I got a small EV recently. Switched to an EV plan with Meridian. Their plan offers a monthly discount, longer off peak hours - a buyback if you have solar & fixed pricing. Two out of the 4 benefits are NOT AVAILABLE to existing customers. Solar buyback doesn't apply. Net result - price increase.
Whoa, thats bizarre. We are on that plan, and its working great for us. Moved our laundry to evenings, and power bill is roughly the same as pre car.
Regional differences.
And - try contacting Meridian at any time over last 3 months. Depite being the second largest firm listed on NZSE their customer services is a joke. It takes hours of queuing. They claim 100% renewable which is partly why I want to stay with them but.
They just did a massive customer service restructure of their high-level account managers, they've gone from best in the business to worst at that level in six months.
They and Genesis in particular also own many of the smaller electricity retailers including Tustpower, Powershop, Electric Kiwi, Flick Electric, Energy Online etc. In other words competition is zero as there is NONE. Power switch is out of date so not really useful.
You don't find out that the discount for 6 months does not apply till you complain. The off peak time is supposed to be 9pm to 7am but where I am its still 11pm till 7am. A small thing but really inconvenient. Definitely a breach of good faith. Possibly a consunmer breach too.
To be fair - Meridian said that in some areas they can't offer the 9pm to 7am off peak thing. But they don't tell you this up front. It is unclear why. There is a now a smart meter where I live so should be simple.
Likely a function of lines company pricing winows.
Yes, 100%. The lines companies set the peak, shoulder, off peak etc. Meridian choose the energy rates and part of the fixed rates.
Yes we found that out only when we complained. But they should have said that the off peak time offer was no good in our region. BEFORE switching plans and missing out on those capabilities. A normal company would have disclosed the missing benefits.
Absolutely. Also we should consider whether having nearly 30 different network companies with hundreds of different tariff structures is the best way to run an electricity system.
It is not. Even powerswitch has trouble keeping up from what I’ve seen. Meridian staff either didn’t know or were not trained on product pricing. Some are new hires. Either way we relied on them saying that the EV plan was approved and then incurred extra costs because of that missing info.
I wonder what would happen if you told them that you want to switch providers? Would they try a sweetener to keep you? Not the way it should work but might be worth trying.
Working through some options. The plan locks you in for 2 years but after i found out the discounts were not going to be paid the lock in period apparently does not apply.
Hmmm - if you weren’t clearly informed then the 2 year term might not be enforceable.
Correct but the whole process is very murky and is very time consuming. Wouldn’t have known that if i hadn’t checked up though. I don’t believe they are being honest or even trying to be fair.
that doesn't sound good enough to me. take it up with Consumer (if you're a member?) as those very basic points about the plan should be clearly spelled out.
I think so too.
This is definitely grounds for complaint to the Commerce Commission, on the basis of an egregious breach of the Fair Trading Act
Thanks. I should have a closer look because it just seems so beside the point. The offer looks like bait and switch. At the very least it is extremely misleading. There seems to be no real advantage when you strip out 2 of the key parts of the offer.
You were with Meridian before hand then? Does no other provider offer a similar product?
Short version not in my area. Many of the others are owned by Meridian or Genesis or Mercury so it’s not a really a competitive market. Some of those smaller ones not taking on new customers or don’t serve the Waitaki area.
Got it
Infuriating!
Have sent you a message.