Your final paragraph is the reason I took the time to raise this with OFGEM, as I am convinced that suppliers are using any excuse they can to block people from changing tariffs. Clearly OFGEM isn't fit for purpose in terms of enabling customers to have easy access to all tariffs that are available and they don't seem bothered by the fact that suppliers are trying hard to make life challenging for consumers.Marcus wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 5:12 pm Hmm. Yes, I've been watch this thread - i tried moving tariffs in the summer to another supplier who did have a better tariff than octopus - they agrees on the phone to start the switch - never heard anything from them.
octopus put in a smart meter for me about 2 months ago and when i enquired about going on a smart TOU tariff like e7 (intelligent octopus) they said i was better off staying with the current fixed 'dumb' tariff (48p st ch and about 47p/unit iirc).
Tried emailing them again following the October price cap and there's been no reply , despite their claim to reply within hours.
You would think now i have a smart meter they would want to put me on a TOU tariff, but I'm getting the feeling the current energy market is being used as an excuse to block users from moving to a tariff that works better for them. And ofgem seem to be doing as little as possible to help the consumer.
Having to spend hours on the phone just to find out how much electricity costs from a supplier is ridiculous in this day and age. FWIW, the best E7 tariff I've been able to find so far is from Eon. Their standard variable E7 tariff for Southern Region is 32.072 p/kWh peak rate, 16.435 p/kWh off-peak rate and a standing charge of 41.41 p/day.
I heard a rumour that Octopus were offering a slightly cheaper tariff, 44.00 p/kWh peak rate, 15.00 p/kWh off-peak rate and a standing charge of 37.00 p/day. I've tried calling Octopus to find out if this is available, to no avail.