E.ON has pulled its cheapest energy tariff, EnergyOnline Extra Saver V8, from all price comparison sites, forcing customers to go direct to the supplier if they want the deal.
The move has prompted allegations that E.On is trying to prevent customers from gaining access to its cheapest deal. However, a spokesperson for the supplier dismissed such claims as “misleading”, adding that E.On pulled the tariff simply because it wanted to manage sales in-house.
The spokesperson would not comment on how many customers had signed up to the tariff direct from its site and how many were recommended by price comparison sites, as such information is commercially sensitive.
E.on’s official statement
“People wishing to switch to E.ON’s EnergyOnline Extra Saver V8 product will be required to contact the company directly from Friday 12 September - the product will still be available to buy via E.ON’s website.
“This is to allow E.ON to manage all sales of EnergyOnline Extra Saver V8 in house, for the time being.
“E.ON’s EnergyOnline and other competitively priced products remain widely available.”
Price comparison takes a hit
Regardless of E.On’s motives behind the move, it does again raise questions about the value provided by the price comparison industry.
Customers visit such sites in the hopes of finding the cheapest possible deal, but as the above incident shows, they can be unwittingly excluded from some of the best offers on the market.
Jeff Slaughter, head of home services at price comparison site uSwitch, says he can understand why some customers may be concerned, but stressed this was part of normal business practice.
“It’s nothing unusual for an energy supplier to chop and change its tariffs, including where it chooses to make them available,” says Slaughter. “I think most customers realise that the days of cheap energy are over, and as such we are likely to see fewer cheap products available on the market.”
