first:utility - new energy company launches

1carminestocky

Where does it say that on their site, PC? Not being 'clever', I genuinely can't find it...


Edit: Found it on energyhelpline by just clicking Electricity only on the comparison tabs.

There is a cancellation fee of £50 if your contract with first:utility is terminated within the initial contract period of 24 months. Paper billing customers are charged an extra £1 a month (included in your savings figures).

Plushchris

I havent looked on their own site tbh, its just that when you do a comparison for electric only it says £50 cancelation fee and when you do a duel fuel it says £100

Plushchris

Just noticed the only tariff guide on their site is for duel fuel and that mentions a £100 fee, you have to call them for an electricity only guide for some reason

1carminestocky

A very puzzling company IMO....

Plushchris

I wonder if they would let you change tariffs in that 24 month period?

I think once people started getting the itemised bills they would be able to see if they can change their habits/usage and may benefit from going from the flat rate to two rate or two rate to three rate etc.

I really do like the idea of smart meters and admire FUs stance on clarity of bills but they could definately do with improving the clarity of their information on their website and their Ts & Cs

Cardew

It is the last point(and answer) that is of concern.

The only real advantage of FU is a modern meter.

If you pay by DD as most(??) of us do, what is the big advantage of this meter?

If I want to see what I am consuming, I look at my meter.

I simply cannot believe that people are prepared to pay extra and tie themselves into a contract for a couple of years simply to get this meter! - it is not as if it saves you money!

Cardew

Kuztardd wrote: »

for me, this tariff is the cheapest available according to a few different websites, I will save around £100 by moving to this company.
I can also look online and see my useage. i can also change my tariff accordingly.
I like the thought that I can look online and be geeky/nerdy and see how much i am using every half hour, it may be a half hour fad, but heck.. who cares if I am saving cash.

these are the reasons why I and maybe others would change..

Don't change if it will cost you more.. why would you? It is a no brainer!

If you wont save money, move along, it is that easy!

Are you sure that the comparison websites are using the price reductions that have been announced, but not yet implemented?

if FU is still cheapest after the end of this month, and you are confident that they will remain competitive, then agreed - give them a try!

However if I want to be that 'nerdy' I can look at my 'normal' meter "to see how much I am using" every 5 minutes - so that trumps FU!!!

1carminestocky

FU have definitely decided to try and compete on price as they are suddenly appearing in the Top 10 on my usage on the comparison sites (although last week their position on the switching sites was weirdly all over the place).

Funnily enough, even though I commend them for it, the fact they haven't tied themselves to a Big 6 operator for fuel sourcing would worry me ever so slightly...

zzzLazyDaisy

FU are coming up the cheapest on the comparison sites for me too (I am currently with BG on click 6).

I e-mailed them about two weeks ago through their site with some questions and disappointingly have had no response. So it is reassuring to know that another poster found that there is someone helpful on the end of the phone.

I remain concerned about the possibility of price rises during the two year lock-in, but in a way that is a good reason for going for it now, as they are far less likely to hike prices in the early days when they are still working at expanding their customer base. By the time they have enough customers to risk goodwill by raising their prices, the first people to have signed up will probably be reaching the end of their two year lock-in anyway.

I'm seriously thinking of having another look at this company, especially if I can switch between electricity tariffs, to suit my usuage as I use more evening/night electricity in the summer, and more daytime electricity in the winter when I spend much more time at home in the daytime.

SwanJon

Kuztardd wrote: »

If you utility boxes are outside your home you will not have to be at home to let them in.

I'm not sure how reliable that is. Whenever I've dealt with meter exchanges (especially gas) the customer needs to be in. (I work for BG, so have arranged a few)
For gas I think they need to flush out (purge?) any air that could have got into the pipes at the exchange, so they'd need access to the appliances.
I'm not so sure about electricity, but I know of occasions when the engineer has walked away because the customer wasn't there, even though the meter was outside.

As for the rest of it, it sounds interesting, and I'm sure we'll see alot more of this kind of thing (well, the government has said 2020, but we'll see...)