EDF Energy/E'On - to switch or not to switch

TwittersPVFC

Hello all,

I'm a bit new to this switching lark so not sure how it works. I've decided to finally switch to Direct Debit to save myself some money on my Gas and Electric, and I've been torn between E'On and EDF Energy.

E'On according to U'Switch work out at £30 a year cheaper, but EDF do the £100 bonus if you take up the Online Saver 7 tariff and if I go through Quidco I get an extra £80.

However, if I went through Quidco would I still get the same tariff as if I went through U'Switch and how quick do the two apply the bonus and cashback offers? (I know the two are separate)

Sorry if this seems a bit dense, I've just read many horror stories about DD's being too high or switches going bad and just want to make sure I'm switching to the right company and not going to have any problems! I don't want to end up with no power over xmas or British Gas (my current suppliers) giving me a gigantic bill!!!

t0rt0ise

If you go through Quidco you can still have the Saver7 tariff.. you just get the 80 quid bonus.

The horror stories about DD's going up will still apply!!

Premier_2

Unless you plan on switching regularly (in which case the biggest cashback and no tie-ins are more importtnat that the tariff cost) then ignore any cashback in your decision - they are one off payments; the tariff will provide year on year savings (assuming no prices changes, which admittedly is a big assumption)

That's Martin's advice too, at least in regards to any promises from cashback sites as he says it's not guaranteed until it's in your bank account. (The £100 offering direct from EDF is different as one would expect them to pay out if they are supplying you)

Essentially think of any cashback as an added bonus if you eventually get it.

Edit: there's also a possible £55 cashback for dual fuel switches to Eon through cashback sites

Mk14:37

Which Eon tariff were you looking at? Agree that it's important to understand length of lock in etc. I happily signed up to a 12 month tariff with Eon as I've compared a few times and it still came up the best; I'm on the fix online 8, which might not be available any more.

Your current product:
Product Benefits Unit Prices

E.ON FixOnline 8
Our cheapest Dual Fuel product
Check out our online offer this month! E.ON FixOnline 8 is our cheapest Dual Fuel product available and also provides the benefit of fixed prices right up until 1 July 2011. Fix your energy prices, receive an additional FixOnline discount and see how much you could save. A contract cancellation fee of £30 may apply if you move from this plan before the end date. Tesco Clubcard points are not available with this product.
Gas Discounts
6.00 % Direct Debit Discount
2.00 % Dual Fuel Direct Debit Discount
16.00 % Online Discount
Electricity Discounts
6.00 % Direct Debit Discount
2.00 % Dual Fuel Direct Debit Discount
16.00 % Online Discount
Electricity
Normal units up to 900 kWhs per year
24.3915 pence
Normal units
9.5445 pence per kWh
Gas
Normal units up to 2680 kWhs per year
6.5247 pence
Normal units
3.1584 pence per kWh
All prices shown are inclusive of VAT at 5%.

Mk14:37

You can switch to the following products:
Product Benefits Unit Prices Next Step

E.ON SaveOnline 4
With E.ON SaveOnline 4 your prices will always be at least 6% cheaper than our standard prices, right up to 15 January 2012
6% cheaper than our standard prices
Online account management
24/7 access to your account
No more paper bills
Gas Discounts
6.00 % Direct Debit Discount
2.00 % Dual Fuel Direct Debit Discount
Electricity Discounts
6.00 % Direct Debit Discount
2.00 % Dual Fuel Direct Debit Discount
Electricity
Normal units up to 900 kWhs per year
20.6535 pence
Normal units
8.946 pence per kWh
Gas
Normal units up to 2680 kWhs per year
5.2227 pence
Normal units
2.90955 pence per kWh



E.ON Price Protection May 2012
Protect your energy prices until May 2012
Choose E.ON Price Protection May 2012 when you switch to us for both your electricity and gas and look forward to protected energy prices until May 2012. You'll also receive Tesco Clubcard points.
E.ON Price Protection May 2012 ends 1 May 2012. E.ON Price Protection is not available with any other product. Terms and conditions apply. E.ON Price Protection is available for standard rate and Economy 7 customers only, excluding pre-payment customers. You must pay your bill on time to ensure you qualify for your prompt payment discount, or pay by fixed monthly Direct Debit to get your monthly Direct Debit discount.
Gas Discounts
6.00 % Direct Debit Discount
2.00 % Dual Fuel Direct Debit Discount
Electricity Discounts
6.00 % Direct Debit Discount
2.00 % Dual Fuel Direct Debit Discount
Electricity
Normal units up to 900 kWhs per year
25.83 pence
Normal units
10.1115 pence per kWh
Gas
Normal units up to 2680 kWhs per year
6.91005 pence
Normal units
3.34425 pence per kWh



Go Green
Electricity from 100% renewable sources, plus we'll offset the carbon produced by the gas used in your home.
Helping you do your bit for the environment
500 Tesco Green Clubcard points per fuel per year
Expert energy advice
Exclusive discounts on energy efficiency products
We’ll offset 1.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from your electricity usage and a token 1 tonne off your gas too
Gas Discounts
6.00 % Direct Debit Discount
2.00 % Dual Fuel Direct Debit Discount
Electricity Discounts
6.00 % Direct Debit Discount
Electricity
Normal units up to 900 kWhs per year
25.368 pence
Normal units
9.9225 pence per kWh
Gas
Normal units up to 2680 kWhs per year
6.6549 pence
Normal units
3.4755 pence per kWh



E.ON Track and Save 7 Dual Fuel
E.ON Track and Save 7 bills are guaranteed to be cheaper than BG standard bills
At E.ON we track British Gas' Standard dual fuel bills so you don't have to. So no matter what they do to their Standard energy prices, you could have cheaper bills with E.ON Track and Save 7 until 1 December 2011, guaranteed.
Gas Discounts
6.00 % Direct Debit Discount
2.00 % Dual Fuel Direct Debit Discount
Electricity Discounts
6.00 % Direct Debit Discount
2.00 % Dual Fuel Direct Debit Discount
Electricity
Normal units up to 500 kWhs per year
19.65495 pence
Normal units
11.16885 pence per kWh
Gas
Normal units up to 2680 kWhs per year
7.42455 pence
Normal units
3.06075 pence per kWh


All prices shown are inclusive of VAT at 5%.

Premier_2

Posting such tariff details probably doesn't help the OP.

The OP doesn't mention which supply area they are in and so the details could well be irrelevent.

I would suggest the OP sticks to the information from the comparison site

TwittersPVFC

Premier wrote: »

Posting such tariff details probably doesn't help the OP.

The OP doesn't mention which supply area they are in and so the details could well be irrelevent.

I would suggest the OP sticks to the information from the comparison site

The figures I've got from USwitch for my area, based on savings, are as follows:

E.On SaveOnline 4 - Save £163.82 per year on my current bill
EDF Energy Online [EMAIL="S@ver"]S@ver[/EMAIL] 7 Duel Fuel - Save £136.12 per year on my current bill

So based on that (the savings are based on my kWh usage per year), E'On would be saving me £27.70 a year. However, EDF Energy also provide the £100 bill credit (£75 Electric and £25 gas) on top of that. So if I were to stay with EDF for 3 years, I'd still be saving money by choosing the slightly higher tariff. If however it went to 4 years, I'd lose money (£10.80). However, prices can change between now and then so it's hard to exactly predict, and the Online [EMAIL="S@ver"]S@ver[/EMAIL] 7 expires at the end of next year anyway so I'd probably look at switching at the end of next year anyway.

So I'd get the £80 cashback from Quidco (no idea when) and the £100 applied to my bill by EDF within 90 days of having transferred over if I went with that one. However, the missus is wary of offers like this as there always seems to be a catch, which is why I've come to you kind people for help and advice!

(NPower and ScottishPower were slightly cheaper than E'On as well, but I've ruled them out on the basis of their service ratings and experiences of others. I'm happier to pay slightly more knowing I'll get better customer service.)

macman

TBH the only 'customer service' they have to supply is billing. Other than that it's the same power/gas coming through the same cables/pipes. if you have an gas or electric emergency then it's the regional supplier you call out, not your own provider. Even the meter reading is usually done by a 3rd party these days.

TwittersPVFC

It does look like that as long as I stay with EDF for at least a year and prices don't change too much this will work out cheapest so I'm going to go with this.

The one pondry I have though is when in November to sign up, as I need to try and budget for new direct debits.

How long does it usually take for the first direct debit to be due?