Find The Cheapest Gas & Electricity Plus Cashback Article Discussion

4_Pete's_Sake

For the last 21 months, I have enjoyed the benefit of being on Powergen's Capped Tariff Ending 1st October 2007 and was expecting to switch supplier for a better deal. However last week I received 2 letters from them.:j

The first was from Sue Urmston in their Customer Services Dept. It stated that from 1/10/07 I would automatically be moved onto their capped rate tariff which runs until 1/4/10. It also gave me the unit costs and when I compared these to my current tariff I soon realised that under this new tariff I would have to be paying £95 a month instead of our current £80 a month.

The second letter was from Jacqueline Hale, also in their Customer Services Dept. She stated that following a review of my account my payment would be reduced by £10 a month to £70 a month and that this would cover the cost of energy used until next year's spring quarter. (Some hope):rolleyes:


I phoned them to discuss the contradictory letters and was told that Hale's letter was based on the old tariff expiring on 1/10/07 and not on the new tariff and they confirmed my calculation that I would need to pay £95 a month.:mad:

In my search for a new competitive tariff to switch to I used the following 2 comparison sites:

http://www.energyhelpline.com/
http://www.ukpower.co.uk/domestic-input.asp

The cheapest was Npower's Sign on line 8 costing me about £70 a month, however if fuel prices soared again and I made a quick exit into a capped rate elsewhere I would lose out as the npower tariff includes a large discount paid at the end of each year - anything from £21 to £84 a year. Therefore over the year you will save the money quoted, however, if you leave during the year you will lose the discount and some of your savings.:eek:

The better option seemed to be Scottish Power's Online Energy Saver 4 at £72 a month. With this tariff there is the benefit of reduced prices if the price of energy falls. However if prices look as if they are going to soar, you can ask them to switch you into their Online Price Fall Tariff which will cap the price until November 2008.:D

I avoided going straight into SP's Online Price Fall Tariff as if energy prices fall the prices on this tariff will only do likewise if their "Standard Tariff" prices drop below the "Price Fall Tariff".:eek:

You have to be very canny and switched on when making choices about energy companies especially when it is not clear which direction energy prices might go next. Also never believe what they say in letters until you have done your own calculations based on your own usage.:cool:

Also whilst my switch to SP is going on I have asked Powergen to move me onto their Price Guarantee Tariff from 1/10/07, by doing this I will avoid the high prices on their new capped tariff until the switch goes ahead, a saving of about £9 for the month of October.:D

Hope this is helpful to somebody.

Pete

fusty

finally got my backside in gear and did a price comparison (energyhelpline)
going from powergen to npower will save us £175 per year (& £15 cash back), no problems with powergen, except price!
I believe it depends where you live & which company supplies that area as to who can offer the better deals.
It will take 4-6 wks to change (or 1 phone call to stay) but for £175 i know which we will be doing.
Have a look at what is on offer, it is better in your pocket, not theirs!

hostertlady

I am doing a complete overhaul of all my 'providers' and i have just had my Broadband reduced by half so now i am on to my gas and electric suppliers, my gas ( british Gas) is not a bad price only £24 a month but my electric............

I am with Scottish power and they have just put my monthly direct debit up to £69 a month which i feel is a tad high to say the least, while looking at my last bill i noticed that from 22/05/07 to 14/06/07 i used 454 units ([EMAIL="454@9.513"]454@9.513[/EMAIL]) in 3 weeks

then from 15/06/07 to 30/08/07 i used 1365 units ( 1365 @8.9) in 10 weeks

i think that i am using a lot of units and that is why it is so dear but what do you think?? what do you use???

should i try and get my electric through BG?? just a thought

John_Pierpoint

Hi hostertlady

I have recently been allowed to switch from the Scottish Power standard "do you expect us to cut our prices?" tariff to their "E" tariff, where you can run your account over the net. The saving was more than 17.5 percent in my case because the new bill including the VAT was cheaper than the old bill before the VAT:eek: Obviously your choice depends on your pattern of use and where in the country you live.

I would check the comparison sites and check if your meter is in-line with your payments and then give Scottish Power a call if they are within a few percent of the lowest price you find. (Better the devil you know........)

(I spoke to Donna Wall on 0845-2700053 X 2690. I think she only works part time (kids?) but I'm sure she would help you if the company rules allow her to do so. If not, I'm sure she would point you in the right direction. It is really nice these days to meet someone in customer services, who is prepared to take personal responsibility for her customers)

Let us all know how you get on.

John

PS Unusual name? Should I say welcome to someone from the Grand Duchy?

Gambler

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

The saving was more than 17.5 percent in my case because the new bill including the VAT was cheaper than the old bill before the VAT:eek:

Isn't fuel VAT only 5% or am I getting mixed up?

Mollymop5

Hi, I'm after a bit of advice.
I have used a couple of price comparision sites today as I'm looking to find the cheapest gas and electric suppliers.They have come back with a saving of £130 using Scottish hydro electric.I've checked out a couple of reviews but they seem to have mixed feelings.Do any of yous use this company or know anything about their reputation.I'm kind of a "if it aint broke then don't fix it" kinda gal andI'm not sure whether its better just to stick with npower as i've never had any problems.

John_Pierpoint

Gambler wrote: »

Isn't fuel VAT only 5% or am I getting mixed up?

Yes, you are right.:o

My mistake - not saving as much as I thought I was.:D

gordylad

Have gas and electric with BG and SP so decided to switch to BG for duel fuel. Nice earner through quidco of 60 pounds and think we will be a lot better off in the long term.

brenda50

I am one week away from my first year in this property (one bedroom bungalow) so am looking for a cheaper supplier if possible though i must say I have been pleased with Equipower for service and price.

Up till now my gas consumption for 51 weeks is 192 units @ 2.430p per kWhwhich at a very loose estimate is £154 or £13 a month and electricity is 1374 kWhs @ 9.31p or about £128 or £10 a month which is less than average use.

I gave up my electric cooker last year and use a Remoska which is saving me, and I heat only half the bungalow at night in winter.

I am looking forward to knocking off a bit more from £23 a month. I just bought a new FF which uses less juice so here's to an even cheaper year.

speedy_gonzales

Hi

I have used a few other MSE forums and often find there are 'Experts' who will check figures etc. to give a second opinion before you go ahead and change e.g. mortgages, bank accounts, etc.

I am wondering if the same is true for energy as I would like to have my calculations 2nd checked before going ahead.

Is that the case on this forum before I go and type a long winded post??

thanks in advance

speedy