Energy Bills...that time again
My Energy contract is coming to an end shortly and I have been perusing some more Energy deals. Some companies I have never heard of ...example ' Bulb ' and ' ' Isupply ' to name a couple. I wondered if anyone had experience with these little known companies
as they are the ones giving the most saving tariffs?
Comments
-
At the end of every year of our contract we contact u switch by telephone. They are. Edy helpful and we save money every year well rcommnded.
0 -
I can't help thinking that my supplier is out to con me somehow. I am 1/2 way through a fixed deal and they offer me a switch to another fixed deal. This new one being worse than their current bog standard rates. I feel that if I switch I would lose out
on my current excellant savings based around prices of 6 months ago.Has anyone else had this sort of offer,? is it genuine? or am I likely to lose out?
Sorry I am not a mathematician and have to rely on those who can do it.
0 -
My Energy contract is coming to an end shortly and I have been perusing some more Energy deals. Some companies I have never heard of ...example ' Bulb ' and ' ' Isupply ' to name a couple. I wondered if anyone had experience with these little known companies
as they are the ones giving the most saving tariffs?Snap, just been looking at the options and noticed all these new companies. I am thinking of switching to
Avro from SSE.peedee
0 -
I can't help thinking that my supplier is out to con me somehow. I am 1/2 way through a fixed deal and they offer me a switch to another fixed deal. This new one being worse than their current bog standard rates. I feel that if I switch I would lose out
on my current excellant savings based around prices of 6 months ago.Has anyone else had this sort of offer,? is it genuine? or am I likely to lose out?
Sorry I am not a mathematician and have to rely on those who can do it.
Without seeing your offer and current tarriff difficult to tell.
If the unit price is more than you are currently paying personally I'd stay as I was, unless there is another incentive.
If the standing charge is changing downwards a quick sum will tell you if cheap or not. Daily rate times number of days a quarter to get to the bill amount. But if unit rate increasing it may out weigh. It probably will.
If a combination of both, again sums to work it out. Use an old bill to give an idea on units and use new figures.
OH kept being sent details of a new work pension scheme with invites to join. He continually declined as benefits were far worse, but some did! He's reitred now, and everyone got transferred in the end, but those who waited to be pushed did better.
They may have to offer you all their offers, but you do not have to take them up.
0 -
I believe that these days your supplier has to have you on the best tariff that suits your usage.Oddly were with British Gas dual fuel but on every bill/statement we get it recommends useing Sainsbury,s (in the small print) who are partners with BG.Trying to asses the best tariff yourself is virtually impossible as the rates can change not just monthly but daily and even hourly.
v9
0 -
From my bills I know what my annual average consumption of gas and electricity is and it is as simple matter to feed tariffs into a spread sheet to compare costs from different suppliers. V9 you do have the choice of taking a fixed price contract
peedee
0 -
At the end of every year of our contract we contact u switch by telephone. They are. Edy helpful and we save money every year well rcommnded.
+1, the last time I used them I saved £130. Easy to use & professional
0 -
I believe that these days your supplier has to have you on the best tariff that suits your usage.Oddly were with British Gas dual fuel but on every bill/statement we get it recommends useing Sainsbury,s (in the small print) who are partners with BG.Trying
to asses the best tariff yourself is virtually impossible as the rates can change not just monthly but daily and even hourly.v9
I' m with Sainsbury's at the moment and have been quite happy with them since moving from the dreaded NPower. But I have sent two emails asking what they have to offer, but only had auto mails stating they will reply in 5 days , but to no avail. Due to
this it made me take a look on U switch as I left it too long when moving from NPower and it cost me.0 -
Surfer, I had similar problems with B/Gas, no one interested in listening. They expect you to just accept it & shut up. You have the power to better your current situation. If you don't they'll never get that 'customer centric' attitude. They've had it too
easy for too long. Move on, choose another supplier. They are arrogant, they used to bombard me with Emails telling me how good they are. I send Emails to test them. . . .No reply
0 -
Like V9 I'm with British Gas, and I am very happy with them. In my case their service has been faultless and I am more than happy to stick with them.
I now have smart meters for both gas and electric (Also via British Gas) and a "Hive System". My gas and electric power is now so much easier to manage that I am confident that future bills will reflect that.
TF
0 -
Like V9 I'm with British Gas, and I am very happy with them. In my case their service has been faultless and I am more than happy to stick with them.
I now have smart meters for both gas and electric (Also via British Gas) and a "Hive System". My gas and electric power is now so much easier to manage that I am confident that future bills will reflect that.
TF
BG also did our cavity wall insulation free of charge
v9
0 -
Like Pedee and Tigerfish, we have a smart electric meter which updates us on usage daily, and in the current absence of telemetry for gas, we read our meter monthly. Monthly results are then entered into Excel, which allows us to calculate and compare actual
costs with various tariffs on offer. We endeavour to keep a 'green' home, with LED lighting, induction hob and a ' smart' thermostat, which combine to confound the wild claims of energy providers. Even so we regularly have to fight off their monthly recommended
tariff increases with our own verified data. Our monitoring is sufficiently detailed to have picked up an increased electricity consumption following 5 days when we had the caravan in the drive with the Alde heating running. If you think that this approach
is time consuming, then you are wrong, it takes less than 5 minutes/ month, and because our smart thermostat recognises when we are out for the day and turns itself down, we can switch the heating back on with our smartphones before we return. I'm not sure
what our efforts save us PA but I do know that they allow us to source the best deals, they are green an they save us a few £hundred every year.0 -
Like V9 I'm with British Gas, and I am very happy with them. In my case their service has been faultless and I am more than happy to stick with them.
I now have smart meters for both gas and electric (Also via British Gas) and a "Hive System". My gas and electric power is now so much easier to manage that I am confident that future bills will reflect that.
TF
Our new gas boiler due to be installed soon will "talk" to Bristish Gas which will be a great improvement. However neighbours with very thick stone walls were not able to use this system with a new boiler. Whether anyone can move to a smart meter will depend
on the signal strength, it's very varied in our village, just over the road from us people can't get a reliable phone signal. It's been interesting reading how some of us tackle the issues in reducing costs.
0 -
What bugs me is the self congratulating Emails, telling me what the energy company has saved me
, wrong-they actually increased
their charges to me, it was my attitude to energy use that brought the actual costs down. Smoke & mirrors. Cynical?, no just realistic. I have it all there since the Govt forced the energy industry kicking & screaming into the world of transparency.0 -
Like V9 I'm with British Gas, and I am very happy with them. In my case their service has been faultless and I am more than happy to stick with them.
I now have smart meters for both gas and electric (Also via British Gas) and a "Hive System". My gas and electric power is now so much easier to manage that I am confident that future bills will reflect that.
TF
Write your comments here...Like you TF. We are with British Gas and have had smart meters installed. I have to say that any time we have contacted them with any enquiries they have been very helpful and polite. We have no intention of changing supplier. -- I have often recommended them to friends.
In general I usually find that companies respond in the same manner as the enquiry is made. If customers are polite and non- agressive then the company will respond in a similar manner.
Cheers..... K
0 -
I am with EDF. I discovered recently when running my consumption details through the U switch website, that Energy companies offer better deals to attract new customers, than they allow existing customers to access, leaving us no choice other than leaving
to get the best deals. Also, as others have mentioned, if your current deal expires within say 3 months, accepting the U switch results on face value, isn't always the best way to go.The results thrown out by switching websites are all based on the next 12
months, therefore when they compare your current deal, they assume you will move on to the standard rate tarrif for 9 months, when it expires. Obviously most sensible people dont, so the savings they suggest, aren't likely to be correct.0 -
Like V9 I'm with British Gas, and I am very happy with them. In my case their service has been faultless and I am more than happy to stick with them.
I now have smart meters for both gas and electric (Also via British Gas) and a "Hive System". My gas and electric power is now so much easier to manage that I am confident that future bills will reflect that.
TF
Write your comments here...Like you TF. We are with British Gas and have had smart meters installed. I have to say that any time we have contacted them with any enquiries they have been very helpful and polite. We have no intention of changing supplier.
-- I have often recommended them to friends.In general I usually find that companies respond in the same manner as the enquiry is made. If customers are polite and non- agressive then the company will respond in a similar manner.
Cheers..... K
Good point K, they do respond well to polite non aggressive callers. Whereas they tend not to respond when someone has a question they either can't answer or feel uncomfortable when caught not being completely honest. Some of us(a growing number) refuse
to roll over & play dead when these companys pay us lip service, some of us will take our business elsewhere, if the same happens we move again. If you are happy then you should stay where you are-agreed0 -
We are currently with BG and wanted a smart meter, but because we have PV panels they say they cannot fit one yet.
We had our old meter changed to one which did not run backwards when we export electricity, so I am surprised these "smart" meters cannot cope with that!
0 -
What bugs me is the self congratulating Emails, telling me what the energy company has saved me
, wrong-they actually increased
their charges to me, it was my attitude to energy use that brought the actual costs down. Smoke & mirrors. Cynical?, no just realistic. I have it all there since the Govt forced the energy industry kicking & screaming into the world of transparency.Transparency? Energy bills have all the transparency of a lead-lined box.
0 -
I've used to money saving expert a few times to check for the best tariffs. I am in the middle of a change at the moment I will see how it goes.
About 10 years ago I was on a dual direct debit trouble was they never read the meter we were always out. It turned out we were £1300 in credit and they proposed that they increased the DD by 40%. I suggested that they didn't and they returned the money
to our account and they tried to argue that they shouldn't0 -
What amazes me when I use USwitch, I access the energy company that states it can save me Xamount of pounds. I find where the monthly DD payment for that plan is shown , it's usually about £40 per month more than I pay now. How can that be if they, as they
state, are saving me money ?0 -
My only concern is, that it is now possible to 'hack' domestic smart appliances and I am worried that in my absence heating may be turned up to max, lights switched on, washing machines and dishwashers likewise, along with the oven and maybe hob rings.
Seemingly anything controlled over the internet, by way of localised radio transmitters, is open to this type of activity.
So how do we overcome that possibility?
0 -
Our newly ordered British Gas boiler will be able to "talk" to BG about faults and can identify what is going wrong and BG can turn up with the right parts (we hope?!) So we're not on the smart route where we can turn things on and off remotely. You are right about the risks of possible outside interference, I think this has been openly talked about and could happen.
Another thought, switching on domestic appliance whilst out of the house is a bit of a concern anyway. We had a horrible house fire locally, a dishwasher running whilst the owners were out set fire to the kitchen, sadly their pet dog died. So remote contols aren't always a good idea, never mind the hacking possibility.
0 -
I believe that these days your supplier has to have you on the best tariff that suits your usage.Oddly were with British Gas dual fuel but on every bill/statement we get it recommends useing Sainsbury,s (in the small print) who are partners with BG.Trying
to asses the best tariff yourself is virtually impossible as the rates can change not just monthly but daily and even hourly.v9
I' m with Sainsbury's at the moment and have been quite happy with them since moving from the dreaded NPower. But I have sent two emails asking what they have to offer, but only had auto mails stating they will reply in 5 days , but to no avail. Due to
this it made me take a look on U switch as I left it too long when moving from NPower and it cost me.I've just looked on U-Switch and for me Sainsbury's come up the cheapest. Their options are showing as only a fixed rate option till Nov 2017 and a variable rate, the former being the cheapest for me. The same result is coming from Moneysupermarket.com too.
0 -
What amazes me when I use USwitch, I access the energy company that states it can save me Xamount of pounds. I find where the monthly DD payment for that plan is shown , it's usually about £40 per month more than I pay now. How can that be if they, as they
state, are saving me money ?The offer on U-Switch for Sainsbury's is half the price that I'm currently paying on NPower, although the expected rate from NP is a lot lower than I'm paying at the moment. I'll have to get in touch with them to find out what's going on.
0
