Couple of nPower switching questions

Nuisance_Value

Hello

I've just done a comparison for switching my gas and electric provider from British Gas and have found that npower are approx £200 per year cheaper. They also have an additional £100 discount in the first year which is a nice bonus. However, I currently have a credit of £450 and £60 on my BG gas and electricity accounts.

My questions are these..

1. How will BG pay this money back assuming I switch?

2. Assuming I do all the online forms 'now' how long does it take for npower to take over?

3. How do they know what my meter readings are, do they ask for these? And if so, do BG ask for them also on a pre-set date in order to avoid overlap? This also impacts on the amount of money they owe me in Q1.

Thanks in advance.

macman

You'll get a cheque or a credit direct to your account after you have switched and the final bill is calculated.
Typical switch time is 4-5 weeks.
You supply a final reading on the determined date. No switch is possible unless the 2 providers agree the same reading, i.e. the closing reading for one is the opening reading from the other.
Make sure you switch using a cashback site rather than a comparison site in order to maximise the benefit.
NB: did you do your comparison based on annual kWh consumption? if you did it on monthly DD payment then the figures will not be accurate.

Nuisance_Value

macman wrote: »

NB: did you do your comparison based on annual kWh consumption? if you did it on monthly DD payment then the figures will not be accurate.

Thanks for all that information. I wasn't sure how they handled it but assumed it was sort of like a conveyancing procedure.

To answer your question, yes I did use previous kWh data. I also looked at some switching sites and found this one..

communitysave co uk (won't allow me to post links)

Apparently they cover ALL suppliers and tariffs unlike most others. Is that correct? Obviously the £15 switching bonus would be a donation.

Reading through the forums about npower is making me wary though, they sound pretty rubbish.

Hmmmm, a quandry.

macman

npower CS does not have a good reputation, but at the end of the day it's the same gas and electricity you are getting regardless of supplier. All they have to get right is the billing.
You will get a lot more than £15 if you use a cashback site, more like £100 on some dual fuel tariffs.

Premier_2

Nuisance_Value wrote: »

...To answer your question, yes I did use previous kWh data. I also looked at some switching sites and found this one.. ...

Shame you didn't use the ones MSE Martin recommends.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/you-switch-gas-electricity?dd

Well you kind of did in a way. The site you found uses EnergyLinx which is one of the sites Martin does recommend.

But instead of £7.50 per fuel, using Martins link you can get £17 per fuel (terms apply)

You'll find all the same suppliers and tariffs on any of the half dozen comparison sites Martin recommends (and indeed on any other legitimate comparison site)

Nuisance_Value

Thanks for all your help guys. I shall spend a little longer investigating the other comparison/switching sites and see how to maximise benefits.

I believe I can make savings/cashback of around £357 in total (£217 switching saving, £100 bonus from npower with the online 19 tariff, circa £40 in cashback/vouchers from the switching site) Not a bad saving.

Thanks again.