The Captain's Blog ™

npower Energy Discount – a capped and discounted price plan

Gas and electricity supplier npower has just launched a new price plan for UK residential customers.

The npower Energy Discount tariff offers capped prices for gas and/or electricity until 31 December 2013. Not only that, but Energy Discount also features prices at least 2% lower than npower’s standard variable rate prices (as would apply to the average customer*) for the duration of the capped period. Even better, there’s also an opportunity to qualify for a further lump sum discount.

» Get a quote for npower Energy Discount and switch online

The overall offer includes:

- a discount of at least 2% compared to npower’s current standard variable prices;
- an assurance that prices won’t increase during the term (the capping element);
- the possibility of benefiting from any falls in gas or electricity prices;
- £100 discount after 12 months for customers who take both gas and electricity and who pay by direct debit.

* an “average customer” means assumed annual average consumption of 3,300kWh for electricity and 16,500kWh for gas. You can enter your own expected consumption figures when you get a quote online from npower.

npower Energy Discount and the outlook for utility prices

Following major price increases during late 2011, utility suppliers have more recently been busy announcing modest price reductions of around 5% for gas or electricity (the new tariff includes npower’s own recent price drop). However, even they’ve been doing this, some suppliers have also spoken of an inevitability of more price hikes in the longer-term.

In that context, the npower Energy Discount tariff seems particularly well pitched. If you think utility prices might rise again soon, it protects you. If you think prices might fall further soon, you can benefit. And if nothing changes, you’ll still be paying less than npower’s standard rates. As such, this well rounded deal should attract a good many takers.

Other points of note include:

- If you sign up for npower Energy Discount and later choose to switch from the tariff before 31 December 2013, an early exit fee of £20 per fuel may be applied.
- The tariff isn’t available to customers with non-standard metering or to prepayment customers.

For full terms and conditions and to switch online to this new tariff, visit npower Energy Discount now.

Why do so many UK consumer websites insist on making you answer the mind-bogglingly annoying follow-up question “are you sure you want to log out / sign out?” when you’ve already clicked on a clearly marked link or button that indicates exactly that?

Is it conceit / ego?

“Our website is so marvellous and enthralling. We can’t begin to imagine why you could ever possibly want to log out. Only a complete moron would want to do that. Surely you’ve just made a silly mistake (again, just like every other time you’ve been here)? In fact, we’re so sure of it that we’re going to demand that you tell us not once, but twice before we’ll actually let you log out.

Is it misplaced under-estimation of the intelligence of customers?

“Seriously boss, there’ll be loads of idiots who’ll click the ‘log out’ button when what they actually mean to do is something completely different that needs them to stay logged in. They’re all such fools that what we really need to do is to make everyone tell us twice before we actually allow them to leave”.

Or is it just an intentional and wilful waste of our time?

“Let’s just wind them up by making them tell us twice! Sure, logging out will take everyone twice as long as it needs to. But we value their time so little that we really don’t care at all about that. Go on, let’s do it!”

One thing I know for sure is that we simply wouldn’t put up with this kind of behaviour if it was mirrored in our high streets and shopping centres. Imagine walking to the exit (whether it be in a shop, bank or otherwise) only to find your way out blocked by two thickset bouncers who ask, “are you sure you want to leave?” – and then only to be allowed out if you answer them in the affirmative. When considered in this way, such behaviour extends beyond mere inconvenience to become positively menacing!

Another thing I definitely know is this: if you add up the combined length of time that ALL CONSUMERS spend needlessly confirming their already stated decisions to log out, it massively outweighs the amount of time it would take the occasional twits among us to log back in if we really did log out too soon by mistake.

If only I had a magic wand for fixing website design flaws, I’d gladly wave it all consumer websites such that the interests (and sanity) of the many were prioritised over the potential mistakes of the very few.