energy news

Transparent electricity and gas tariffs urged


5th December, 2010

Transparent electricity and gas tariffs urged

Consumer Focus said, Terms and conditions of energy tariffs need to be more transparent to prevent people from getting a shocking surprise when their bills arrive, The consumer watchdog has written to the Office of the Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), requesting an enquiry into the way energy suppliers market and sell energy tariffs.

"We believe that energy tariffs are often structured in ways that are overly complex and can seem designed to confuse the average consumer," Head of energy at Consumer Focus said in a letter to Ofgem.

"There are problems with dubious discounts that are hard to achieve. There are issues with the transparency of price rise notifications, business electricity and gas termination charges and rollover contracts."

Ms Gallacher said the requested investigation would need to examine whether the average consumer was capable of understanding key terms and conditions of energy tariffs.

Quantitative research by Consumer Focus in March found more than one third of consumers were baffled by their energy bills.

"Nearly 60% of gas and electricity consumers did not know what tariff they were on or how much they paid per unit,"

"When a company chooses the wrong business gas tariffs it can result in significantly increased annual bills."

In our competitive energy market customers can choose from a wide range of different energy tariffs to suit their needs, and that is a good thing. Energy companies are constantly innovating to offer their customers a range of deals and a variety of payment methods.

"If people are unsure of being on the right deal they can call their energy company direct, who will be able to talk them through the best tariff available for them."



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