comparison sites wildly different

paulsm

I have just compared my gas and elec through 3 sites but 2 came out less than half what I paid for the last year and the other came out at a little over what I paid , the two lower one state they will practically half my bill I am with atlantic for both on a standard tarfiff , but dont know which one to trust as they are so different , I did energy helpline uswitch and compare the market

anniecave

were you comparing using actual total number of units used in a year figures (not a monthly or yearly payment)? Monthly or yearly estimated useage could be very far out as prices have kept increasing so it depends how they calculate it. Even annual figures could be a bit out but they should be more exact.

Best thing to do is to recalculate their suggested tariffs with your exact figures of what you used, and double check the tariffs are still available and correct on the appropriate supplier website.

So with electricity you times your number of kwh per year by cost per unit and add on the standing charges for the year, then times all that by 1.05 (assuming the first prices didn't include VAT, if they did ignore the last stage)

if it's a two tier block rate then just work out how many units x first unit cost and add on the rest of the units at the second rate etc etc adding on VAT if necessary

if you have e7 (day and night usage) then you need to know exactly how many units you used on day and how many on night, then work it out as appropriate.

then subtract any discounts they are giving you (direct debit, online etc) and that's how much your cost will be.

If you haven't been in the property for a full year then you need to do your best guess of annual useage figures.

Have fun!

greenbee

If you're on a standard tariff its not surprising that there are cheaper options out there.

You need to make sure that all of the sites are giving you feedback on ALL available tariffs, not just the ones you can switch to via the website you're looking at.

As anniecave says, you need to make sure that you're comparing based on actual consumption, not estimates or DD payments. If you're planning on switching, its worth making sure you get your meter readings in to your current supplier regularly every month between now and when the switch goes through to ensure you don't get a nasty surprise when the final bill comes in (you might even get a pleasant one if your bills have been overestimated).

Ken68

Stick to one site, Paul, otherwise you'll get confused.dot.com.

moonrakerz

greenbee wrote: »

You need to make sure that all of the sites are giving you feedback on ALL available tariffs, not just the ones you can switch to via the website you're looking at.

Just as, if not more than, important is to see what discounts you are getting at present and what discounts the potential new supplier is offering for: dual fuel, paperless billing, direct debit, etc, etc.
A lot of the comparison websites seem very poor at taking these into consideration. My actual tariff seems high, but I get a total of 18% in various discounts, which is why I am staying put at present.

paulsm

I used my last 12 months useage figures , so why do 2 sites match and one be totally different

Plushchris

paulsm wrote: »

I used my last 12 months useage figures , so why do 2 sites match and one be totally different

Let me guess, Uswitch was the one that was completely different?

allan673

which is the best comparison site please

Plushchris

allan673 wrote: »

which is the best comparison site please

I've only ever really used energyhelpline as I dont like the way you have to give all the others your email address etc before the comparison and it always seems to give the most accurate comparisons when I've used it, always enter your Kwh for the most accurate results and you shouldnt go to far wrong. Plus its Martins top rated one.