Advice on Energy switch

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  • System
    System Posts: 178,093 Community Admin
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    jrsga wrote: »
    Thanks again.

    Agreed I will nto be going to there SVR.

    The "new" 1YF deal offered with my current supplier is around £250 more (based on the previous 12 actual usage that they provided) than what I have paid in the previous 12 months to now.

    So then with the CEC if I select the "all savings are based on this cost" option i.e. my current fixed deal it indeeds goes into negative on the results.

    So again I am confused, am I just picking the supposed cheapest one (from another provider) and then contacting them to give me a 12 mth projection?

    thanks

    You are making this more difficult than it needs to be. For example, over the past year my usage has been 1000kWhs of gas and 3000kWhs of electricity. I got this information off two bills about a year apart that has ACTUAL meter readings. Be wary of using estimated annual usage figures provided by your present supplier as they can vary during the course of a year.

    I then enter my calculated usage figures in any Ofgem approved comparison site and it will show the cheapest overall deal for my usage and my postcode. It will also give me an annual cost and monthly DD payment (1/12 of the annual cost). I ignore the savings. I also check to see whether going for separate gas and electricity suppliers will save me money: this works for me at the moment.

    If you use a site like MSE CEC, it will also show whether you will get any cash back if you switch using their site.

    If your estimated annual usage figures are wrong, then you can expect to see your DD change during the term of the contract: use more then pay more.

    DO NOT use £s to make energy comparisons as this will give distorted results: you must use projected kWhs/year as this is what you will be consuming.
  • jrsga
    jrsga Posts: 93 Forumite
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    Hengus wrote: »
    You are making this more difficult than it needs to be. For example, over the past year my usage has been 1000kWhs of gas and 3000kWhs of electricity. I got this information off two bills about a year apart that has ACTUAL meter readings. Be wary of using estimated annual usage figures provided by your present supplier as they can vary during the course of a year.

    I then enter my calculated usage figures in any Ofgem approved comparison site and it will show the cheapest overall deal for my usage and my postcode. It will also give me an annual cost and monthly DD payment (1/12 of the annual cost). I ignore the savings. I also check to see whether going for separate gas and electricity suppliers will save me money: this works for me at the moment.

    If you use a site like MSE CEC, it will also show whether you will get any cash back if you switch using their site.

    If your estimated annual usage figures are wrong, then you can expect to see your DD change during the term of the contract: use more then pay more.

    DO NOT use £s to make energy comparisons as this will give distorted results: you must use projected kWhs/year as this is what you will be consuming.

    I have entered KWHs for both so at the end of the fixed deal it clearly shows the cheapest I would pay based on my actual usage and therefore what I would save if I switched today to elsewhere. That begs the question between now and the end of July prices will no doubt change again.

    From what you are saying I would have to create a new account on CEC for example and enter all my data.

    Which comparision website utilises all suppliers and tariffs? Is MSEs' the best in tha regard?
  • System
    System Posts: 178,093 Community Admin
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    jrsga wrote: »
    I have entered KWHs for both so at the end of the fixed deal it clearly shows the cheapest I would pay based on my actual usage and therefore what I would save if I switched today to elsewhere. That begs the question between now and the end of July prices will no doubt change again.

    From what you are saying I would have to create a new account on CEC for example and enter all my data.

    Which comparision website utilises all suppliers and tariffs? Is MSEs' the best in tha regard?

    Prices: who knows? We could have a change of Government and the £ could fall. Trump may well get impeached, and we could have all out War in Syria. For its part, BG has just announced the closure of one of the main UK gas storage facilities and there are problems in Qatar which provides us with a lot of liquified gas. This is one for you to decide.

    A comparison site only shows the prices available today. You may be 40 days away from the end of your tariff but a transfer of supply will take a minimum of 17 days and a maximum of 35 days. This leaves you with 23 or so days remaining on your old tariff. What would switching 23 days early actually cost you? My guess is a few £s at the most unless you still have your heating on.

    I switched my gas supply 6 months early to secure a good price for the coming Winter. On my present usage, I assess that I would have saved about £6 had I stayed with my previous supplier until the end of the contract term. I run a comparison once a month so that I can monitor what is happening in the market.

    Best of luck whatever you decide to do.
  • jrsga
    jrsga Posts: 93 Forumite
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    Hengus wrote: »
    Prices: who knows? We could have a change of Government and the £ could fall. Trump may well get impeached, and we could have all out War in Syria. For its part, BG has just announced the closure of one of the main UK gas storage facilities and there are problems in Qatar which provides us with a lot of liquified gas. This is one for you to decide.

    A comparison site only shows the prices available today. You may be 40 days away from the end of your tariff but a transfer of supply will take a minimum of 17 days and a maximum of 35 days. This leaves you with 23 or so days remaining on your old tariff. What would switching 23 days early actually cost you? My guess is a few £s at the most unless you still have your heating on.

    I switched my gas supply 6 months early to secure a good price for the coming Winter. On my present usage, I assess that I would have saved about £6 had I stayed with my previous supplier until the end of the contract term. I run a comparison once a month so that I can monitor what is happening in the market.

    Best of luck whatever you decide to do.

    Thanks very much for your help and advice
  • molerat
    molerat Posts: 31,855 Forumite
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    You really need to use a few different comparison sites as not all list all the suppliers, I don't think any single one does. Go for a no exit fee tariff if it will save you money, guaranteed win if prices fall later.
  • KTF
    KTF Posts: 4,820 Forumite
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    A related question as my current deal is due to end at the end of June.

    As the switching process will take me past that, do I end up staying on the current deal until the switch completes or does it change to the standard tariff on July 1?
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