Differing results from comparison sites!

VenusInFurs_2

Hi guys!

I got the MSE email today with info about the £100 cashback! So, I worked out my kwh usage for the past year (gas and leccy) and entered it on MoneySupermarket. It came back with savings of £58 if I switch to NPower. I then realised that I could get more cashback with EnergyHelpline so I went to their comparison site which came back with an even bigger saving of £155. I was a bit confused by this as the switch details were all the same and the cheapest was NPower again with the same tariff that came up on MoneySup. To double check, I thought I'd try Uswitch too and that came back with the same results as MoneySup. So, I scanned through everything and realised that EnergyHelpline have worked out my current usage as £100 more per year than the other 2 have! But I entered the same kwh on each site and all the details about my current tariff etc were correct!! So, how do I know which comparison site is giving the most accurate info? I have the feeling that EnergyHelpline may be bumping up the figures to make it look like you'll save more by switching - either that or it's a genuine mistake.

Has anyone else noticed this? It's not a reliable tool if the results are varying by as much as £100!!

Emma

Cardew

Many of us have compared the various switching site and provided you enter exactly the same information, the results are invariably within £1. - that is the total bill(£xxx pa) not necessarily the 'savings' It is very easy to put a different method of payment or not dual fuel etc.

It also could be that with Npower one site includes the £100 bonus at the end of the year and the other site doesn't - you need to look at the small print.

I would be very surprised if they do come up with different figures as they are regulated.

VenusInFurs_2

Hi Cardew

No it's nothing to do with the cashback. They have worked out my current usage to be £100 more on EnergyHL compared to what Uswitch and MoneySup have worked it out as. And I entered the same kwh in each.

So something isn't right!

I'm currently with Eon, FixOnline 3 Dual Fuel and pay by monthly DD. I double checked all the info entered so it's nothing to do with me making a mistake. My kwh for gas is 19776 and for leccy it's 4296. My postcode is CF39 8RE. So, have a go and see that it comes up with a £100 difference!

Regulated or not, one of them is wrong! And I suspect it's EnergyHL whish p's me off as I've always used them in the past and wonder if I've changed in the past based on incorrect figures and have actually ended up paying more rather than saving. £100 is a hell of a difference. I wouldn't bother changing to save £60 but I'd change to save £160!

It's too late for the cashback now but I still wanna know how much I'd save by switching.

Emma

notbritishgas

Hi
Cannot resist a challenge.
You are correct in what you say.
However did you notice that energy helpline work it out differently for an existing fixed tariff. They use the figures for the remaining period of the fixed tariff and then for the remainder of the year they use the figures (higher of course) for the tariff they are likely to move you to. This means your spend for the next year will be higher than if you remained on the fixed tariff for the year, and obviously this will be higher and the savings greater.
I find energy helplines method a little unusual as when your fixed tariff ends you would likely change to an equally chep EoN tariff.e

VenusInFurs_2

Thanks for working that out for me!! So, really it depends on how you wanna look at your future spends! I didn't even know I was on a fixed tariff but of course I am...it says 'fix' in the name. But last night I moved to Eons SaveOnline tariff as it was cheaper - I bloody hope I haven't cost myself a penalty now!!!

Cardew

VenusinFurs,

I specifically stated:

Many of us have compared the various switching site and provided you enter exactly the same information, the results are invariably within £1. - that is the total bill(£xxx pa) not necessarily the 'savings'

It is the total bill that matters, not the way they calculate savings. e.g. if Company A cost £1,000 and state savings are £100 they are a better bet than Company B who charge £1,100 and state savings are £200!!

VenusInFurs_2

Cardew wrote: »

VenusinFurs,

I specifically stated:


It is the total bill that matters, not the way they calculate savings. e.g. if Company A cost £1,000 and state savings are £100 they are a better bet than Company B who charge £1,100 and state savings are £200!!

I know what you 'specifically stated'! Those annual costs came out the same on each site. I 'specifically stated' that the difference of £100 was shown in what they estimate to be my current annual spend with my current supplier! Nothing to do with the comparison results of the different companies.

G1598

At the top of EHL there is a bit in red that explains how they work out capped tariffs, it more then likely guessed that at then end you would switch to the standard tariff or the one that is closer to what you was on and that is what the extra £100 is.