Understanding utility bills getting harder

It has been claimed by officials from consumer watchdog group Consumer Focus that understanding gas and electricity bills is actually getting more difficult for some people, despite the fact that the energy regulator Ofgem has issued new rules that are aimed at making it easier for consumers to understand their utility bills from energy companies.

Around 10 percent of income is spent on gas and electricity, and officials are concerned that with the most expensive time of the year nearly upon us, where consumers will be using more energy due to the weather, many could end up paying over the odds because they are unable to work out what they should be paying.

The concerns come after it was revealed that one of the big six energy giants in the UK, Npower, had been inadvertently overcharging over one million households across the country, and those affected had not even noticed that they were paying too much for their energy usage.

Officials from Consumer Focus said that whilst Ofgem was trying to make it easier for consumers to understand their energy bills and avoid paying over the odds the situation actually appeared to be getting worse. This could be a combination of people finding it hard to work out what they should be paying or people simply not bothering to check their energy bills.

A spokesperson for Consumer Focus said: “If anything, we are seeing more complexity than before the rules came in. If I was an Npower customer, I would never have noticed that I was being overcharged. People don’t want their energy to be confusing – they want to be able to switch the lights on and forget it, but instead there are all these ridiculous structures.”

Tags: combination, energy bills, electricity bills, Consumer Focus, ofgem, consumer watchdog, energy giants

Energy firms probed over price differences

Two UK energy firms are being quizzed and investigated by regulators over differences in prices in different parts of the country, according to recent reports. Questions are being asked over why the energy providers are charging a particular price in one part of the country and a different price in another part of the country.

Amongst the discrepancies that appear to have been picked up is the fact that the price that the companies are charging in areas where they need to compete more is different to the price being charged in other areas. According to reports the two energy firms, which have not been named, are being asked ’serious questions’ by the UK’s energy regulator, Ofgem.

Ofgem has stated that if an official investigation is launched following the initial questioning then the two energy suppliers will be named. It was announced last year that energy firms could not apply price differences for no reason and that any difference in prices for energy usage had to reflect differences in cost to the actual supplier.

These changes, which were brought in last year by Ofgem, resulted in many energy customers seeing their bills falling, and in recent months the prices for those that were using a prepayment meter had dropped impressively from £111 to £69.

Whilst the questioning of the two energy firms continues industry experts have suggested that consumers who feel that they are being charged too much on their energy usage look into switching to a different provider. Many are surprised to find that when they do this they can get their energy far cheaper than with their current provider.

Christine McGourty, director of Energy UK, said: “Suppliers compete across all payment methods and tariffs, so it is important for customers to shop around to make sure they are on the best deal.”

Tags: energy providers, energy, ofgem, energy suppliers, energy regulator

Energy firm switches customers to higher priced tariffs

German owned energy firm NPower has shifted tens of thousands of its customers onto higher priced tariffs in a bid to retaliate at the energy regulator Ofgem. The move comes after Ofgem said that companies must only offer deals to customers that reflect the actual cost of providing the power.

The requirement was made by the regulator in a bid to reduce the cost of energy for many customers. However, Npower has been described as acting ‘petulantly’ by stating that it works both ways and subsequently moving thousands of its customers onto deals that could see them paying up to 25 percent more for their energy.

The supplier, which has over six million customers, said that the changes that Ofgem has made to its licensing requirements has forced it to cancel the deals that have seen customers moved over to more costly tariffs. Whilst some of the customers that have been switched had come to the end of their special deals, others had taken deals that had no expiry date attached and have simply found themselves simply shunted onto poor value deals.

An official from a popular comparison site said that Npower had turned the tables on the regulator but offering its consumers poor deals as a result of the changes when the regulator had been aiming for consumers to get better results because of the changes that it has put into place.

He said: “This is a petulant move from Npower which demonstrates its disregard for customers who signed up to cheaper online tariffs. Ofgem’s guidelines were designed to encourage energy providers to offer all customers equally good deals, but Npower seems to have turned that on its head and decided to offer all customers equally bad ones.”

Tags: energy, tariffs, ofgem, Npower, energy providers

Huge fine for energy firm

One of the UK’s big six energy firms received an unexpected Christmas present from the UK’s energy regulator, Ofgem…in the form of a fine for nearly £2 million for mis-selling its contracts to customers. The regulator announced just before Christmas that the energy giant, NPower, was to be fined £1.8 million for failing to take the necessary action in relation to stopping the mis-selling of its contracts to customers. Read more

Tags: mystery, licence standards, energy giant, sale, Complaint, behaviour, ofgem, energy firm fine

Rising Energy Costs Could Be Disastrous For Households

With the rising costs of gas and oil, millions of households in the UK could find themselves in critical financial difficulty in the coming months. This is the warning of an MP committee in light of the fact that the energy costs faced by many manufacturing companies in the UK are substantially higher than in the rest of Europe. Read more

Tags: ofgem, foresight, lack, manufacturing, europe, Household, storage, gas producing companies

Ofgem figures show consumers are using “their buying power”

Data from Ofgem showing that over five million energy customers have switched supplier in the past year is a sign that customers are using “their buying power”, according to a consumer advisory service.

Which? said that energy customers need to keep looking out for the best deal as there are significant price differences between companies.

Siobhan, Parker from Switch with Which? said: “The fact that 5 million people switched last year shows that consumers are using their buying power and taking their business elsewhere if they’re not on the best tariff.”

She added that there are still improvements to be made as the research showed that nearly half of UK households have never changed supplier while even those who have already switched may find that new tariffs could offer further savings.

Figures released showed that 5.1 million consumers transferred their business to a different company in an attempt to find a cheaper deal.

This is the highest number of switchers for five years, said the body.

Tags: half, attempt, uk households, price, body