Open Rant Thread

[Ratty]

Martin Lewis says its something to do with the Government wanting a competitive market, which means there has to be different tariffs. (something along those lines)

Unfortunately this means the elderly, disabled and none tech savvy people end up getting ripped off.

I just switched last month too, and saved (predicted) £340 for the year.

On http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ you can sign up to their tariff comparison thing and it will notify you when you can switch to a cheaper tariff.

[wgt40w]

Bear in mind that comparison sites only compare across the firms they are signed up to - they do NOT compare across all possible suppliers.

[wgt40w]

Actually - new rant!

How can they charge different rates for electricity? And who would want a more expensive tariff?

It's not like you can get premium electricity - "now with extra electrons!" "TWICE the speed of conventional power!" is it? :laugh:

Another new rant - isn't it annoying when I first make the point that pre pay is more expensive and you get Karma for it !!!                                                               :'(   :'(
                                     

[electrotor]

If you haven't switched your service provider recently, you could save hundreds by switching BTW.  ;D

I have 2 meters and 2 tarrifs for general use and restricted hours heating. I recently tried switching providers and was offered a better rate for one of the meters but the 2nd meter was not on the drop down list. I called a potential provider to be told they did not recognise my 2nd meter and in order to provide me with a supply for this they would have to change the meter and possibly do some rewiring. So I called my current provider and was informed that the 2nd meter and its rate were only available through them. However I was in credit by hundreds of pounds and could have a refund plus a reduced monthly DD saving me £360 per annum.  :)

[wgt40w]

Actually - new rant!

How can they charge different rates for electricity? And who would want a more expensive tariff?

It's not like you can get premium electricity - "now with extra electrons!" "TWICE the speed of conventional power!" is it? :laugh:

Real answer is that the higher tariff is all to do with the higher risk of whether they actually will get paid or have the meter vandalised + the admin costs of handling the pre pay cards + it's a good opportunity to get extra profit.
Most companies in general make a greater proportion of profits from poor people than rich:-
- via higher tariffs
- by requiring payment in advance
- by charging interest fees
- etc. etc.

This is why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

[Loopdreams]

The energy market is just a catastrophic mess that does nothing for anyone except the energy companies.  And also people like my mate who get paid shedloads of money by big businesses to try and make sense of it all for them.

[FPVSteve]

Another new rant - isn't it annoying when I first make the point that pre pay is more expensive and you get Karma for it !!!                                                               :'(   :'(
                                     

Nope, it's not annoying at all :D :D

[MarkLloyd]

A new rant about wgt40's new rant about the prepayment rant ......   I think I'm the one responsible for bringing up the suggestion that there were different prices for pre-pay.....

"I think those pre-payment meters work out out more expensive than normal billing. "

Do I get anything ?  :D 

I'm also tempted to start a new rant about my wife leaving the car with the wiper switch on, so when I started the engine this morning it ripped one of the rubbers off on the frozen window when I turned the ignition on.    I do it too, but that's different. ;D

[Western]

And another thing...
Car insurance. For the second year my wife's renewal quote from Tesco has gone up, yet if she applies for a online quote from them it's cheaper. So she rings up and takes out the new quote.
Guess they hope people won't check.
Regards, Mark

[FPVSteve]

Funny thing about insurance if you've had a car off the road ... they assume you've just bought the car when you do an online quote, so make sure you tell them you've owned it for a while. I saved more than £300 when bringing my MPV back on the road after 9 months of SORN.

The reason the guy on the phone gave was "we assume you're not used to driving a new car when you first get it".

I only queried it because I usually pay around £280 f/c a year inc business and they wanted nearly 600 quid so I rang up to ask why!

[Ratty]

They up your premium the less miles you do too. I have two cars and only do a few 1000 in one of them as its a summer car. They wanted a lot more because of the lower usage. I asked why and they said because you don't drive much you have less experience on the road. Even tho I am using my other car that is insured with them for the majority of my miles.

Always challenge the renewal quote, I when they ask if youd like to take out the policy just keep saying "no, is that the best you can offer."

[keukpa]

PEOPLE

[Robotnik]

I gave Steve karma for giving the young mother £1, he cared, I wish our politicians cared as much, they probably have loads of shares in the energy companies which helps stop them caring if the children of this country are fed and warm.

[BigT]

I don't know where you guys get your facts from but here is my actual experience.  I bought a house that had payg meters as the last owner was in debt with energy. I am a property developer so it suited me to keep them and the house would be sold on within 7 months. Debt wiped off, new key and card issued, tariffs checked and there was no difference between payg and direct debit, fact. Yes I could have switched but that's not so simple with payg, I could have changed the meters but wtf, let the new owners do it. The main reason for payg is debt with the supplier who puts the meters in so they can recover some debt from each recharge and or no bank account and or on benefits, or in a rental property or holiday home. You cannot run up an energy debt with payg.   But there was no difference per unit between meter direct debit and payg, or standing charge which gets taken from the charge credit. You have to remember that some folks treat energy standing charges  like a poll tax.


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[Coyote]

I gave Steve karma for giving the young mother £1, he cared, I wish our politicians cared as much, they probably have loads of shares in the energy companies which helps stop them caring if the children of this country are fed and warm.

It does sound good when worded like that ........

However it could also be that he was going to pick her up and throw her across the shop for wasting his time taking up the til and he was positively fuming at the mouth so gave her £1 to get her out of his way :)  But worded well :) :)