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Energy bills mislead with phantom savings offers
Energy bills mislead with phantom savings offers
This is a duplicate of the Blog Entry made on: 21st November 2016 18:38
This is a duplicate of the Blog Entry made on: 21st November 2016 18:38
Energy customers are being misled by savings offers on gas and electricity bills which never materialise, the BBC Money Box programme has discovered.
These phantom savings offers are being made to people on fixed-price energy tariffs and are a consequence of rules imposed by the energy regulator Ofgem.People have been told of savings of up to £200 that never materialise. Up to a third of households could be affected.
Ofgem defended the system, saying it is the best option for comparing costs. One EDF customer in Norwich found such an offer on the front of her November bill, under the heading "Our cheapest overall tariff". "Over the next year you could save £42.08 by choosing Blue+Price Protection Nov17 with Direct Debit, our cheapest fixed electricity and gas tariff available for your meters," the message on her bill said. But if this customer took the offer up and switched tariffs, Money Box calculated her true saving would be just £4. Phantom savings can even turn into real losses. In one example analysed by Money Box, a £47 projected saving with Npower would actually lead to the customer paying £147 a year more than they now do......Read more here
These phantom savings offers are being made to people on fixed-price energy tariffs and are a consequence of rules imposed by the energy regulator Ofgem.People have been told of savings of up to £200 that never materialise. Up to a third of households could be affected.
Ofgem defended the system, saying it is the best option for comparing costs. One EDF customer in Norwich found such an offer on the front of her November bill, under the heading "Our cheapest overall tariff". "Over the next year you could save £42.08 by choosing Blue+Price Protection Nov17 with Direct Debit, our cheapest fixed electricity and gas tariff available for your meters," the message on her bill said. But if this customer took the offer up and switched tariffs, Money Box calculated her true saving would be just £4. Phantom savings can even turn into real losses. In one example analysed by Money Box, a £47 projected saving with Npower would actually lead to the customer paying £147 a year more than they now do......Read more here