New money saver questions - uswitch/energyhelpline results - Scottish Power

pjblink

Hi guys,

Bare with me, i'm fairly new to money saving, but am taking it up more as a hobby/interest than a serious neccessity.

I've only been living with my partner now for just over a year, and we've always been with EON standard tariff for our utilities. First apartment was all electric, then a house which was gas-electric(gas oven), now we're in a smaller 2 bed house with gas and electricity, electric oven, gas hob, gas fired central heating.

Putting my details through uswitch and energyhelpline.com and both are bringing up the best option as ScottishPower Pay In Advance (Both Standing and No Standing Charge). I'd be saving a whopping 20% according to their calculations from our last quarterly bill.

Since this is the first time i'm switching suppliers can i ask a few questions?

We moved house and took our supplier (EON) with us just under a month ago. Is there a minimum period before you can switch?

What are the commitments to this tarrif from SP? If i pay the standing charge, would i lose that entirely if we switched before the 12 months?

I guess we also need to take into account that we hope to cut our electricity and gas further, we were already pretty careful with it. Currently running up around 4kwh electricity per day, and we just spent a fortune in Matalan - so trying to cut down on CH usage...still switched off

Any help and advice much appreciated!! :j

Thanks, Patrick

Premier_2

You can apply to switch supplier whenever you like.

The SP pay in advance tariff requires you to pay for at least a years consumption upfront, in return for which you'll get a 5% discount until that money runs out.

I can't see anything to prevent you switching supplier before the money runs out, and if you do, you would be billed for what you consumed and any balance left over be returned to you. Standing charges are calculated on a daily basis and charged pro-rata.

Cardew

Premier wrote: »

The SP pay in advance tariff requires you to pay for at least a years consumption upfront, in return for which you'll get a 5% discount until that money runs out.

Surely the Scottish power Pay in advance tariff 5% discount only applies to their Standard tariff prices, and you can get far cheaper internet tariffs?

pjblink

Cheers for your responses

Does the standing charge mean that if i'm paying the equivalent of 12.71p a day for electricity, that i go straight onto the lower tariff of 9.309p/kwh to add on OVER the standing charge? Or do that standing charge go towards my daily use?

Or is the Pay In Advance bit completely different. Am i expected to pay £700 - £800 up front??

Premier_2

You can either opt for a standing charge or no standing charge tariff.

If you opt for a standing charge, you pay that daily figure no matter how much or how little energy you use ... and the unit pricing is 1 tier.

With no standing charge, the unit pricing is 2 tier. That is to say, initial units will be charged at a higher rate, remaining units at a lower rate (which is usually the same rate as the nsc tariff). It's no surprise that if you calculate things out, you'll probably see that the most 'premium' you'll ever pay with a nsc tariff equals the standing charge. If you don't reach the tier 1 limit, you'll pay less. So why ever choose a standing charge tariff?

Pricing details here:
http://www.scottishpower.co.uk/mediaAssets/doc/Pay-in%20Advance-March09.pdf

pjblink

I think i'm still confused! And for that reason, i think i'm going to try Ebico. I've heard about them lots on here, and all seem like good reviews. They're third on my list under SP (SC and NSC) and still estimate a 17% saving. At least my electricity monitor will be more accurate with just one tier pricing

slummymummyof3

Scottish power are offering £110 cashback through topcashback as well

pjblink

But am i correct in thinking i have to pay for an estimated year's usage up front? So i have to pay, say, £700 up front?

Premier_2

pjblink wrote: »

But am i correct in thinking i have to pay for an estimated year's usage up front? So i have to pay, say, £700 up front?

That is correct. You have to pay at least 1 years anticipated consumption up front. That's why it is called Pay in Advance.
Indications suggest the minimum they accept is £600, but more if they have reason to believe your annual consumption is higher.

I believe the amount you pay in advance is negotiable as the more you give them in advance, the longer you have the discount. The discount ends when the amount you paid in advance runs out.

Of course, when the funds run out you could ask to pay for another year in advance ... but that assumes the tariff will still be available in a years time.

Bobjob_2

Personally I think you would be crazy to pay in advance. This is like the biggest direct debit overpayment ever. What will happen is that, as they do with DD, they will decide your annual payment is actually not enough and will ask for more money, wiping out your saving. Their customer service is very very poor, especially on internet tariffs when they take 24-48 hours to reply each time. ScottishPower is simply not trustworthy enough to hand them that kind of money in advance.

Premier_2

Bobjob wrote: »

Personally I think you would be crazy to pay in advance. This is like the biggest direct debit overpayment ever. What will happen is that, as they do with DD, they will decide your annual payment is actually not enough and will ask for more money, wiping out your saving. Their customer service is very very poor, especially on internet tariffs when they take 24-48 hours to reply each time. ScottishPower is simply not trustworthy enough to hand them that kind of money in advance.

Yes, it is in a way, but you agree the advance payment that is required upfront. If you can't afford it, then you don't pay them anything.
The more you pay, the more discounted energy you get.