puts them straight back! The trials and tribulations of blogging!)

Fuel costs ...

My sister-in-law has been on at me because I hadn't received my winter fuel allowance from the government, which, due to my age, I'm now entitled to. I rang up the people and was told that as I am on jobseeker's allowance at the moment, it comes through them. Seems to me a fairly incomprehensible piece of logic, but there you are.

Now it takes a number of phone calls over a number of days to manage to get through to the jobseeker's allowance number, but I finally succeed. By the time the phone is answered, the music has all but driven me mad! But I'm still sane enough to explain the situation and I must compliment the man I spoke to because he rang me back later and then rang me again today to say that the allowance should now be in my bank account. And it is!

In the meantime I decided to work out to see whether my energy providers (Scottish Power) are overcharging me on the monthly direct debit, which we hear British Gas are doing. Calculating the gas payment is not easy! But I constructed a spreadsheet on the computer which worked out the monthly charge, based on today's prices, on a year's worth of meter readings. It came out at £106.80. What are they charging me? £106! I was gutted! I was all ready to write and complain!

Oh well, never mind. It's good that they are not overcharging. But I will keep watch when energy prices go down - as they say they must. Well, the government say they must, the energy companies don't seem so sure!