MSE News: Ofgem urges households to switch energy supplier

Sweey_as_a_nut

When the Conservatives sold British Gas and British electric, what did you expect the outcome to be, cheap power?

Some of it is in foreign hands, they have no interest in how much it costs our factories to produce goods.

My worry is, what they will sell off, when they get back in this year. The BBC is one I am concerned about, Rupert Murdock would love to get is hands on that, why else would he support them.

Plushchris

mattcanary wrote: »

The industry watchdog is a waste of space. Surely it would be better to force companies to reduce their prices, seeing as the wholesale price of gas has dropped considerably, rather than tell people they should shop around for the cheapest deal.
It is not exactly easy to find the cheapest deal, utility companies are almost constantly changing their products, and the majority of people have got better things to do wuth their time than constantly scour the internet searching for the cheapest deal (that is, if they even have an internet connection!)

I've never understood this point of view to be honest, it takes about 5 - 10 mins once every month or so to check if there is something better to move onto. Hardly a massive time commitment. Anyone that doesnt have an internet connection can do this by phone too in around the same time using a couple of the comparison services above.

kippen_noedel

savemoney wrote: »

£105 on your heating bill: Energy giants cash in on

wow, so if the average profit from energy is 5% that means the average bill for a home is £2100 :eek:

we can all rest easy knowing the experts at the daily mail are on the job, they are after all known for their honest and accuracy.

now where is that sarcasm smiley

honest_tom

Why cant the experts just give out the unit cost for individual companies? Regardless of who I buy my energy from, I have the same windows, bedrooms, number of radiators, levels of insulation etc.etc. If B/Gas charge 10p for the first 200 units and 5p for all the rest and no standing charge and Scottish Power charge 9p for the first 200 units and 4p for the rest, it is clear which is the company to be with. I usually end up more confused than when I start, when I am asked for my annual useage, property details etc. The energy comparison sites never give the simple answer. Price per unit is what we need.

Plushchris

honest_tom wrote: »

Why cant the experts just give out the unit cost for individual companies? Regardless of who I buy my energy from, I have the same windows, bedrooms, number of radiators, levels of insulation etc.etc. If B/Gas charge 10p for the first 200 units and 5p for all the rest and no standing charge and Scottish Power charge 9p for the first 200 units and 4p for the rest, it is clear which is the company to be with. I usually end up more confused than when I start, when I am asked for my annual useage, property details etc. The energy comparison sites never give the simple answer. Price per unit is what we need.

EVERY comparison site lists the price per unit. The experts know comparing the price per unit alone is a complete waste of time because of all the variables (different amount of tier 1 units, discounts etc)

If you put your kwh into any of the comparison sites they give the simple answer, I fail to see how this can be anything but the simplest way of doing comparisons, you can do it all in a spreadsheet if you really have that much time on your hands. Any comparison done on Kwh usage will be accurate, if you find any sites that do not give you an accurate result please post it on here.

20 mins and a couple of the comparison sites above will give you the answers you need. Dont look at the unit rates alone or you will end up on the wrong tariff.

Cardew

honest_tom wrote: »

Why cant the experts just give out the unit cost for individual companies? Regardless of who I buy my energy from, I have the same windows, bedrooms, number of radiators, levels of insulation etc.etc. If B/Gas charge 10p for the first 200 units and 5p for all the rest and no standing charge and Scottish Power charge 9p for the first 200 units and 4p for the rest, it is clear which is the company to be with. I usually end up more confused than when I start, when I am asked for my annual useage, property details etc. The energy comparison sites never give the simple answer. Price per unit is what we need.

Would it was that simple!

Apart from where you live, the level of consumption affects who is cheapest, as does how you pay.

Also there are the various discounts for dual fuel, payment by direct debit, standing order, some payable after a year.

'Confusion marketing' is the name of the game.

Plushchris

Its one of the reasons I like OVO energy (although I'm not with them) at least they are straight up with their pricing, a standing charge and a single unit rate and thats it, no stupid discounts and complicated tier structuring.

If every supplier had one or two tariffs available priced in that way it would make things a hell of a lot easier.

I'm not holding my breath for that to happen though....

KimYeovil

handyam25 wrote: »

[paranoid rubbish snipped]

Paranoid rubbish.

bjudson

I would like to second Anon's point about the way suppliers are now trying to lock in customer for up to 1 year. Clearly Ofgem need to start looking into the this practise and have it stopped. I regularily change suppliers when price dictates but I don't want to be tied to one supplier for 12 months. Come on Ofgem, pull your finger out

bjudson

One other point, why is BG allowed to get away with the words in their latest advert "we know it has been a difficult winter for you, that's why we are lowering our prices" what a load of BS...I guess I should write to the Advertising Standards Authority