Gas Prices to Fall

[x-in-man]

Sounds like a plan.

[asitis]

It still baffles me how the OFT have agreed to a system where a customer can be charged a huge amount of money (in my case nearly £400.00), even if they choose not to purchase any product from the supplier !

 

I agree with an earlier poster that this cannot be deemed a standing charge in a commercially accepted sense as it is applied piecemeal across customers. I do know that in the UK no way would they get away with this and they would be called to account for the levy on supply to different users. I don't care how they dress this up or how they cry there are no increases, it stinks !

 

The OFT need to consider the word Fair in their description, and explain how it is fair that my gas supply standing charge costs X per therm (can't be bothered to work it out) but my neighbour fifteen yards away pays less at Y per therm ! answer that Quirk !

[notwell]

It still baffles me how the OFT have agreed to a system where a customer can be charged a huge amount of money (in my case nearly £400.00), even if they choose not to purchase any product from the supplier !

 

I agree with an earlier poster that this cannot be deemed a standing charge in a commercially accepted sense as it is applied piecemeal across customers. I do know that in the UK no way would they get away with this and they would be called to account for the levy on supply to different users. I don't care how they dress this up or how they cry there are no increases, it stinks !

To be fair to the OFT they have actually done a very decent job for quite a portion of Manx Gas customers.

 

I am in the same boat as you. We are amongst their best customers. So, if your (or my) next door neighbour in their identical house uses less gas they have a smaller Standing Charge. How can that be? A question I put to Manx Gas, giving them their own description of what their Standing Charge is. Answer - there isn't one. Well not one they can given publically.

 

I actually agree with the Standing Charge being altered. But what should have happened is that it should not have been banded. And this is where the OFT HAVE played a blinder because when MG went to the OFT and said "we want to recover more of our static costs via the Standing Charge" (not unreasonable), the OFT simply said "fine, just make sure you hit those middle income plus earners who can, on the face of it, "afford" it".

 

So, the people who have real reason to grumble at the OFT about this are the better customers of MG who are the ones that actually provide the better part of their income for, like for like, much less cost.

[alibaba]

 

It still baffles me how the OFT have agreed to a system where a customer can be charged a huge amount of money (in my case nearly £400.00), even if they choose not to purchase any product from the supplier !

 

I agree with an earlier poster that this cannot be deemed a standing charge in a commercially accepted sense as it is applied piecemeal across customers. I do know that in the UK no way would they get away with this and they would be called to account for the levy on supply to different users. I don't care how they dress this up or how they cry there are no increases, it stinks !

To be fair to the OFT they have actually done a very decent job for quite a portion of Manx Gas customers.

 

I am in the same boat as you. We are amongst their best customers. So, if your (or my) next door neighbour in their identical house uses less gas they have a smaller Standing Charge. How can that be? A question I put to Manx Gas, giving them their own description of what their Standing Charge is. Answer - there isn't one. Well not one they can given publically.

 

I actually agree with the Standing Charge being altered. But what should have happened is that it should not have been banded. And this is where the OFT HAVE played a blinder because when MG went to the OFT and said "we want to recover more of our static costs via the Standing Charge" (not unreasonable), the OFT simply said "fine, just make sure you hit those middle income plus earners who can, on the face of it, "afford" it".

 

So, the people who have real reason to grumble at the OFT about this are the better customers of MG who are the ones that actually provide the better part of their income for, like for like, much less cost.

 

 

You are absolutely mental.

[notwell]

 

 

It still baffles me how the OFT have agreed to a system where a customer can be charged a huge amount of money (in my case nearly £400.00), even if they choose not to purchase any product from the supplier !

 

I agree with an earlier poster that this cannot be deemed a standing charge in a commercially accepted sense as it is applied piecemeal across customers. I do know that in the UK no way would they get away with this and they would be called to account for the levy on supply to different users. I don't care how they dress this up or how they cry there are no increases, it stinks !

To be fair to the OFT they have actually done a very decent job for quite a portion of Manx Gas customers.

 

I am in the same boat as you. We are amongst their best customers. So, if your (or my) next door neighbour in their identical house uses less gas they have a smaller Standing Charge. How can that be? A question I put to Manx Gas, giving them their own description of what their Standing Charge is. Answer - there isn't one. Well not one they can given publically.

 

I actually agree with the Standing Charge being altered. But what should have happened is that it should not have been banded. And this is where the OFT HAVE played a blinder because when MG went to the OFT and said "we want to recover more of our static costs via the Standing Charge" (not unreasonable), the OFT simply said "fine, just make sure you hit those middle income plus earners who can, on the face of it, "afford" it".

 

So, the people who have real reason to grumble at the OFT about this are the better customers of MG who are the ones that actually provide the better part of their income for, like for like, much less cost.

 

You are absolutely mental.

 

Why?

 

The agreement in place is in place. Nothing, at the moment, that can be done about that. The OFT are a shambles for that, but in the context of working within that frame work the long and short of it is that Manx Gas can make up to a certain return.

 

They've asked to change the way in which they accumulate that return. And from that perspective the OFT can't really "stop" them can they? What they can do is try and shape how they do it. Which they must have done here.

 

And that is the point I'm making above. I'm not saying the OFT are great, far from it. They need castigated for getting "us" into this position originally.

 

Can you imagine the outcry had MG simply raised the SC from 16p (which was the blanket charge to pretty much everyone for heating) to 100p (which is the net effect of what they have done)?

[Non-Believer]

Alternatively of course, MG could have been told to feck off and if they wanted to maintain their profits, increase their customer base via more competitive pricing of their product.

 

Like every other concern in a capitalist market. Except IoM?

[Tempus Fugit]

I think the scheme of calling this a 'standing charge' is at fault, as it is partly a 'budget payment' and should be accounted separately

 

I can't see how OFT are going to cope with this pricing scheme when they come to produce their comparative heating figures, they can't ignore the 'standing charge' element when they come to the unit price / kwh (which will otherwise be artificially cheap) and distort the comparison of the cost of the various forms of energy

[alibaba]

Say you were off on holiday for a month (as if!!) could you turn your gas off and not pay the standing charge for that period?

[manxb&b]

Say you were off on holiday for a month (as if!!) could you turn your gas off and not pay the standing charge for that period?

No way, the standing charge seems to work like the BBC license fee.

[finlo]

Say you were off on holiday for a month (as if!!) could you turn your gas off and not pay the standing charge for that period?

Don't be silly!

[thesultanofsheight]

I think the scheme of calling this a 'standing charge' is at fault, as it is partly a 'budget payment' and should be accounted separately

 

Correct a standing charge is a fixed standing charge for supplying a household with a service - like your phone line rental. The charge by Manx Gas is a personal charge for supplying gas to your specific house based on your specific typical usage of gas. It is not a standing charge at all. It's just a way of screwing you specifically in the best way that they think they can get away with screwing YOU specifically, and not just generally screwing all consumers who receive gas. It's quite invidious. Normally companies wish to reward their best customers - not totally shag them up the arse because they can't shag their worse customers up the arse because they wouldn't be able to afford it.

[asitis]

At least I have the satisfaction of sitting here this evening toasty warm, on oil, on the full tank of standing charge !

[Non-Believer]

At least I have the satisfaction of sitting here this evening toasty warm, on oil, on the full tank of standing charge !

Ditto. @ £300 for 900 litres.

 

Swivel on this, Mr Nicholls.

[Silver Surfer]

It is not a Standing Charge at all.

 

What it is is a means of allowing Manx Gas to rely on more guaranteed profit (Standing Charge) and make their profitability less reliant on selling gas.

 

In other words, they have 'fixed' a higher percentage of their profitability. It may be cost neutral for some consumers now but the key is that any future gas price adjustment upward references back to the profitability position locked in now, and either tempers kWh cost increases or lowers the Standing Charge.

 

I hope the OFT hasn't had their trousers pulled over their heads in this regard......

[asitis]

It is not a Standing Charge at all.

 

What it is is a means of allowing Manx Gas to rely on more guaranteed profit (Standing Charge) and make their profitability less reliant on selling gas.

 

In other words, they have 'fixed' a higher percentage of their profitability. It may be cost neutral for some consumers now but the key is that any future gas price adjustment upward references back to the profitability position locked in now, and either tempers kWh cost increases or lowers the Standing Charge.

 

I hope the OFT hasn't had their trousers pulled over their heads in this regard......

I suspect the answer will be "not us guv, its the market movement see, theres nothing we can do about it !"