Moneysupermarket Misleading Gas & Elec Quotes

Smeagal

I spotted this error before Christmas and made Moneysupermarket and Consumer Focus aware of it and thought they would have fixed it by now but having just done a new quote it seems they have not, their calculator is not working correctly and is giving savings elsewhere when in fact it would be dearer to switch.

This quote below is a quote I done with Npower Web 16 tariff where I enter an accurate annual usage in kwh for both elec and gas on monthly direct debit.

The first page that comes up is this page where it shows the savings you can get elsewhere on the dual fuel tab. (Note at the top where it says what I pay with my current supplier, this is correct due to me entering the kwh for both in my quote).




So on the Dual Fuel tab it shows I can save £99 by going elsewhere, maybe I can get better if I take gas and electricity with 2 seperate companies so I click the Gas tab:



That tells me if I take gas elsewhere I can save £111, ok now for electricity:



That tells me I can save £48 by going elsewhere.

So according to moneysupermarket the better option is to move to 2 seperate companies which would save me £160.40

However if you look at the electricity tab it is basing the 'savings' on a current electricity spend of £301 (shown at the top of the page) when the first page on the dual fuel tab shows my electricity spend to be £238, the best offer elsewhere of british gas is in fact £252 per year which is not a £48 saving but £14 dearer.

I have done lots of quotes now on their website choosing different companies and different tariffs and still get ths same issue so it is not just down to this Npower tafiff, it seems the problem is when you click the electricity tab it knocks off your dual fuel discount that you get (in the npower case it is £63) taking my annual elec spend from £238 on the first page to £301 that it then bases your 'savings' on.

Any quotation done on there site with a current provider giving a dual fuel discount throws up the same error.

If you are doing a quote don't just look at the 'savings' tab as they are wrong.

Premier_2

The difference between £301 and £238 is £63

You get £63 discount from nPower for dual fuel.

I don't think it's an error as such, just a strategic decision on how to deal with the dual fuel discount. e.g. if the customer switches gas to the lower cost supplier, but the electricity was still being displayed as £238, this would probably pursuade the customer not to switch the electricity (as all others are more expensive). But by not switching, the customer will end up paying £301 for electricity from nPower (£238 + £63). This would result in the customer not getting the best possible deal.

But I agree, people should look at the total cost, not the savings as that would indicate dual fuel from Scottish Power would be the best deal in this instance.

Smeagal

Premier wrote: »

The difference between £301 and £238 is £63

You get £63 discount from nPower for dual fuel.

I don't think it's an error as such, just a strategic decision on how to deal with the dual fuel discount. e.g. if the customer switches gas to the lower cost supplier, but the electricity was still being displayed as £238, this would probably pursuade the customer not to switch the electricity (as all others are more expensive). But by not switching, the customer will end up paying £301 for electricity from nPower (£238 + £63). This would result in the customer not getting the best possible deal.

But I agree, people should look at the total cost, not the savings as that would indicate dual fuel from Scottish Power would be the best deal in this instance.

All the other comparison sites I have checked when you click the electricity tab it still includes the dual fuel discount so it would still say £238 and then base any savings off that price, so in the scenario above they read best elec elsewhere is £14 dearer and the gas £111 cheaper so again it would be best to go dual fuel with scottish power.

There are other tariffs (for example EDF online version 5.1 dual fuel) where when you do a quote on moneysupermarket you already have the best dual fuel (EDF) but by going 2 seperate companies you can get gas £16 cheaper and electricity £6 dearer, at first glance this looks like a small saving but again the electricity £6 dearer is in fact £31 dearer as they have removed the £25 dual fuel discount and offered savings on that price instead.

This takes that quote from a possible switch at first glance to a best stay where you are after correcting the way their website deals with the dual fuel discount.

Like I say they are the only comparison site that removes the dual fuel discount from your current providers electricity usage and then offers savings off that higher price.

Premier_2

Smeagal wrote: »

All the other comparison sites I have checked when you click the electricity tab it still includes the dual fuel discount so it would still say £238 and then base any savings off that price, so in the scenario above they read best elec elsewhere is £14 dearer and the gas £111 cheaper so again it would be best to go dual fuel with scottish power....

I understand what you are trying to say, but the other websites could also be accused of being misleading.

If a customer looks and sees that they could possibly save £99 by switching to a dual fuel, but save £111 just by switching the gas supply only (not the elctricity since it is £14 more), then the customer may be mislead into hoping to save that extra £12 by just switching the gas (not realising they will be paying £63 more for keeping the electricity with nPower, because of the loss of dual fuel discount)

I think it's difficult to know how best to display the figures, and hence why different websites do so differently.

Like I said, I agree with you that people should look at what they will end up paying. The problem with the various, confusing price structures that the suppliers create is that the devil is in the detail; the comparison sites can only do so much with the confusing pricing structures they are trying to compare.

Smeagal

Premier wrote: »

If a customer looks and sees that they could possibly save £99 by switching to a dual fuel, but save £111 just by switching the gas supply only (not the elctricity since it is £14 more), then the customer may be mislead into hoping to save that extra £12 by just switching the gas (not realising they will be paying £63 more for keeping the electricity with nPower, because of the loss of dual fuel discount)

Maybe I am wrong but I am not aware of any provider that lets you leave 1 utility on a dual fuel tariff and lets you keep the same pence per unit rate on the other, surely the tariff name would change and so would the rate if you decided to just keep the electricity for example.

So if that is true then keeping your electricity at the £238 (+£63 you no longer get) and ditching the gas to go for the £111 saving is not an option.

The comparison sites provide you with 2 options, see if you can get better dual fuel elsewhere or go with 2 seperate companies. In moneysupermarket's case the 2 seperate companies option gives you a misleading electricity price providing your current supplier gives you dual fuel discount.

Cardew

Smeagal wrote: »

Maybe I am wrong but I am not aware of any provider that lets you leave 1 utility on a dual fuel tariff and lets you keep the same pence per unit rate on the other,

I thought most companies did the opposite and you kept the same rate, all you get is a dual fuel discount.

For instance this is the gas alone price for BG websaver 5

6.034p for the first 670 kWh per quarter, and 2.923p thereafter

This is the gas price for dual fuel:

6.034p for the first 670 kWh per quarter, and 2.923p thereafter

The electricity price is also exactly the same for Dual Fuel and electricity only.

You get up to £15 pa dual fuel discount calculated in this manner.

Dual fuel customers receive a discount on their electricity bill of 0.537 p/kWh off quarterly electricity Tier 2 rates (and night rates where applicable) up to a maximum of £3.75 (including VAT) per quarter appears on the electricity bill.

e.g. a discount for the first 700kWh a quarter.

It is a fact of life that the comparison networks exist to persuade us to switch supplier in order that they can get their commission - so will present the savings in a manner to make switching more attractive.

However whilst I understand the thrust of your argument, I tend to side with Premier's view. All that matter is the end price you pay.

Smeagal

I have spoken with consumer focus again today and they have given moneysupermarket until the 8th feb to get it fixed as they are doing an audit on them at the moment and also MS have rung me today saying it will be fixed by then.

Can't think why they are changing the site at all really given that it is not an error or misleading and we should be smart enough to disregard the incorrect 'savings' column and just look at the end price that you pay (which we all know is all that matters.)

Lets just hope that nobody has swiched by looking at the savings column alone and expected it to be correct which of course nobody would have as everyone knew to also look at the other column titled 'estimates annual bill' and subtract that from your current elec usage on the dual fuel tab (which is correct) and not the one at the top of the current electricity page which is wrong.

IF MS read this - don't bother changing your site after all it seems I am alone to think you need to show a correct 'savings' column under the electricity tab. With posters like the 2 above you are free to do as you wish.

Plushchris

And with atititudes like that posters are free to keep their rants to themselves and not expect any help in the future.

Smeagal

My attitude, I've come on here today to help others by mentioning that moneysupermarket's 'savings' colum is wrong (which no-one disputes) and to be careful if doing a quote and do some maths yourself.

In response to that I have had 1 person saying it is not an error or misleading (funny how MS are changing it then and consumer focus are making them change it) and another saying I agree with the first person saying all that matters is the end price you pay. (Where have I said different).

And why do you find it a rant to mention that my current price is X and moneysupermarket are saying it is Y and basing savings of the Y.

Plushchris

You've actually had at least three people picking holes in what you have said, its just that I would have only posted what both Premier and Cardew have already said.

Its a case of damned if they do, damned if they dont as far as the comparison sites are concerned, as premier pointed out, however they work out the dual fuel discount can both be described as misleading.

Smeagal

Ok 3 it is then, I stand corrected.

Anyway it will be corrected or uncorrected by the 8th Feb to show what all other comparison sites show so thanks to Premier which having re-read his post makes more sense now as I thought you wouldn't get the same rate if you ditched one utility and to Cardew for pointing out that you do still get the same rate.

Rant over.

/End thread