Winter is the time when we all need to use more energy to keep our homes warm.  There have been plenty of scare-stories in the news recently about rising energy prices, so we want to give Ebico customers our assurance that there will be no increases in the price of EquiGas and EquiPower this winter.

We know how annoying it can be to be kept on hold for a long time. That’s why we continue to work hard to make sure that our customers are not left hanging on the phone for a long time.

Whilst it is continuous hard work, we pride ourselves in making customers our priority and making sure that we are easily accessible when they need us.

“We know that consumers have many suppliers to choose from now, but we’re confident that the priority Ebico gives to helping our customers, demonstrated by this result, will continue to enable us to stand-out.  This is achievement is a testament to strong behind-the-scenes teamwork to deliver a great service to customers” said Ebico MD, Phil Levermore.

The full article is available here.

As a social enterprise energy provider dedicated to fighting fuel poverty, we see, on a daily basis, the impact of low incomes on families. That’s why we fully support the Living Wage Foundation and their campaign to encourage all companies to adopt the Living Wage. So we’re delighted to have been accredited, by the Foundation, as a Living Wage employer.

The Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at Ebico, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers; receive a minimum hourly wage of £8.25 ”“ significantly higher than the national minimum wage of £6.70.

The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. The Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living using the ‘Minimum Income Standard’ for the UK. Decisions about what to include in this standard are set by the public; it is a social consensus about what people need to make ends meet.

No one likes to be left hanging on the line. That is why, at Ebico, we aim to answer our customer calls as quickly as possible.

“We know that we have a growing number of competitors in the home energy market, so we’re determined that we deliver to our customers the very best experience we can. We start by getting the basics right, such as answering calls promptly, whether they are from our existing customers or potential new customers”, said Ebico MD, Phil Levermore.

“We like our customers calls to be answered quickly, so we ensure our contact centre is well staffed” said Lucy, Ebico Customer Service Team Leader. “I know how it feels when someone speaks to you in technobabble”, she added, “so we make sure that we speak to our customers in plain language. It is great to see that our hard work is paying off and we’re very proud of the results that we have achieved – and, hopefully, our customers recognise this too”.

Apart from answering our calls quickly Ebico scores highly in The Which? Energy Supplier Customer Satisfaction Survey. Last year, customers placed us in the

top 3 energy suppliers by customer satisfaction. For more information click here.

Based on 528 calls to 22 energy suppliers In September and October 2015. Which? called each energy firms’ customer service number 12 times each at set times of the day, and recorded the time it took to speak to a human being. The same was done for their sales number. They then calculated the average time as the median of the 12 calls.

A couple of years ago, in Ofgem’s review of the home energy market, the regulator announced its intention to radically reduce the ability of ‘white label’ energy providers to offer electricity and gas tariffs to British households. Ebico’s EquiGas/EquiPower tariff is provided, through such a white label agreement, by our supply partner SSE, so this affected us very directly. The practical result of Ofgem’s proposals was that we would no longer have been able to offer our ‘fair-to-all’ tariff to either existing, or new, British customers. At the time, and with the help of our customers, we managed to convince Ofgem to give us a 12-month derogation (exemption) from this rule ”“ an exemption which was later extended to two years. This meant that white label energy providers, and their supply partners, had two years to convince Ofgem that white label energy providers do bring value to the energy market.

We’re delighted to announce that Ofgem has now decided that we, and other white label energy providers, do, indeed, bring something valuable to the UK’s households. Ofgem has drafted a new set of rules, specifically for white label providers such as Ebico, which will permanently allow us to operate, whilst establishing a safeguards to ensure that we continue to add to competition in the home energy market. Ofgem’s final proposals include the following:

• White label energy providers will be entitled to promote themselves differently to their partner supplier. So, for instance, we’ll still be entitled to tell everyone that we are the fastest energy provider to answer customer calls, and one of the top-3 rated energy providers, in the Which? energy company survey.
• White label tariffs can be designed with a set of tariff features (mainly price, standing charge and discounts) which are not considered, by Ofgem, as being part of the supplier partner’s standard offerings. So, in our case, we will still be able to offer EquiGas and EquiPower with zero standing charge and the same price irrespective of payment method ”“ including for pay as you go meter customers. EquiGas/EquiPower will continue to provide a fairer deal for low energy users and those on pre-payment meters.
• Those of a partner suppliers’ customers who would see their bills fall if they were to switch to the white label, will now have to be informed about this. Similarly, those supplied with a white label tariff will have to be informed if, for them, one of the partner supplier’s tariffs is cheaper.

The proposal is currently going through the final consultation until 20th March 2015. The final decision, which is unlikely to change from the current proposal, will then be implemented with a target date of July 2015.

At Ebico we welcome Ofgem’s decision as this ends the uncertainty about or EquiGas/EquiPower tariff which, for the past two years, has relied for its existence on a temporary exemption. We also believe that the new rules will offer, both increased choice, and greater transparency in the energy market.

Thanks to your feedback, Ebico has been voted into third place in the latest Which? Energy Company Satisfaction Survey 2015, up from fourth last year. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our customers who took part and who recognised our efforts in 2014.

At Ebico, we pride ourselves in treating customers as individuals and continuously work to improve our customer experience. We were only a whisker away from becoming one of Which’s? first Recommended Providers, awarded for the first time this year. We will work hard throughout 2015 to reach that coveted status come next year.