Switching - it's a mystery!

obscuregirl

Help! I want to see if I can get a better deal on my Gas and Electricity but every time I try a comparison site, I get stuck! They always ask me for my current usage - I'm not really sure what it is as I've only lived in this house for a few months.

I tend to make a guess and then when I look at the results, the unit prices are usually more than what I'm paying at the moment, so I can't see how switching would save me any money!!!

Is there an easy way of just comparing all the unit prices of all available tariffs, so that I can just see which one is better for me?

Gary_H_2

Who are you supplied by at the moment?

Gary_H_2

The best thing to do is take a meter reading then call your current supplier and ask for your consumption since you moved in, you should then be able to work out your rough yearly consumption, now i wouldnt use comparision websites, the rates are higher because they wil add their own little bit of commission, for example if they got a rate from SSE at 12.50 pence per kWh, they then add 0.2 comission so it goes up to 12.70 penece per kWh (they wouldnt do it for free)
you can contact the suppliers direct if you have the consumption, cut out the middle man and pay less

Premier_2

obscuregirl wrote: »

...Is there an easy way of just comparing all the unit prices of all available tariffs, so that I can just see which one is better for me?

Unit prices are not the only thing you need to consider, but also all the various possible discounts that you could also have.

As these vary by company, that is why a comparison site is useful.

However, you do need to have an idea of actual consumption to get an accurate result.

Premier_2

Gary_H wrote: »

... now i wouldnt use comparision websites, the rates are higher because they wil add their own little bit of commission, for example if they got a rate from SSE at 12.50 pence per kWh, they then add 0.2 comission so it goes up to 12.70 penece per kWh (they wouldnt do it for free)
you can contact the suppliers direct if you have the consumption, cut out the middle man and pay less

This is untrue. The unit prices quoted by the comparison sites are that available from the supplier direct.

The comparison sites get paid by a one-off referral sum, not a percentage of your ongoing bill. If you go direct to the supplier you will not receive this referral sum either. However you may be able to get a sum from a cashback site such as quidco.

Check out also the links to comparison sites in the resource bar above which also provide some form of cashback (or free wine)