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[sevenlayermuddle]

Unbelievable.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35770754

It has also proposed that the regulator, Ofgem, keeps a database of customers that have been on a standard rate for three years.
This database will then be opened up so these customers can be targeted directly by other suppliers.

I am on a comparatively expensive standard rate tariff, dating back many years.  I deliberately choose that because there is not a single energy provider who's competence I would trust with a direct debit, which is a prerequisite for most of the discounted tariffs. 

And also because, being a bit paranoid over privacy,  I do not wish to share my details with competitors, as would undoubtably happen if I made any enquiry.

Nor do I want to risk privacy with  price-comparison Sharks websites, or to contribute to the completely unnecessary overhead that their profits place on our energy bills.

 

[kitz]

Oh good grief.  I am also not happy about the possibility of records being open to all. 
What the heck is it with regulators thinking that we have to keep shopping around and use comparison websites to get the best deal.  Perhaps some people just do not want to swap to another provider and why should we have to change providers each year to get the best deal.   Its the same with broadband.  Switch Switch Switch.     

if the proposals were "thoughtfully" implemented, they should enhance competition.

Really..  Like how it has with broadband? 

ending the restriction on suppliers to offer just four tariffs

Why the need for more tariffs?    It will only complicate things further and cause more confusion when trying to compare packages.

[burakkucat]

Perhaps someone will "put in" a pre-emptive complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office. 

[sevenlayermuddle]

What also bugs me is the frequently reported mantra, that 'millions of people are paying too much'.  The TV is on as I type, and BBC have just said it again.    Where do these people think the 'too much' money is going? Do they really think that the energy suppliers' bosses are stuffing their pockets? 

Nobody will be more contemptive of energy suppliers than me, but I feel pretty darned sure they will abide by the law, all income will be completely legal and accountable.

More likely then the reality, rather than 'millions paying too much', is that different 'millions' are paying too little (by taking advantage of cheap deals).   If they succeed in closing the gap the most likely outcome would be that the cheap deals would just disappear.   There is simply no way in the world that everybody could end up on a cheap deal, that's just how balance sheets work.

[kitz]

It's a while since I looked at the available tariffs,  but I found there were already enough to choose from depending on whether you want to fix rates or guess into the future how much you are going to use.  I'm fed up that we have to check all suppliers every year and I don't always trust that the compare sites are giving you the best deal anyway.
As 7LM pointed out they are getting a cut.  I'm also getting a bit bored of Martin Lewis.

A lot of people lead busy lives and they don't always want to go shopping around for insurance, power, broadband and God knows what each year.  If they have to have different tariffs, how about a loyalty discount tariff.  Why do we have to buy gas and electric from the same colour to get the best deal.  The gas suppliers should be able to retail gas and the power companies electric at the cheapest price.  I hate how we now have to bundle everything together.

Talking of bundling, I don't much like plusnet 18 month contracts neither if you phone up and say well I could get thus for x price from talk talk or whatever..  and then your broadband is on 18 months but your phone is on 12 months to get the advance discount deal for paying up front.   It's makes things complicated next year.  You shouldn't have to do this and haggle.  The prices should just be fair for all.   It's the regulators who have encouraged this ridiculous situation which doesn't drive true competition, it just lessens the players whom we can retail from as it pushes the smaller quality providers out of business.

End rant
apologies for typos ... tired and struggling on small screen.

[sevenlayermuddle]

Ref the CMA proposal, I see the Beeb are already calling it a Spammer's Charter.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35771533

Assume they send only three each and a customer will fairly quickly receive more than 100 letters.

And that's letters mind, not email.  All the more amazing, when we're being heavily persuaded to reduce other forms of junk, such as carrier bags.

Apparently though, the Information Commisioner has already approved it

The CMA said it had consulted with the Information Commissioner about privacy issues surrounding the database, and it was satisfied with the plans.

Call me an optimist if you like, but I do actually suspect that when an idea that's this bonkers gets proposed, somebody, somewhere will see sense, take action, and quietly bury it.   

[Ronski]

We've always had to shop around for the best prices no matter what we are buying, businesses are in business to make money and most will charge what they feel they can get away with. If nobody ever shopped around then there is no competition and prices will rise, I know it's time consuming but that's where comparison sites come in. I've used them for many many years, and pretty much all our bills are paid by direct debit and have been for years and our world hasn't come crashing down yet 

Businesses see loyal customers as easy money that can't be bothered to shop around so the price creeps up each year, this is why so many companies have sign up deals, because they hope once they have you, you don't bother moving on when the prices creep up.

As some of you may know I manage a commercial vehicle workshop, and as part of my job I have to purchase parts, and I virtually always phone around to get the best price, sometimes main dealers give the best price sometimes factors do. Of course you have to take into account the quality, but I can often buy the exact same part from a factor for a fraction of the price. The main dealers jack the prices because people believe they get a better quality part, but if you know what you're doing you can save a fortune. The same goes for anything you buy, whether that be services or goods

In regards to the OP I think it is wrong that people that don't shop around should have their details on a database, yes they may be unaware they can get a better deal, or like 7LM it may be their choice. If they want to make people aware of the choice then it can be done via advertising on TV, in newspapers etc. and not through cold calling and junk mail.

[BigBunny]

One thing that many don't consider is Customer Service.  It's only when you need it and you don't get it that you realise that super duper deal may not be as super as you think.  I have been with the same bank since 1990.  OK it's easy to change, but I know them, and I cannot really save or improve anything by changing, so why should I change.  (And they put £25 into my account automatically every time they cock up )  I think that sometimes it's the government that wants this to prove their credentials of competition, and to them if you have stayed with the same organisation for years then there must be something seriously wrong with you.  Most things I negotiate over and don't pay the list price, however banking, energy, and other utilities are not one you can normally negotiate over unless you have a lot of clout.

[Ronski]

I've been with same bank since the mid eighties and I'm perfectly happy with the service I receive to.

[renluop]

Same bank since 1958 , but they were my employer and I have a pension.
Why would I want to change? They must know me by now.

Why people change can sometimes be a consequence of their behaviour, or not getting what they want, which is clearly not going to be good for them.

I do change my energy supplier ( I don't mean she who supplies my meals ), but not as often as I change my socks. The prices offered must offer more than "peanut" price benefits, sustainable whether usage would vary by say +/- x%.

[sevenlayermuddle]

I have been with same energy provider since the dawn of time.  It is not that I am happy with them, I fact I detest them intensely, and I deeply distrust them as costodians of my personal data.

Trouble is, I have seen nothing to suggest that any other energy provider would be any less detestable.   Saving a few bob would be irrelevant.  Plus, if I switched, another detestable organisation, in addition to the current lot,  would have access to my personal data.

[Ronski]

But for a lot of us we're not talking a few bob, our energy uses are not particularly high but coming off our years fixed rate with Sainsburys Energy our bill for gas and electricity was going to rise by £300 a year. By switching I've saved a further £120 a year roughly.

Perhaps you should try it, you can use fictitious I'D but enter your real usage and see how much you could save. You could probably save and still remain with the same supplier, I'm with British Gas, so have gone full circle back to where I started.