Are PowerShop criminals?

MikeKulls on 24/08/2018 - 08:01

Is anyone with PowerShop? I was with them for a while and found them to be very shonky. They set up fake prices and offer you "discounts" that end up being more expensive than other retailers. Even if you pay via direct debit you miss the discounts so you have to make manual payments in order to get the fake discounts. You need to make these manual payments every month and it's not really clear when you need to make the payments to avoid the penalties. I'm sure their app is designed to be confusing.

I've moved to another retailer that has a flat rate, that is cheaper, has no fake discounts and does simple billing with option of direct debit. Because it is a flat rate the bill is really simple. Even PowerShop said they couldn't match their rate and that I should switch. If you are with PowerShop you should move, plain and simple.

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Comments

  • Quantumcat on 24/08/2018 - 08:13
    +8

    A smart ozbargainer would not:

    • Pay for anything online by direct debit/deposit unless it's a major organisation that you trust and there is a clear advantage over using a credit card (points and security) or PayPal (security)
    • Buy something just because it is "discounted" without finding out what the normal price is
    • bdl on 24/08/2018 - 08:43
      +21

      A smart ozbargainer also would not:
      * Refer to companies as being criminals simply because they don't like said company :)

      • Quantumcat on 24/08/2018 - 08:44
        +1

        True

      • Diji1 on 24/08/2018 - 10:36
        +1

        But OP is saying they're carrying out criminal acts, like many of Australia's largest businesses, so that makes them criminals. I mean duh.

        • HighAndDry on 24/08/2018 - 12:53
          +2

          I don't have enough negs in a day for all your comments, please think of others…

        • [Deactivated] on 24/08/2018 - 14:12
          +1

          @HighAndDry:

          Don't say it out loud, next thing they'll start selling extra neg packs on here

      • MikeKulls on 24/08/2018 - 18:25

        I never said they were criminals. 😁

      • MikeKulls on 24/08/2018 - 18:49

        In relation to asking if they are criminals. They have a system setup where if you pay via direct debit then extra money goes to them. This is likely to hit the most vulnerable users the most. Surely designing such a system is the work of someone with at the very least no morals.

  • GangGang on 24/08/2018 - 08:29

    I'm assuming you're talking about the energy company?I goggled it and that's what came up.

    You might be missing the discount because you have the direct debit set up on the payment date, can you do it a few days earlier so the funds go into their account by the payment date & you will receive the discount?

    • John Kimble on 24/08/2018 - 08:45
      +2

      Pretty sure you can't set a direct debit date. You sign/agree to a direct debit, and the merchant decides when they take the money.

      • GangGang on 24/08/2018 - 12:28
        +1

        My bad. I always pay by credit to earn points & then pay it off straight away.

    • MikeKulls on 24/08/2018 - 18:17
      -2

      You can pay manually but if you miss the manual payment and it goes to direct debit then you miss the "discount". You've still paid on time but basically get penalised for it.

  • Aldog24 on 24/08/2018 - 08:35
    +3

    I've generally had the opposite experience. App has been easy to use and the discounts if purchased ahead of time are generally pretty good! What provider did you switch to that has been more competitive?

    • MikeKulls on 24/08/2018 - 18:19

      Tango. 19c flat rate. Power shop even with the "discounts" is 24c from memory. I don't have the app anymore so can't get the exact price.

  • mskeggs on 24/08/2018 - 08:42
    +4

    Powershop are pretty well regarded, and legitimate.
    At least "are they criminals?" makes a change from 'scammers'.

    They are owned by Merdian Energy (ASX: MEZ) who in turn are 51% owned by the NZ government.

    I think the idea with Powershop is if you monitor your power usage, and try and minimise it, then they offer good rates. But if you don't care, one of the big polluter companies is probably cheaper.

    • MikeKulls on 24/08/2018 - 18:28

      The idea is that you miss the payment and pay higher rates. It's not like the extra money goes to charity. "We at power shop want you to monitor your usage and be informed, oh oops, we got extra money when you forgot". Hardly a mistake

  • [Deactivated] on 24/08/2018 - 08:51
    +3

    I was with powershop for a while too before I learnt their dirty tricks & ditched them.

    • MikeKulls on 24/08/2018 - 18:19

      Someone gets it 😁

  • poboy on 24/08/2018 - 08:55
    +4

    I agree that Powershop pricing is difficult to understand. It's piecemeal pricing model sees your rates slightly vary with each purchase and your daily consumption.

    As of about 2 years ago they removed the per kWh pricing of their powerpacks - so you are a bit in the dark as to what your money is buying. Once you buy, you get a graphical representation of how 'paid up for the month' you are. While this is adequate for 80% of the market, there will always be people that want more information - especially when comparing the offer to other retailers.

    If your pay balance is low, Powershop will send you an email notification to prompt you for payment before it debits you on its standard rate.

    Powershop's app is the best retailer app on the market. But the visibility of 'what you pay vs what kWh you get' is frustrating.

    • Diji1 on 24/08/2018 - 10:42
      +1

      I agree that Powershop pricing is difficult to understand.

      Oh that's nice because they worked hard with the government on legislation and the plan to make it difficult as possible to understand within the shitty regulations so they'd be disappointed if you were actually easily comparing prices, all that hard work for nothing.

      If you continue to vote for Liberal or Labour this idiocy where you lose money to wealthier people to merely live just continues.

  • 87percent on 24/08/2018 - 09:37
    +1

    anyone switched to POwershop Gas? Is it the same as their Electricity model (ie; with packs and that)??

    • WreckTangle on 24/08/2018 - 21:32

      I signed up but it’s taking forever to transfer over to them

      • MikeKulls on 25/08/2018 - 09:11

        You have 30 days to get out. Run while you can

  • iforgotmysocks on 24/08/2018 - 10:07
    +2

    The real crime here is the use of Tracey Grimshaw endorsed rhetoric such as "criminals" and "shonky"

    • Diji1 on 24/08/2018 - 10:48
      +2

      The real crime here is that Australian's voted for a privatised system that delivered lower prices with higher customer service and instead they received the most expensive retail power system in the world where prices are (legally) impossible to compare without a spreadsheet - and yet like braindead people they continue to both pay the most expensive prices in the world and vote for the same two parties that screwed them and their money.

      • iforgotmysocks on 24/08/2018 - 10:50

        No I had already said it was the shonky thing.

    • MikeKulls on 24/08/2018 - 18:23
      -1

      I never called them criminals. I said they were shonky which was being as polite as I could muster.

  • this is us on 24/08/2018 - 11:07
    +1

    I moved to PowerShop years ago when they offer free MIFF membership. I think the way how they offer the discounts is unique and might be a bit confusing, but nothing like criminals or scammers from my point of view. I moved to another company after around 1 year when I moved house because I found the "unique" way of charging (buying the "50% OFF energy packs") annoying and I didn't want that anymore, and I got another deal.

  • haemolysis on 24/08/2018 - 11:31
    +4

    I was with Powershop for a while, and after they changed their pricing structure I had to leave. I understand they wanted it to be simpler, but removing the price per kilowat hour and putting in some percentage system or whatever it was, meant I had no idea what on earth the value of what I was getting to compare to other retailers. As I felt that I was already paying too much, having that transparency removed meant it was time to ditch them.

    Also, as I don't have a smart meter and am renting and move apartment now and again so my electricity needs aren't well known to me, trying to work out how much to pay was a nightmare. 3 monthly meter readings really are far too infrequent to assess your use when you're buying packs that are sold for particular months, and you'll have credit leftover from some months that churns in, but not to the next month because it will wait for the next 3 month block when the meter is read…

    Further, all the good rate discounts were very limited in stock. Having to open the app and buy electricity multiple times a month to get "one day" sales of electricity… I mean, ozbargain be damned, my time is worth a bit more than that.

    • peter05 on 24/08/2018 - 16:02

      Their electricity rate was all based around your predicted usage. Where they make their money is when you go over your predicted usage. This is because the access charges are divided over your predicted usage, if you for example typically use 100kwh@25c/kwh and your access fees are $1/day, you would pay a total which would add up to $55 with a "combined" electricity charge of 25.3c/kwh. This meant that when you went over the 100kwh predicted you are paying a higher rate. Conversely if you were below the predicted electricity usage then you were paying less for your access charges overall.

      Understanding the above scenarios is important because it means that you are able to take advantage of it. How? When you purchase a house and need electricity but don't plan to actually live there, you are able to effectively pay nothing for your access charges whilst you do your renovations :D

  • stewartg on 24/08/2018 - 13:48
    +1

    If OP ever meets a real criminal he is in for a world of pain

  • payton on 24/08/2018 - 16:26
    -4

    Are you ok Annie, are you sure that you're ok?
    Would you tell us that you're ok?
    You've been hit by, you've been struck by … a smooth criminal

    De dun du du dun dun

  • MikeKulls on 24/08/2018 - 18:30

    I ditched PowerShop when the support person said "I know electricity can be confusing". Sorry, electricity is not confusing, you stupid app and billing system is confusing. Surely deliberately designed that way imo.

  • GaryG on 25/08/2018 - 00:02

    Definitely don't think they are shonky or criminal but it's clearly not an option everyone would take.

    I've been a customer for about 6 months and just settled into the routine of purchasing Mega Packs as they call them to maximise the discount on the power I am getting. Yes it doesn't give you a kWh price for each pack because the pack is used for both usage and daily supply charge so both are discounted. You don't get that from all suppliers.

    When I joined they were good deal for my usage compared to other suppliers, they may be for yours. I'll be comparing again soon and considering changing if I find a better money saving deal.

  • Hoju on 25/08/2018 - 07:29

    I use them and have for years
    I always buy the power in advance ie as soon as the payment email is sent - it’s a three click process - open app, click buy, click confirm

    Our daily avg kWh usage is around 5
    Our monthly bills are always around $60 per quarter all up

    I look at my app right now and it tells me my kWh usage for the month, if a meter reading has been entered

    I don’t know if it would be cheaper with someone else based on this approximate usage but it seems pretty good to me. We were paying the same years ago with energy Australia before all the apparent price hikes that are high enough to design a state political campaign around

    • MikeKulls on 25/08/2018 - 09:07
      +1

      Quite simply it would be cheaper with some other retailers. Why would you stay with someone who is supplying the exact same thing at a higher price? Especially while they are pretending to be cheap and pretending you get discounts

      • Hoju on 25/08/2018 - 09:13

        Who are cheaper?
        I just did an energy site comparison. The cheapest they came up with is 26c/kwh for my suburb and a 5c/day cheaper daily supply charge

        I pay 23.9c/kwh…

        Provide some numbers behind your argument, but for me it works fine and the app is exceptionally easy

        • dimitryp on 25/08/2018 - 10:59

          i'm with AGL (who are meant to be expensive) and i pay 22c/kwh (after discounts) and 84c daily supply
          In Sydney, inner west

          Have been considering switching to powershop as i dont mind the buying upfront bit, but sounds like they're no longer even cheap?

        • Hoju on 25/08/2018 - 11:11

          @dimitryp:

          Hard to tell as I couldn’t find any cheaper than 26/kWh but I don’t know if these comparison sites are accurate.

          Powershop is about 22c/kWh if you buy a mega pack which is about 3 months worth of power

          I can’t be bother quibbling about the equivalent of 5 cents a day though

        • MikeKulls on 25/08/2018 - 11:40
          +1

          Tango are 19c flat rate. No fake discounts just a flat rate.

        • MikeKulls on 25/08/2018 - 11:44

          I presume you have solar, you'd hardly boil the kettle on 5kWh per day. If so you will save a lot more than the average usage, possibly get down to no power bill. I'm not sure how you get $60 a quarter seeing it costs around $1 a day just to be connected.

        • Hoju on 25/08/2018 - 11:51

          @MikeKulls:

          No solar but gas hot water.

          I don’t know how people use more. We’re a family of 5 in an admittedly well insulated apartment. I used to work in energy efficiency so know how to run a household efficiently.

          The maths is simple. 4-5 kWh per day x 30 days x 24 cents = approx $30 usage plus supply

          I honestly don’t see a reason to get so confused about the powershop structure. The discounts are quite transparent and I can see my usage on the app far more readily than I could on my old 3 monthly bill structure.

        • MikeKulls on 25/08/2018 - 19:05

          @Hoju: ok, previously you said per quarter. We average 15kWh usage per day with a 10kW solar system. Possibly less in summer. But we are electricity only and have a 5000W water heater, 3000W+ reverse cycle heater and need to use electric heaters in some rooms. We also have all cooking electric which can use over 4000W. House is also a reasonable size and not insulated very well, which I'm working to fix. Bill was $3000+ a year for electricity before solar and has been reduced to under $1000 (I need to confirm over summer). End result is I'm a little sensitive to deceptive tactics by companies like PowerShop.

        • MikeKulls on 25/08/2018 - 19:12

          @Hoju: as for being confused about the powershop billing …. They have "base rates". These are artificially inflated rates that no one pays. Then you have your standard discount and then your "pay on time discount". The last level of discount varies depending on what pack you buy. When exactly to pay to get the last discount is unclear. It's not clear in the app what your usage is for the month, how much you've paid for the month and how much you've used. Then you get the solar rebate. This comes in at different times each month and instead of coming directly off the bill you then need to use this credit yourself to buy packs. Haha not confusing at all.

          On the other hand tango has a rate of 19c for usage all day every day, 13c for feed in and 13c for the hot water service. There are no fake discounts and you simply get a bill each month that goes to direct debit. It couldn't be simpler.

        • MikeKulls on 25/08/2018 - 19:16

          @MikeKulls: if you have gas Hot water and no solar then tango just has a rate of 19c. Really really simply.

  • dimitryp on 25/08/2018 - 11:00

    If one has a smart-meter, does Powershop become better/easier to use, as its much more accurate to predict usage?

    • MikeKulls on 25/08/2018 - 11:42

      Their app has some good points but is confusing. My new provider has no app but I have an in home monitoring system which is much better than the PowerShop app.

      • [Deactivated] on 25/08/2018 - 12:54
        +1

        Confusing as hell. Unless you have nothing else to do in life than monitor the smart meter & their app. I was paying $60-$70 per bill with solar. Now with another company my bills are $0.

  • Craze on 03/09/2018 - 17:37
    +1

    I was with Powershop for about 4 months and switched to Tango as the effort required to get "perceived" savings were far too much a hassle, and in the end my bills were cheaper through Tango anyway over a 3.5 month period of the same season (Dec-March).

    • MikeKulls on 07/09/2018 - 22:58

      Exactly. Fake savings on inflated prices to make people feel good.

  • MrBillions on 29/12/2018 - 17:40

    there should be a full thread on cheapest power company
    i'm with powershop and they keep making me buy deals…something not right, they should just give me the best rate

    • MikeKulls on 30/12/2018 - 08:55

      Something definitely not right, after all the powershop"discounts" it's cheaper with my new supplier that has no discounts. The only possible conclusion is that PowerShop are jacking their prices to make you think you are getting a good deal. There are plenty of websites that compare retailers. When I did the compare, with deals sorted from cheapest to most expensive, PowerShop where on the third page.

      • MrBillions on 30/12/2018 - 09:16

        thanks, what's your top 3?

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