London Energy descrepancy

Gambler

EileenH wrote:

Yes, when you get your log-in details you can register your Nectar Card. I have earned 400 points for registering both fuels.

Is it worth getting a nectar card then?

jem16

500 points means £2.50 off shopping at Sainsbury's or £5 off a meal for two at TGI Fridays.

There are of course other rewards. I already have a Nectar card and collect points from Sainsbury's so it just means I earn a few extra points from London Energy. My barclaycard used to give me Nectar points but they stopped doing it.

EileenH

jem16 wrote:

Have you received your cashback yet?

No not yet, I think it will take a while to come through. This is what it says on the EnergyHelpline website:-


"We will pay you once your switch has gone live and we have been paid by the new supplier. This is normally 2-3 months. Your supply will be switched in 4-6 weeks time and we are normally paid a further 4-6 weeks later."

EileenH

Cardew wrote:

When you state you have "saved £150" and saved your mother £80 I assume they are predicted savings over the forthcoming year?

A great many people have switched using the predictions of energyhelpline and similar websites only to find the predictions were way off the mark.

This is particularly so with those who didn't give accurate consumption figures in kWh. They say, for instance, "I am paying £50 a month" get a quote for £40 a month and think they are saving £120 a year.

I am not implying this is what you have done, however I think it would be more accurate to say you are predicted to save £150 rather than "have saved £150.

Ok, if you want to be picky, I should have said I will save £150 over the year. I think anyone reading it will know that I couldn’t possibly have already saved £150 and I haven’t got the cashback yet either.

I agree that for accuracy you should use the kilowatts per hour figure and use actual meter readings (not estimates) for a full 12-month period, which is exactly what I did, rather than how much you pay per month. I also checked that the tariffs quoted for my previous supplier were shown correctly on the comparison site and I also did a manual calculation just to be sure before I went ahead and did the switch. If I compare the monthly payments that I am now making to London Energy to the monthly amount I was paying to my previous supplier then I would appear to be saving £222 over the year which is totally inaccurate.

EileenH

Gambler wrote:

Is it worth getting a nectar card then?

Well, if you register your gas and electricity accounts online, pay by Direct Debit and collect points on both fuels for a full year you would earn 3,200 Nectar points in your first year. You can turn your points into cinema tickets, flights, wine, money off high street shopping, etc. Have a look at the Nectar website to see how and where you can collect and spend the points and then decide if it is worth it for you. You can apply for your card online from the Nectar website.

Cardew

EileenH wrote:

Ok, if you want to be picky, I should have said I will save £150 over the year. I think anyone reading it will know that I couldn’t possibly have already saved £150 and I haven’t got the cashback yet either.

I agree that for accuracy you should use the kilowatts per hour figure and use actual meter readings (not estimates) for a full 12-month period, which is exactly what I did, rather than how much you pay per month. I also checked that the tariffs quoted for my previous supplier were shown correctly on the comparison site and I also did a manual calculation just to be sure before I went ahead and did the switch. If I compare the monthly payments that I am now making to London Energy to the monthly amount I was paying to my previous supplier then I would appear to be saving £222 over the year which is totally inaccurate.

It certainly was not my intent to be “picky”; merely to clarify.

Judging by the some of the posts on this forum many people seem to have absolutely no knowledge of how the Direct Debit system works – they appear to think 12 payments equate to their annual bill – or their tariff. It is not difficult to assume they will think savings are guaranteed and they are the people reading these posts.

The point I was making is the predicted savings given by these comparison sites is always on the assumption that the tariff will not change over the following year. Over the past couple of years all of the utility companies have changed their tariffs at different times, often leapfrogging each other. Look at the many posts on this forum where people have changed suppliers only to find their predicted savings have been severely cut, or in some cases are worse off than previously.

Unless you are changing to a fixed/capped tariff(and I don’t believe you have said you were) it is still not correct to say “I will save £150” . If it were that easy surely we would all change.

‘Counting your chickens' comes to mind!

jem16

EileenH wrote:

No not yet, I think it will take a while to come through. This is what it says on the EnergyHelpline website:-


"We will pay you once your switch has gone live and we have been paid by the new supplier. This is normally 2-3 months. Your supply will be switched in 4-6 weeks time and we are normally paid a further 4-6 weeks later."

Thanks Eileen. I'm now between 2 & 3 months since my switch. I'll maybe wait a couple of months and then email.

jem16

Cardew wrote:

Unless you are changing to a fixed/capped tariff(and I don’t believe you have said you were) it is still not correct to say “I will save £150” . If it were that easy surely we would all change.

‘Counting your chickens' comes to mind!

You do have a bee in your bonnet about people switching

You have taken a gamble in opting for BG's price freeze nad we have taken a gamble in switching to cheaper fuel now. I am saving money now - that's a fact. You may save money later.

London Energy Online put up its prices on the 1st October so an imminent price rise is unlikely although obviously not impossible. Both Eileen and I compared our actual usage so our figures are accurate. Yes London Energy Online may well put up their prices again in the next year but so will BG and SP so our savings will probably still apply.

EileenH

jem16 wrote:

Thanks Eileen. I'm now between 2 & 3 months since my switch. I'll maybe wait a couple of months and then email.

The last time I switched I received my cashback via Simply Energy without any problem. I don't know what EnergyHelpline are like in that respect but I've diarised to make sure I get the cashback, you will probably get yours before I get mine so please post when you get it?

jem16

EileenH wrote:

The last time I switched I received my cashback via Simply Energy without any problem. I don't know what EnergyHelpline are like in that respect but I've diarised to make sure I get the cashback, you will probably get yours before I get mine so please post when you get it?

No problem Eileen. Can you let me know if you get anything from them?