Utility Warehouse. Why did I switch?

Quentin

pirate66 wrote: »

Right, let me explain. I pay around £95 a month ON AVERAGE.......I am more than happy with UW due to the phone and internet service. For example, if I need to call their internet service it isn't a premium rate number, unlike others.

By now introducing average bills you are moving your goalposts somewhat!

And you mislead when you say their internet "service" isn't a premium rate number.

Guessing you mean their internet support service, you can have free calls, but pay for them monthly by joining their club at the more exdpensive silver or gold levels. Otherwise they do use an expensive 0844 number.

(Not all the "others" use expensive numbers like this - eg, o2 use a free 0800 number, and plusnet use an ordinary rate geographic number)

pirate66

I haven't "introduced" average payments, I clearly stated what I paid each month. If you times that by 12 and divide by the same you'll reach an average!! Maybe my first post wasn't very clear.
I had to use their support servive recently (2nd time in 4 years) and it may have been an 0844 number, but it certainly wasn't a high-premium number.

Have to go out now, but will work out my yearly power use this evening. Personally I'm content with £24 gas and £35 electric plus £1.50 membership and then Vat.
Savings would have to be over 12% to consider a move

1carminestocky

Quentin and Cardew - the UW Thread Tag Team. :rolleyes: Jeez....:p

Quentin

pirate66 wrote: »

I haven't "introduced" average payments, I clearly stated what I paid each month. If you times that by 12 and divide by the same you'll reach an average!! Maybe my first post wasn't very clear.

The first post was clear as day!

pay a little under £100 pm for gas/electic/telephone/broadband. Bill varys from £90-98.

But the way your average now gets brought in to explain it isn't! Why do we take what you pay in a month and both multiply and divide that by 12?

Do you mean you have a budget type payment each month (based on your total annual cost)?

NigeWick

1carminestocky wrote: »

Nigel, a quick question. Is there actually a potential 3% gross referral discount available per customer referred by an existing customer? What I mean is there are actually 6 products available, gas, electric, phone, broadband, mobile and cashback card. If a customer referred a friend who took all 6 services, would the discount equate to 3%? TIA.

The services available are:- Broadcall (counts as 2), Electricity, Gas, Mobile phone, standalone landline, standalone broadband and 0800 number. I have gas, electricity, landline for the home, Broadcall for my study, an old mobile for SWMBO. I also have the pre payment card that does not count a service. I used to have the 0800 number too, but I gave it up as I stopped advertising and the children did not need it in case of an emergency.

Nigel.

NigeWick

Quentin wrote: »

It all sounds very convoluted.

It does not sound convoluted to me. As I explained previously, I spend an average of just under £300 in Sainsbury's using the pre payment card. THAT more than makes up for any deficit I would have had by obtaining my utilities from cheaper suppliers. Sometimes I spend at Boots and Argos and get even more off my utility bills. I put money in to the card a day or two before I use it. The difference between the interest I get from a bank and nothing over a couple of days, or even heaven forbid, a whole week, is negligible. I have already told you that I included the ongoing cost of the card when I worked out how much I save. Virtually all of my purchases are groceries and Sainsbury has a very good returns policy, as do other shops these days.

1carminestocky

It's far less 'convoluted' than what many people on this forum do - only last week we had a poster who admitted to using FIVE different phone companies to get the best deal on his calls, LOL. What's so convoluted about paying for groceries/petrol on the UW card instead of any other card? It's just that Quentin is for some reason so outraged by UW's very existence that he refuses to admit that there are some good points. By my reckoning Sainsburys have approx 2 million regular shoppers. A large proportion of them WOULD save money by signing up to UW and using the card. Simple fact. Hard to argue against.


PS And it's not as if current accounts are paying out meaningful interest these days..

pirate66

Well the electric and gas are budget. The telephone element fluctuates, BB is fixed.
Add them all up and I have an average payment of £94 over past 3 months.

For anyone who wants to check my best deal I seem to be using 11,000KW of gas per year and 3,750 of electric.

Plushchris

So what would happen if you loaded £200 onto the card and then UW went into recievership? Would you get that money back or would you be in the same position as people with Zavvi gift vouchers?

Quentin

NigeWick wrote: »

It does not sound convoluted to me.

Here's the scenarios: (let's see which makes sense on this moneysaving website)

1) Ignore the cheaper on line tariffs for energy and deliberately sign up for uw tariffs for years even though you know they are more expensive.

2) Then in late 2008 buy a uw prepay cash card and use it at uw designated shops. This will give me some discount off my expensive bills.

or:

1) Get the cheapest tariffs available using all the advice available on MSE.

2) Take advantage of any true cash back cards that are free and give me cashback everywhere I use it.