I went to get up to date meter readings at another property yesterday, and when I rang SSE to update on the estimated bill I was very pleased to find that as there had been no change in gas meter readings since the last bill they waived the 3 month standing charge.
It made me wonder if other suppliers do this as we use no gas currently but pay maybe £120 per annum for the standing charge - BG simply said when queried that the only way to avoid the SC was to be disconnected but that it would be darned expensive to reconnect in the future.
For the first time in ages I spoke to the most wonderfully down to earth adviser from SSE who simply seemed human - such a shame there was no option to send customer feedback at the end of the call.
The issue at the moment for me is that my gas (no usage)is with BG and electric with SSE. SSE said they are not taking new customers but were unsure if they might if you already had one service with them - it would be up to the parent company Ovo, but I can’t see much incentive for them until I start using gas again.
SSE supplied my late father’s gas and electricity, there was standing charges on both accounts which really irked me as they still had to be paid even though his apartment was standing empty for 8 months. I now make a point of avoiding any providers who charge me for the privilege of allowing them to supply me with their utilities.
I think SSE automatically removed the standing charge for gas last summer due to no change in meter readings over the summer period. They didn’t for electricity as there is some background consumption for the odd random light and some web based cameras as well as a fridge and freezer - the fridge has little in it apart from some cold drinks which is handy on hot days if I visit. The freezer is quite full and needs emptying but I need to time that with ‘food recycling’. Unfortunately freezer content is unlikely to be usable as there was a powercut when I was away a little while back.
I seem to have a knack for starting contentious threads - I think it’s difficult when we’re passionate about certain things to avoid comments even if fairly subtle or without detail.
None at all. After my father’s passing I disconnected absolutely everything so there was nothing being used. I did raise an official complaint and that’s when I found out exactly how hard nosed and determined these companies are. I am very glad to read you had a good experience with SSE, in complete contrast to mine it must be said!
Account was originally with SWALEC who were assimilated by SSE who are now owned by Ovo.
I wonder if it was discretionary on the part of the adviser I spoke to, it is quite rare these days when you ring a large business/company to talk to someone who simply seems to be being themselves, someone probably from an entirely different background, but simply a brilliant ambassador for their company.
I’m with EON. In one respect, they are great as they allowed me to fix on the current tariff until next Feb, with a free option to get out at no cost.
Regarding Zero gas use, I’ve used less than 1 cubic meter in the last 4 months (due to my Solar Panels), however as you can see below, they still charge, even though there was a negative value in one case
Is that some kind of pay as you go/monthly tariff?
I signed up for an online account with SSE for electricity the other day having only used paper statements before.
WIth current prices a 5% discount for direct debit payments is superficially attractive, but they estimated nearly £400/month - uncertain if this took into account the planned Ofgem pricecap so didn’t go for it in the end as I was wary they might increase it significantly in October. I’d curently prefer to pay for what I use quarterly as an annualised monthly d/d could be a very expensive regular outgoing.
Of course new announcements today will alter things again.
They are still badgering me to get a Smart meter, but even with one they can’t offer a tariff where you pay monthly for what you use which seems odd to me.
