Best deal for my elderly parents

Jobless_Katie

I wonder if anyone can help me out here? I'm currently looking for the best deal for gas and electricity suppliers for my elderly parents, both of which are retired. Is my best chance to check out the comparison sites, or are their any suppliers who offer preferential deals for oaps? I would welcome any suggestions.

1carminestocky

There are social tariffs but, tbh, they are usually nowhere near the best deal. The answer would really depend on your parents' usage. If they are very low users then Ebico may be a good deal for gas (their electricity is ridiculously expensive for most people, though). Online deals are normally cheaper but I would imagien you would have to administer it for them and, of course, online deals can actually end up becoming uncompetitive if you don't get to find out about the new online deal and ask to be transferred to it asap. Post up their usage if you know it and I'm sure there will be some good info provided on here.

magpiesaver

My elderly stepmum is with EON (this is in the NW of England - they may go under another name in other regions). They have transferred her to a special Age Concern tariff, which is mentioned elsewhere on this site as being a good deal.

Jobless_Katie

Thanks for that, we're in the NW so I'll look into it for them. Cheers!:T

jem16

magpiesaver wrote: »

My elderly stepmum is with EON (this is in the NW of England - they may go under another name in other regions). They have transferred her to a special Age Concern tariff, which is mentioned elsewhere on this site as being a good deal.

I don't know where you get that idea from. The EON Age Concern tariff has at best been described as a scam.

My elderly parents used to be on Staywarm(part of Powergen/EON) as they could use what they wanted. About 18 months ago they got the revised monthly DD from Staywarm advsing that their payments were to go up from £87pm to £105pm.

I looked into it and we decided that the best deal without making things too difficult for them was to transfer to another Powergen tariff called EnergyOnline extra saver. It's meant to be an online tariff so I said I would monitor it and put in the meter readings. It was agreed that £87pm would cover their usage - probably a little over estimated.

In the summer I organised a refund of £100 for them, so they are still paying £87pm. I keep an eye on it but their meter is still read even though techincially it shouldn't be.

If they were on the Age Concern tariff it would be costing them around 32% more.

KimYeovil

Beaten to the warning about the Age Concern tariff. (There is an outrage BernardM should turn his attention to.)

1carminestocky

Have to agree with Jem16, IME everything that is marketed with the name Age Concern seems relatively expensive! I once got a quote for Age Concern home insurance for my father and it was approx £100 more than the same quote with CIS! Be careful not to trust the name too much and always do your research!

Jobless_Katie

Thanks everyone for helping out. It looks like I'll have to do some more research. As a matter on interest, I entered their usage on a couple of the price comparison sites and British Gas where showing as the best deal for them using their on-line tariff, as they are already with British Gas and don't have a PC it looks like we're running out of options. I have suggested they contact BG and ask if they are able to offer any cheaper tariffs given that they are on fixed income pensions. Has anyone done this, and if so, any luck?:question:

wilf55

could you run their gas elec account from your pc they give you the reading as and when needed etc so that they can get a cheaper online tarriff I do this for a friend

good luck

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jem16

wilf55 wrote: »

could you run their gas elec account from your pc they give you the reading as and when needed etc so that they can get a cheaper online tarriff I do this for a friend

That's what I suggested earlier. I do exactly that for my parents. They didn't fancy an online account either. They do have a PC and are learning but not confident enough to run the account themselves.