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You won't find such a tariff because they've been outlawed by Ofgem.
Several energy providers used to offer 'low user' tariffs, whereby customers didn't pay a standing charge but paid a higher rate than normal per unit of energy used. I was on such a tariff with British Gas and, because I only use gas for an occasional bit of cooking (and not for heating), I was paying about £30 per year in total. Then Ofgem decided to 'level the playing field' for all customers and forced all energy suppliers to make a standing charge, resulting in my gas bill more than trebling!
Several energy providers used to offer 'low user' tariffs, whereby customers didn't pay a standing charge but paid a higher rate than normal per unit of energy used. I was on such a tariff with British Gas and, because I only use gas for an occasional bit of cooking (and not for heating), I was paying about £30 per year in total. Then Ofgem decided to 'level the playing field' for all customers and forced all energy suppliers to make a standing charge, resulting in my gas bill more than trebling!
Our example expires next week, as we discovered when reading a letter that came here while we were away: They are doing away with it at that point. We use no gas (wood fired heating, and free) so now we will perhaps be forced to consider having the meter removed rather than pay for nothing, thus giving us no option of perhaps returning to gas in the future.
Hi, Karl, this is a subject upon which I could write screeds. As Chris says, all 'no standing charge' tariffs have been abolished on orders from the government, meaning people like me living on their own - and thus being very low users - were hammered with large increases. I actually bit the bullet and moved supplier, but this was not the easy move some people might tell you.
Recently my fixed price electricity deal came to an end and the standing charge was due to go up by more than 200%. After much phoning (always on their Freephone number!) they finally offered me a much better deal by letter: I received the letter on a Saturday morning, and when I rang on the following Monday, they told me that tariff was no longer available! After much more phoning/writing, because I had the offer in writing they relented and I got the good offer fixed for the next two years.
I'd invest a few hours in ringing round the major suppliers - Freephone numbers available at https:/
and keep going till you have something that you're happy with. They always want to ask you about your annual usage, but I find it much easier to ask them what the standing charge is, and what the unit charge is and compare that way. If it helps, at the moment for gas I'm paying 2.679p Standing Charge, and 15.2p Unit Charge (Npower)
Good luck!
Recently my fixed price electricity deal came to an end and the standing charge was due to go up by more than 200%. After much phoning (always on their Freephone number!) they finally offered me a much better deal by letter: I received the letter on a Saturday morning, and when I rang on the following Monday, they told me that tariff was no longer available! After much more phoning/writing, because I had the offer in writing they relented and I got the good offer fixed for the next two years.
I'd invest a few hours in ringing round the major suppliers - Freephone numbers available at https:/
and keep going till you have something that you're happy with. They always want to ask you about your annual usage, but I find it much easier to ask them what the standing charge is, and what the unit charge is and compare that way. If it helps, at the moment for gas I'm paying 2.679p Standing Charge, and 15.2p Unit Charge (Npower)
Good luck!
Sorry Chris you are not correct , zero standing charge tariffs have not been outlawed
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I am thinking of changing to one for gas as I turn off the gas for the summer. It is only needed for hot water in the summer and I use the immersion heater for just 1 hour a day which gives a full tank of hot water.
http://
I am thinking of changing to one for gas as I turn off the gas for the summer. It is only needed for hot water in the summer and I use the immersion heater for just 1 hour a day which gives a full tank of hot water.
Energy suppliers must show a standing charge on their bills (even if it's zero). However they must also charge the same price for every unit of energy used within that tariff. (i.e. they can't charge x pence per unit for the first so many units and y pence thereafter). That deters many energy suppliers from offering the old 'low user' tariffs, which often used 'dual pricing' models.
Further, and most importantly, each supplier is now limited to offering just 4 'core' tariffs, so they've had to ditch many of the tariffs which they used to offer. They've naturally chosen to retain the most popular ones, which means that it's usually been their 'low user' tariffs which have been the first to go.
https:/
Further, and most importantly, each supplier is now limited to offering just 4 'core' tariffs, so they've had to ditch many of the tariffs which they used to offer. They've naturally chosen to retain the most popular ones, which means that it's usually been their 'low user' tariffs which have been the first to go.
https:/
Chris and goodgoalie, re "in the consumers' interest" (Ombudsman), is it not stunning how the UK persists in collecting and implementing confused/bad ideas/decisions (so often with little or no clarity) and ending up with chaotic and poor management within/of the country at almost every level.
My case was one where our supplier was tied up with SSE who then decided to end he association. It turns out that "You need do nothing" correspondence was something we too hastily took at face value because, instead of staying/moving to the new arrangement with the original supplier (who entered into a new partnership), we were/are now instead slipping into a new direct arrangement with the SSE and (unintentionally) leaving the original supplier.
I have just spoken to the original supplier and arranged to stay with them (OK, officially/actually transferring from the SSE back to the original) so we will continue on a zero standing charge. To be fair to SSE, they were planning not to charge former clients of our original supplier a standing charge at all for the first six months with themselves in their own right, so as it turns out we will suffer no difference/loss over the turbulence.
Our original and now future supplier is Ebico and the tariff is called ebico-zero. You (Chris, goodgoalie, EDDIE and others) may like to look at their site: ebico.org.uk
My case was one where our supplier was tied up with SSE who then decided to end he association. It turns out that "You need do nothing" correspondence was something we too hastily took at face value because, instead of staying/moving to the new arrangement with the original supplier (who entered into a new partnership), we were/are now instead slipping into a new direct arrangement with the SSE and (unintentionally) leaving the original supplier.
I have just spoken to the original supplier and arranged to stay with them (OK, officially/actually transferring from the SSE back to the original) so we will continue on a zero standing charge. To be fair to SSE, they were planning not to charge former clients of our original supplier a standing charge at all for the first six months with themselves in their own right, so as it turns out we will suffer no difference/loss over the turbulence.
Our original and now future supplier is Ebico and the tariff is called ebico-zero. You (Chris, goodgoalie, EDDIE and others) may like to look at their site: ebico.org.uk
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