Posts Tagged ‘supplier’
Consumers are still facing pressure on their finances from utility suppliers despite a number of price cuts, it has been suggested.
Findings released by uSwitch indicate that bills increased by some 38 per cent, or 277 pounds, over the course of 2006. However, following a 56 per cent decrease in wholesale energy prices so far this year, providers are only said to have implemented price cuts of up to 100 pounds. With just over three quarters (78 per cent) of consumers not making full use of more competitive deals offered by other providers, the price comparison website suggested that Britons may not receive the 177 pounds each (a total of more than 3 billion pounds) that they are still owed in reductions. Meanwhile, the firm also raised concerns that suppliers will use seasonal variations in wholesale prices as an excuse to stave off from making any more cuts, despite many energy companies being “well positioned” to do so.
Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy for uSwitch, claimed that unless households fail to act then pressure on their finances could continue, which in turn may extend to increased difficulties in paying off loans and credit cards. She said: “The clock is ticking and consumers could see this window of opportunity slammed shut in their faces unless they continue to force the issue with suppliers. The price war kicked off because of consumer power – British Gas, the first supplier to cut prices, did so in response to losing over one million customers and then the other suppliers followed suit. Consumers now need to keep the pressure on and make competition work for themselves”.
She added that the best way for consumers to reduce the pressure utility bills put on their finances is by “taking action themselves” and switching to a cheaper provider. “The benefits will be twofold while price cuts to date amount to 100 pounds, a consumer could save over 200 pounds by switching from their incumbent supplier to the cheapest dual fuel plan. But also, by voting with their feet, consumers may force suppliers to cut prices again”, Ms Robinson suggested.
Overall, only one out of eight British households are reported to be on the cheapest energy deal being offered by suppliers. Meanwhile, 2.4 million households are losing out on about 174 million pounds every year by not paying their bills via direct debt, as 4.2 million miss out on 42 million pounds by not moving to a dual fuel tariff, uSwitch asserts. Findings from the price comparison website also indicated that 9.3 million consumers are still to change utility provider, with an estimated 69 per cent of the over-60s yet to do so.
In related news, figures released by MoneyExpert earlier this year revealed the proportion of consumers switching to more competitively-priced financial products has fallen. Currently, the number of people moving provider on areas such as secured loans was said to have decreased by 5.4 million from a similar survey conducted at the start of 2007. Overall, some 54 per cent of the Britons were reported to have not switched over the last six months – an increase of five per cent from research carried out during the last quarter.
Gas supply is an indispensable requirement for every person. This is because of its multiple uses which makes it the major requirement of every household. There are several energy suppliers existing in the UK market for attaining the energy requirements of the people. We all are familiar with the fact that our energy requirements are growing day by day. Looking at the increasing demand of gas among the people, the Energy Suppliers are trying their best to meet these increasing demands of people. Mostly all the energy suppliers in UK are licensed holders so there is no need to suspect their reliability. Apart from offering quality services to the people, these suppliers also maintain a proper record of people. If the users faces any problem, it is the responsibility of the supplier to unravel the problem immediately. All is done in a legal manner. These suppliers also come forward with various new plus attractive deals so as to facilitate the users in a better way. Some of the famous suppliers are British gas, N power, E.ON, Scottish power etc. Out of all these energy suppliers, British gas is the leading supplier. It is a UK-owned company and a part of the Centrica group as well. This company is performing a great job by supplying gas, electricity as well as dual fuel to the people. Duel fuel includes both gas and electricity. This energy supplier is well known among the people because of its good quality services. The British gas deals available at cost effective prices also are proving beneficial to the users. British gas offers various tariffs to the users. The most competitive tariff which is offered by this company to the people is Websaver4. It is an online tariff offering discounts for managing the account. It also offers a Standard tariff to the users. In addition to these two tariffs, green energy tariffs called as Future Energy and Zero Carbon are also offered by the British gas. These environmentally conscious tariffs help in developing renewable energy sources and reducing the carbon footprint. This company also offers other products which include boiler installation, HomeCare central heating maintenance and repair service. Prepayment meters are also provided by this energy supplier.
The British Gas corporation was formed in the year 1973 followed by a division of twelve old Gas Boards into various regions each of which was responsible for a particular geographical area. The company also offers a free bespoke ‘Energy Savers Report’. This report plays an important role of guiding the people about the ways of saving energy.
During this tough time, when there is economic crisis across the world, it is very important to choose the cheapest deal. There are many websites available today which perform the task of informing the people about the various energy suppliers and the deals offered by them. These days, the energy suppliers maintain their own dedicated websites so as to inform the users about themselves. British gas has also maintained a website imparting a deep knowledge about the British gas deals. One can learn everything about the supplier and deals with the help of this site. In addition to this, one can also make bill payments online with the help of such sites. The process is hassle free as well as time consuming. So, enjoy the latest British gas deals available at cost effective prices with the help of all such websites.
There are large number of energy suppliers existing in the UK market for taking care of the energy requirements of the people. The British gas is the largest energy supplier. The British Gas emerged in 1997, with the company being de-merged into two strands known as BG plc and Centrica. The BG plc mainly focuses on transportation, research and technology while the main focus of Centrica is on retail and trading. BG split into BG and Lattice in the year 1997. While Lattice merged with the National in 2002 for forming National Grid Transco.
This British Gas Energy Suppliers operates under the same name in England and Whales while in Scotland the service operates as Scottish gas. This company has large number of employees. Its total staff in the UK based call centers is around 12000 along with 8000 CORGI registered engineers. The company is famous for the supply of gas, electricity as well as the dual fuel services to more than 11,000,000 homes and businesses. The British gas energy supplier mainly aims at providing good quality customer service to the users. It provides various options to the users for saving money. An array of products is offered by the British gas energy supplier to the users on various plan options thus allowing them to save their hard earned money. It is considered as the biggest supplier of green power to large number of homes in Britain as it has the lowest CO2 emissions in its electricity. Various tariffs are offered by the British gas. The two main tariff plans that are provided by this company to the users are Web Saver 4 and Standard. One of the competitive tariff of the British gas is WebSaver 4. The standard dual fuel tariff of the British gas is available to both the new and the existing customers. Apart from these two tariffs, green energy tariffs is also offered by the British gas energy supplier. These are called as Energy and Zero Carbon.
A free bespoke ‘Energy Savers Report’ is also offered by this company which shows the different methods of saving energy in your home. The British gas also offers some other products to its customers. These are Prepayment meters, the HomeCare central heating maintenance and repair service and boiler installation. It also provides home insulation services as well as green gadgets such as solar powered torches and standby Busters. Applying for British gas energy supplier is a very easy process. One can apply online. After choosing the tariff you just need to fill the application form. Before doing so, you need to clear all your outstanding payments with the old supplier otherwise it can cause delay in the process of switching. Once you have filled the form, whole of the paperwork will be looked after by the British Gas. It will take around a time period of six to eight weeks in the process of switching. When it comes to bill, one can easily pay it through direct debit or BACs. The best method of paying the bill is by direct debit as there are less chances of missing any payment and also large amount of money can be saved by adopting this method of payment.
The British Gas energy supplier has various plans for future also. It is looking forward to invest in green energies. It is planning to launch various micro-generation technologies for the betterment of the domestic customers. Apart from this, the company is also making plans to introduce services like online statements option for bringing down the cost and production of paper.
Well, currently there are around more than a dozen energy companies operating UK. And, most of them are offering duel fuel (gas & electricity) while remaining ones are dedicated suppliers of either electricity or gas. Talking of electricity, electricity pricing differs with different electricity or energy companies. And, as mentioned before, with presence of more than a dozen leading players in this segment of energy supply, user in UK can easily reduce their spendings on electricity bills by switching their electricity suppliers.
While choosing an best electricity supplier , people usually first consider the electricity pricing. In UK, difference electricity companies have different pricing regimen in place, with some of them charging “standing energy charges”. And, it has been seen that, energy companies having standing energy charges included in their billing, generally offers electricity at lesser per unit cost compared to those which don’t have any standing energy charges in their billing but have higher electricity pricing. Secondly, before getting into an electricity deal, it is much better to have a fair idea of one’s overall electricity usage. And, for getting this information, previous electricity bills are the best options to be looked into.
Apart from this, there are certain other features or benefits which must be confirmed of having mentioned in the electricity deal. These include: 24×7 free customer support, online payment options, online electricity account management, green option (with green option, users get electricity which is partially or completely derived from re-newable sources), discount on choosing duel fuel, average savings, discount on paying electricity bill via direct debit and fixed electricity pricing which is most often called ‘price promise’ (most of the energy companies offer fixed pricing on selected energy products including electricity as well).
Some of the major energy players with operations in electricity supplies are EDF, E-ON, British Gas, npower, Scottish Energy, Utilita, Llyods TSB, Atlantic electricity and gas etc.
A goliath energy supplier E-ON is currently offering a range of features & benefits. These are 8% of duel fuel discount (discount, available on choosing duel fuel and paying via direct debit) on total energy bill, 8% of direct debit discount (discount which can be available on choosing duel fuel and making payment via direct debit) on total energy bill, ease of managing account online and price protection up to 1/10/2010.
Similarly, with npower which is regarded as the dominant electricity supplier of UK has devised a range of attractive offers to woo customers which include: duel fuel discount of up to £100, direct debit discount which again can be up to £100, £20 incentive on going for online billing, green option and average savings of up to £192 on switching to npower.
The same story of features and benefits follows with other mentioned energy players also.
In conclusion, by taking care of just few important things, it’s not that difficult to choose a best electricity supplier, especially in view of their large number of presence.
When changing energy suppliers and looking on web comparison sites all providers “should” be fair and offer their figures in such a way that there is a level playing field. Most do , some dont and these are the one to avoid but if you look here at the winner of the 2009 Which Magazine’s BEST BUY you will get some indication of what to expect. Swapping to a cheaper Gas or Electricity provider is simple and should take no more than 14 days from start to finish. You just choose you new supplier , fill out the forms ( often online ) and its done for you. No one needs to call on your house. Most providers offer no contract so you are not commiting yourself and if you are unhappy you can swap again the following month.. Its really that simple.
Its a bit long winded but all UK suppliers should follow this code :-
The Consumer Focus Confidence Code sets out the minimum requirements that a provider of an
internet domestic gas and electricity Price Comparison Service (Service Provider) must meet in
order to be, and remain, accredited by Consumer Focus.
The Consumer Focus Confidence Code Guidance Notes accompany the Consumer Focus
Confidence Code and state clearly what is expected of each Service Provider under each
Requirement of the Consumer Focus Confidence Code.
Requirement One – Independence and Impartiality
The Service Provider must be independent of any gas or electricity supplier. It can take
commission from suppliers but this must not influence the provision of any information or data.
The Service Provider must clearly identify on its website each supplier with whom the Service
Provider has a commission agreement or from whom it receives any payment, either directly or
indirectly.
Advertisements from energy suppliers, their agents, affiliates, or brands operating under the
licence of a supplier must not be displayed on the Home/Main page or on the energy price
comparison pages of the Service Provider’s website.
Guidance Notes Requirement One
1.. A Service Provider will be considered as being independent from any gas or electricity
supplier where it is not an affiliate or related undertaking of any supplier or of a company
that is an affiliate of any energy supplier.
2.. Where a consumer chooses to search by price, results must be presented strictly in terms of
best price.
3.. A Service Provider must provide impartial advice, not advice that is biased in favour of any
particular gas or electricity supplier. Subject to Guidance Point 2 above, the Service Provider
must not present any information or data in such a way as (in the absolute discretion of
Consumer Focus) is deemed to be, or potentially to be, misleading or confusing to
consumers.
An impartial service shall be regarded as one which neither favours nor is biased against
any particular supplier. A service will be treated as completely impartial only if it is not
intended to operate, and does not have the effect of operating in practice, in a way that
either favours or is biased against any particular supplier.
4.. A Service Provider must clearly identify each supplier from whom it receives a commission /
payment, regardless of whether that payment is made either directly or indirectly by a
supplier, third party or agent. The requirement for clear identification shall be met where
3 the name of the supplier is listed as part of a single list which identifies all suppliers from
whom the Service Provider receives a commission. This single list must be displayed
prominently on, or be accessible from, the price comparison results pages.
5.. Where a consumer cannot automatically switch to his chosen supplier through the Service
Provider’s web-site, the Service Provider must not recommend an alternative supplier.
Requirement Two – Tariffs & Price Comparisons
The Service Provider must use all reasonable endeavours to include price comparisons in
respect of all available domestic tariffs and where applicable for all available payment types, for
licensed suppliers (including for any agents, affiliates, and brands operating under the licence of
a supplier), for gas, electricity and dual fuel, except that the Service Provider is not required to
show:
social tariffs (i.e. tariffs where consumer eligibility is based upon social or financial
circumstances, e.g. receipt of benefits); or
tariffs which the supplier has requested the Service Provider to remove from its web-site; or
tariffs which are available only to consumers in a specified region, to consumers that are not
within that specified region.
Historic tariffs may be included at the discretion of a Service Provider, but where historic tariffs
are not included then this should be stated clearly on the Service Provider’s website.
Service Provider’s should notify Consumer Focus in the event of being asked by an energy
supplier, to remove a tariff for their website, which to the best of that Service Provider’s
knowledge is still available to consumers.
Guidance Notes Requirement Two
1.. Green tariffs must be included. A Green tariff is one that conforms to the guidelines on
green tariffs that shall from time to time be given by Consumer Focus. Green tariffs do not
have to be listed in price order, but where some other methodology for listing them is used
by a Service Provider, this shall be clearly explained on the Service Provider’s web-site.
2.. Historic (or preserved) tariffs are those tariffs that have legacy customers on them but are
no longer available to new customers.
3.. Where gas and electricity tariffs are bundled with the supply of other services (e.g.
telephony), the gas and electricity base prices must be shown separately, with details
provided on the additional components of the tariff. Consumer Focus may review new
bundled type products entering the market, and provide appropriate guidance for displaying
them on the Service Provider’s website.
4 Details of non-cash offers (such as airmiles and supermarket points) should be listed
separately to the gas and electricity base prices.
5.. A Service Provider may include price comparisons for non-standard meters (e.g. Economy 9)
at its discretion.
6.. A Service Provider has responsibility for obtaining, updating and ensuring the accuracy of all
data displayed on its website covering all licensed supplier tariffs (including those of their
agents, affiliates and any associated brands).
7.. If a Service Provider has difficulty obtaining either historical or new tariff information directly
from a supplier, it should contact Consumer Focus for advice.
Requirement Three – Control & Management
The Service Provider must manage and control its price comparison web-site and use its own
tariff database and calculator.
Guidance Notes Requirement Three
1.. A Service Provider will be treated as managing its web-site only where it has full control
over the information content of the web-site and over the presentation of that content.
A Service Provider will be treated as managing the web-site if it has that degree of control,
even where the web-site is maintained by a third party on behalf of the Service Provider.
However, where –
ii.. a web-site is maintained by a third party, and
iiii.. that third party also maintains an energy price comparison service website on behalf
of any other price comparison provider (whether accredited by Consumer Focus or
not),
the Service Provider will be treated as managing the website only where that third party
maintains the website entirely independently of the website of the other provider.
But, in any event, the website may not be maintained by a third party that also manages
another Consumer Focus accredited energy price comparison website.
2.. A Service Provider may make its calculator available to third parties but where it does so
shall ensure that its arrangements with the third party provide that whilst the third party
may state that it uses the Service Provider’s calculator or database and state that the
Service Provider is accredited to the Consumer Focus Confidence Code, the third party must
not use the Confidence Code logo.
Requirement Four – Payment Methods
A Service Provider must provide consumers with an explanation of the following payment
methods:
Standard credit by cash/cheque
Monthly and quarterly direct debit
Prepayment meter
Guidance Notes Requirement Four
There is no accompanying guidance.
Requirement Five – Results & Filters
A price comparison provided to a consumer must list (on a single page) no less than ten of the
cheapest tariffs available in the region where the consumer requires to be supplied. The prices
must include VAT (and state that they do so).
A Service Provider may provide filters so that consumers may search results based on the
different types of tariff available or an energy supplier’s service rating etc, but these must be
opt in options only.
A Service Provider must provide a facility or follow-through page(s) so that consumers have the
ability to view a list of all of their price comparison results.
Guidance Notes Requirement Fiive
1.. A Service Provider must clearly explain the potential impact to consumers who select an opt
in filter, so that consumers are fully aware of the bearing and limitations this may have on
the results.
Requirement Six – Quality of Service & Energy Efficiency
The Service Provider may assign ratings to a supplier’s performance and invite the consumer to
consider quality of service issues, including any such supplier service ratings.
Service Providers must give energy efficiency advice or signpost consumers to other relevant
energy efficiency information or programmes.
Guidance Notes Requirement Six
1.. Where a Service Provider wishes to assign supplier service ratings it shall not do so until and
unless Consumer Focus has reviewed and approved in writing the methodology (to ensure
that the methodology is objective and impartial) being used by the Service Provider to
assign the supplier service ratings. The approved methodology as used by the Service
Provider must be stated clearly to consumers on the website.
2.. A Service Provider must as a minimum provide contact details for the Energy Saving Trust,
as well as informing consumers of the availability of grant schemes such as Warm Front,
Warm Deal (Scotland), the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (Wales) and the Energy
Efficiency Commitment.
Requirement Seven – Accuracy & Updating Tariffs
Prices and price comparisons must be accurate and state when they were last updated.
7..1 Calculation assumptions
The factors that a Service Provider uses to base its calculations on should include:
discounts for paying by a certain method (e.g. monthly direct debit)
dual fuel discounts
online discounts
compulsory paperless billing discounts
fixed charges (e.g. a fixed monthly membership fee)
discounts that are paid annually (e.g. loyalty discounts)
The factors that a Service Provider uses to base its calculations on should not include:
introductory sign up offers, one-time discounts/special offers or other promotional discounts
that may be for a limited time only;
discounts that depend on the consumer behaving in a certain way (e.g. prompt pay) ;
discounts that apply to other services (e.g. telephony) that a supplier may add to a product
offering;
non-price offers;
discounts that may be offered by the Service Provider for new applications;
Consumer Focus may review any new form of discount and issue Service Providers a formal
direction as to how such discounts should be treated in relation to compliance with the
Confidence Code. The formal direction shall have effect as if it were part of this Guidance.
7..2 Updating tariffs
A Service Provider must use all reasonable endeavours to:
update tariffs;
add tariffs for a new supplier; and
add new tariff information in a manner compliant with the Confidence Code;
as soon as possible, but no later than two working days of the details and confirmation of
the effective date being provided by the relevant energy supplier, or of the tariff being
made available to consumers, whichever is the latter.
A new tariff should not be included on a Service Provider’s website that has a lead time in
excess of six weeks of it being available to consumers.
7..3 Displaying current tariff and spend details
A Service Provider must display the details of a consumer’s current tariff, based on the
information the consumer has entered, that is accessible either within or from its main results
page. These details should include:
Current supplier’s name
Current tariff name
Unit rates and Consumption thresholds
Current payment method
All discounts that are included in the calculation of the consumer’s current tariff
Estimated Current spend (£) per annum
Estimated Current usage in kWh for Gas and or Electricity per annum
Guidance Notes Requirement Seven
1.. A Service Provider must provide consumers with details of recently announced price rises by
supplier’s e.g. average price rises and effective dates and the date that its website and
database has been updated.
2.. A Service Provider must inform Consumer Focus immediately of any unforeseen
circumstance that prevents it from complying with Requirement 7.2. Consumer Focus will
consider each individual case on its own merits and determine whether the Service Provider
has used all reasonable endeavours to comply with the Requirement or is in breach of the
Confidence Code.
3.. Consumer Focus may review any new form of tariff and issue Service Providers a formal
direction as to how such tariff should be treated in relation to compliance with the
Confidence Code. The formal direction shall have effect as if it were part of this Guidance.
Requirement Eight – Annual Audit
The Service Provider must comply with an annual audit undertaken by an auditor appointed by
Consumer Focus. The cost of each audit will be borne by the Service Provider.
Guidance Notes Requirement Eight
1.. The Service Provider must provide the auditor with the access to its premises and to its
systems, and all other assistance, that he reasonably requests.
Requirement Nine – Complaint Handling
The Service Provider must establish and operate an effective consumer complaint and enquiry
handling procedure and respond to any complaint or enquiry within seven working days of
receipt.
Guidance Notes Requirement Nine
1.. A Service Provider must provide Consumer Focus with a contact name and number for
complaint referrals that Consumer Focus receives in respect of the Service Provider.
2.. A Service Provider must respond to a referred complaint by Consumer Focus within seven
working days and copy Consumer Focus into any response.
