Wholesale prices v retail ripoff!

  • MAW's Avatar
    Level 13
    @Mailman I pay by card online, and on time. There should be no price tariff prejudice against that. Every single time Ive gone the DD route in the past Ive noticed Icve paid an incorrect amount, always too much, and its too late, the money has gone and theres a big argument to get it back. No, I pay for what I use when the bill comes in.
    Last edited by MAW; 21-10-23 at 22:50.
  • MAW's Avatar
    Level 13
    "Of course you can't get a fixed tariff - they are only available to customers who opt to pay by direct debit." ... that prejudice shouldnt be allowed. It cannot be justified.
  • Mailman's Avatar
    Level 56
    @Mailman I pay by card online, and on time. There should be no price tariff prejudice against that.

    A different (and possibly legitamate) point to the one you originally posted about.

    Maybe time to lock this thread as this has morphed into something different to that originally posted. 👍
  • MAW's Avatar
    Level 13
    "I don't need to think about it. I just enjoy much lower bills than you do." do your sums. You will find that "much lower" isnt quite right. All that additional up front you pay in the warmer ligher months could be earning you 5% in the bank. Instead its EON thats earning the 5%, or even more depending on how they use it.
  • retrotecchie's Avatar
    Level 92
    @MAW

    You can cancel a direct debit or have it reversed under the Direct Debit Guarantee if you are in dispute with the amount taken.

    Regional price variations...the cheapest region is Yorkshire for a kWh of electricity at 26.52p a unit. The most expensive is London at 28.43p. That is a difference of 7% on the unit charge for payment by Direct Debit.

    For the standing charges, the cheapest is London at 38.52p per day. the most expensive is Mersey and North Wales at 62.23p per day. A difference of 61%

    The tariff for any region is the combination of Standing Charge and the Unit Price. If you work out the numbers, say using 10kWh a day of energy and the standing charge, there are very significant regional variations.

    Where I am, that cost per day is about £3.29 a day. if I lived in Yorkshire, that same day would cost me £3.21. In London I would be paying £3.22 for the same 10kWh.

    If I only used 5 units a day, the prices would be £1.91 for me, £1.88 in Yorkshire and £1.80 in London.

    However those unit and SC prices I quoted are for standard variable tariff Direct Debit Customers only. Prices are higher for non DD customers.

    And customers who opt to pay by DD and therefore have access to cheaper tariffs will pay less than the variable rate.

    You said in a previous post that you are paying 'more than your neighbours', so rule out regional variations. But if they pay by DD and they are on the variable tariff, they will be paying a minimum of 7% less. As they pay by DD and have access to cheaper fixes because of that, they may well be paying significantly less than 7% than you are.
    Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player. I DON'T work for or on behalf of EON.Next, but am willing to try and help if I can. Not on mains gas, mobile network or mains drainage. House heated almost entirely by baby dragons.
  • retrotecchie's Avatar
    Level 92
    "I don't need to think about it. I just enjoy much lower bills than you do." do your sums. You will find that "much lower" isnt quite right. All that additional up front you pay in the warmer ligher months could be earning you 5% in the bank. Instead its EON thats earning the 5%, or even more depending on how they use it.

    I pay my bill in full every month. I pay less in summer and more in winter because I do not fix my DD across the year. That is how Variable Direct Debit works. My account balance every month is zero. They don't make any interest on my balance as there isn't any.



    Anyway, I shall no longer continue with this debate. You have your opinions and I have mine. I'll carry on doing my thing and enjoying lower bills than you.
    Last edited by retrotecchie; 21-10-23 at 18:09.
  • MAW's Avatar
    Level 13
    If you pay your bills every month on a variable DD, why should you get a better tariff than me who pays the same in terms of variable amounts each month, but by card online? You seem to be struggling with that question.

    Its not really about opinions so much, its about justifying restrciting access to tariffs to those who pay a certain way. The differential is wayyyy to high to justify it.
  • MAW's Avatar
    Level 13
    "You can cancel a direct debit or have it reversed under the Direct Debit Guarantee if you are in dispute with the amount taken. "

    Yeah but its an extra layer of faff they know puts people off so if a bill is too much and incorrect they are more than likely to persusde the custome to leave the money with them rather than give it back.

    They should be forced to give equal access to all tariffs to everyone who pays bills ontime regardless of how they pay. Simple as

    And Im still searching for a fixed price tariff on gas.
  • WizzyWigg's Avatar
    Level 77
    Im looking at the Forward Delivery Contract prices on OFGEMs website.

    Wholesale prices for electrcity and gas are nearly 80% down from the peak of a year ago. They have been this low since April. Why are we being thrown literal crumbs instead of benefitting from this enourmous collapse in energy prices?
    This article by Martin Lewis and particularly the video, from the beginning of the year, is very informative.

    https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ne...lesale-prices/
  • JoeSoap's Avatar
    Level 91
    ... And Im still searching for a fixed price tariff on gas.

    I pay a fixed price for gas and I believe all the others you are debating with here do too. You have the same choice as us but for your own reasons you won't choose a fixed tariff that has to be paid by DD, even if it's a variable DD where you only pay the exact amount of the bill and never build up a credit balance. You are stuck with the higher variable prices by your own choice, I'm afraid.
    I'm an Eon Next dual fuel customer with no particular expertise but have some time on my hands that I am using to try and help out a bit.