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Cardew

Hammock99,
For someone with no commercial interest in the company, you know an awful lot about the company and its aims! Apparently all gleaned from a single telephone conversation? - lots of the philosophy you are giving us is not on their website!

Well despite your 13 posts on the company, I am absolutely no wiser how we consumers gain from the scheme?

I also have absolutely no idea at all how the company will make money.

In the(now removed) thread by the owner, he stated that there will be full time employees - office etc.

The website specifically rules out the idea of them negotiating a lower price deal for members.

So if you have another 'phone call' with the owner, can you please ask him in simple terms how will this scheme save us consumers money?

Secondly how will the firm make money other than by selling our details to the utility companies?

Forgive my scepticism, but then as someone with no financial interest in the company, surely you will want to know the answers as well?

Of if you do know the answers, please enlighten us.

Hammock99

I’ve done my level best to give an economist's take on it and really can't offer any more - if you don't get it I can't help you. It seems to me you're big on cynicism but short on ideas to resolve a problem which confronts all consumers. Good luck with the next 7000 posts!

1carminestocky

Well, anyone who knows our 'history' will realise that Cardew and I rarely agree on anything but I share his cynicism with regard to your posts. They are just far too detailed for me to believe you are anything other than connected to the company. Blunt, I know, but I'm from Yorkshire . Maybe if you posted about something else on here every so often it wouldn't look so obvious

Hammock99

I'm also from Yorkshire so let me be blunt. I can understand where you're coming from, even though you happen to be wrong. This particular topic and initiative caught my imagination since it happens to relate directly to a field I'm interested in. I have very little interest in mass posts and, if nothing else, it's made me wonder what the motives are of other contributors...wildly diverse but nonetheless a fascinating study of human nature I suspect!

Cardew

Hammock99 wrote: »

I'm also from Yorkshire so let me be blunt. I can understand where you're coming from, even though you happen to be wrong. This particular topic and initiative caught my imagination since it happens to relate directly to a field I'm interested in. I have very little interest in mass posts and, if nothing else, it's made me wonder what the motives are of other contributors...wildly diverse but nonetheless a fascinating study of human nature I suspect!

It really doesn't matter a jot to me if you are the owner(the very thought;) ) or not; although Martin might have other ideas about his site being used this way!! What matters is how consumers will save money.

I am sorry to say that even if you have done your "level best from an economist's POV", I still, as stated above, have no idea how consumers will gain from this scheme.

Is it [strike]your[/strike] the owner's intent to pass the details of those registered to a utility company as "someone interested in cheaper fuel"?

If anyone else knows how this scheme works please enlighten me!!

I have to be blunt and state I am suspicious of this enterprise; and will remain so until the above questions are answered.

P.S.
Facetious remarks about 7,000 posts, might backfire if a proportion of them are devoted to the company - if we don't get answers!

Primrose

I have no idea how this scheme will work and suspect that until a "critical mass" of enquirers have registered and the organisation starts to try and negotiate with utilities we probably won't hear too much. What number a "critical mass" is, I don't know but possibly if one million British Gas customers decided to go walkabout, that might be sufficient to be an influencing factor in getting a preferential rate. As I don't know how many customers British Gas, or any other utility has, this remains another matter for conjecture.

tony222

If energy companies wanted to offer preferential rates to large groups of consumers wouldn't they already be doing it? There must be thousands of switches taking place every day by 'groups' of similar consumers through the various switching sites. Do energy companies offer any bulk buying discounts to simply switch, uswitch etc? errrrr no.

If it was something they were prepared to do they'd be doing it. Looking at the theory, I agree with previous posters. How will the company be financed during the time it would take to build up enough customers (500,000?) for the energy companies to be interested. Or will CP just take the switching commission from the energy companies?

Woby_Tide

IN a few months time they'll say they are still negotiating and hope to have some new soon. Then a couple of months later they'll have an exclusive deal on a satnav system. Then a shortwhile later they'll offer a link to an energy comparison site to make sure whether you can change suppliers whilst they 'continue negotiating'.

Cynicism...maybe

chris285

This post caught my eye as like Primrose the organisation I work for recently received details on Community Purchasing and I myself have joined. I don’t know if what Community Purchasing are doing will work but its intentions are laudable.

This post started off as a refreshing read with contributors recognising that nothing is guaranteed but that doing something is better than nothing.

I’m afraid my scorn for people who belittle others attempts to achieve whilst offering nothing of any value themselves knows no bounds. Do we really care how these people are going to make their money (even this site profits from its visitors), that they don’t staff their phones 24/7, and that you might get sent junk mail as a result of joining. The point is they are trying to do SOMETHING!

Whilst I understand that people don’t always agree, those of you out there who are consistently throwing up problems and reasons why this might not work would be better putting forth an alternative that will help people. Any useful ideas i’m sure we’d all be keen to hear them!

chris285

tony222 wrote: »

If energy companies wanted to offer preferential rates to large groups of consumers wouldn't they already be doing it? There must be thousands of switches taking place every day by 'groups' of similar consumers through the various switching sites. Do energy companies offer any bulk buying discounts to simply switch, uswitch etc? errrrr no.

If it was something they were prepared to do they'd be doing it. Looking at the theory, I agree with previous posters. How will the company be financed during the time it would take to build up enough customers (500,000?) for the energy companies to be interested. Or will CP just take the switching commission from the energy companies?

You don’t seriously think that any company is going to voluntarily offer to reduce its pricing! Get real!