MSE News: The new energy provider with the cut-price promise (Ovo)

Former_MSE_Guy

This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:

"The first new energy provider for years has entered the market, insisting it can help households cut their bills.

Ovo, a privately-financed company based in Gloucestershire, launched with the new cheapest ..."

Read the full story:
The new energy provider with the cut-price promise

Plushchris

Hate to be pick but when the first sentance of the article is not accurate then the rest is hard to follow..

First Utility are a new company, launched earlier this year/late last year?

So OVO arent "The first new energy provider in years"

1carminestocky

The two Ovo founders, Stephen Fitzpatrick and Kris Black, an ex-investment banker and drinks company director, say of their firm: "We use the latest technology to be more efficient and keep costs low.

Ooooohhh, where do I sign up??

michaels

Hmm - much cheaper fuel vs getting 50-100 quid cashback by switching every quarter - at the moment this seem scheaper but if the big 6 lower their tariffs to compete then the switch every 3 months system may move back to the top of the charts.

silo_2

i am also desperate to cut my bills and jumped when i saw first utility cost projections equal to 24% cut.

checking on the web found out that there is a price to pay - the reported appauling level of service. some horrendous stories.

currently i use Atlantic who are fabulous, but i pay for it in the high charges - so now being very wary of 1st Utility i am going to EoN - 16% saving

so go to 1st Utility if you must, but be warned.

michaels

Hmm - only small savings for me and zero if I switch my electricity to the best option.

1carminestocky

silo wrote: »

i am also desperate to cut my bills and jumped when i saw first utility cost projections equal to 24% cut.

checking on the web found out that there is a price to pay - the reported appauling level of service. some horrendous stories.

currently i use Atlantic who are fabulous, but i pay for it in the high charges - so now being very wary of 1st Utility i am going to EoN - 16% saving

so go to 1st Utility if you must, but be warned.

Talking of 'be warned', if you ever decide to leave Eon you will be charged a penalty for doing so.

wakeupalarm

What penalty is this? The no discount on final bill?

property.advert

What about Southern Energy which trumps Ovo ?

zaknumber1

be very carefull when changing to ovo energy i was paying 117 pound a month with atlantic and when i switched to ovo i was expecting to reduce this by 11 pound a month. when i got the direct debit mandate it wanted 134 pound a month when i rang and asked why they said they are different than other suppliers as they charge more in the winter and less in the summer rather than an average amount. so ive ended up with paying 17 pound more a month than i was before! and surprise surprise its too late to back out now. my advise is dont change to ovo energy if you want your bills to be less than what you were paying before dont get caught out like me

deshepherd

Npower are doing the same .... they announced it as "6 monthly payment reviews" along with a lot of stuff about how they wanted to ensure people didn't build up unexpected debts but in practice it looks like it means they're reviewing you payments in Sept/Oct so that for 6 following months (i.e. winter) you pay enough to cover the gas/electricity they expect you will use over those 6 months. Thus, despite my current payments being almost exactly correct for the last 12 months usage they're about to up my DD by 40%. Somehow I doubt they'll be as quick to reduce my DD in 6 months time. The amusing thing is had they left by DD unchanged I'd wouldn't have done anything but seeing the increase made be check comparison sites and I now see I can save ~20% by moving to another supplier so they've lost a customer.