Hi,
As we all know 20-25%+ price increases will hit most consumers after 01JUL23. I like most am on a variable tarrif and called my retailer (Red Energy) today to enquire about switching to their Fixed plan, which has prices fixed until JAN24.
The fixed prices are 10-15% higher than current variable rates for nearly all charges (I'm TOU+CL1 in Essential Energy area) - but I felt this still preferable to the post 01JUL increases - which Red Energy dubiously claims not to be aware of the scale of (yeah right).
So I ask to be moved over to the fixed plan - the moronic Customer Service person (as sorry she was a real twit hanging up on me once and having to call back and just generally thick) starts reading out the T&Cs and I am barely listening to her jabber on….and then I hear a detail to the effect of,"Your new rates will be effective from the first day of your CURRENT billing period."
So they don't apply from today, they're backdated to whenever your billing period started, which for me was around 85 days ago. I ask her if this is legal under Australian Consumer Law (as contractually there was an agreement on price and they are going back and raising it, when I only want it changed moving forward) as makes no sense to go back and retrospectively increase rates for a change today. She says it's 'legal' as she's saying it and I don't have to agree (which is nonsense but as i said she was a twit).
She says this is never a problem as people never call to switch onto higher rate plans from lower ones and they backdate lower rates to benefit consumers, so I have to just accept that essentially an entire 3mths (less 4 days) is instead increased price, if I want to change today.
I say this is clearly just an accounting /systems issue for them and is illogical for the consumer, she says - thats the option, take it or leave it.
My billing period is 14MAR to 13JUN so I ask her to instead make the change effective from 14JUN, nah she can't do that - tells me I have to call back to request.
So be aware that IF you change to fixed, prior to 01JUL you might have your entire billing period calculated at much higher rates, so clarify when your new/fixed rates are effective from or waiting to change to fixed rates might be best done after your current billing period ends.
:-)
Thanks for the heads up Nikko - the whole energy market is a sh!tshow.
My story - I moved to and fixed with Nectr Jan23 and recently got an email saying they were moving me to their current customers only benefit plan which has lower rates than I'm already on. I thought "sweet" prices going down, that's a first. However a subsequent email cancelled out the previous and as a gesture will keep my current plan going till 14 July. This moves me into the after 01 July era you refer to. I'm on a month by month estimated bill - expiring 30 June (now 14 July) with the next actual reading due 23rd June and bill issue date 4th July.