Should i switch?

GoldenSwan

Hi All,

Would appreciate some guidance on the following...

Just had a man from Scottish and Southern Power knock on the door. After giving me a sales pitch, he checked my meters and last bill and reckons he can save me £350 a year on my fuel bills. On top of that i would get £150 cash (in two payments) for choosing them.

Due to life getting in the way, i haven't kept on top of the timings for do/dont switch advice, and so asked him to allow me time to do some research before doing any more about it. He repeatedly said i have 7 days to cool off. When i said i was interested in saving money but wanted to do my research first, as i have had problems in the past cancelling during the cooling off period, he got his mobile out and dialled the number to prove how quick they answered the call. (It was impressively quick) Felt he was using pressure sales tactics.

In the end i repeated that i was interested in saving money but wanted to research it first, and that if he had confidence in his product he would be happy to allow me time to do that and return, rather than using pressure sales tactics. He legged it out the door very quickly once i said "pressure sales" after we agreed a return time....

I get very confused by the hikes and rates etc, so i end up not checking the comparison websites, and it gets left on the to do list. That saving would be very useful though...

Can anyone just say whether or not i should just switch to them, or give me some quick pointers on how to know if i am getting the best deal.

TIA

GS

HalloweenJack

i got my electric and gas useage in kwh from last year , and since im on ec2020 had to `pen and paper` how much it was from the bill (and include [EMAIL="vat@5%"]vat@5%[/EMAIL]) , then just using a comparison site (i used ukpower) input as standard and read how much other offers would actually cost - for me the better savings was on gas rather than electric

just signed up to edf`s online saver 7 myself.

Pincher

GoldenSwan wrote: »

Can anyone just say whether or not i should just switch to them, or give me some quick pointers on how to know if i am getting the best deal.

No.

Go to moneysupermarket.com, click on "Utilities".

You do not know how much you are using, so ignore the usage boxes, just choose "medium user".

If you are inacapable of filling these boxes out, and getting a list of tariffs, you will be conned by the first salesman.

penrhyn

Ring your current supplier and ask for your annual usage figures, then use a comparison site as suggested.

There is no way the door step saleman would know how much he could save you, the only reason he wanted to look at you meter was to get the reference numbers, for switching purposes.
Hopefully you did not show him old bills or sign anything.
Beware he might be switching you without your knowledge.

macman

Please get real. All these people are interested in is the commission they earn from switching you. Of course you won't save £350 pa, unless you live in a castle and are already on the most expensive tariff. If you pick your tariff via a comp site after obtaining your annual consumption figures (take about 2 minutes-less time than you spent making your post or discussing it on the doorstep with him), and then sign up online via a cashback site, you get the genuinely cheapest tariff, and get to keep the commission that your con-man salesman was after.
No one can say if you are getting the best deal without knowing your consumption, your supply region and your current tariff. That's why you need to use a comp site for your initial research.

GoldenSwan

Thanks all for taking the time to read and respond to my post.

I told him what my usage was on the last bill and from this and my monthly dd amount he figured out the amount i could save.

Penrhyn: I made it clear that i did not want anything to happen until i had time to do my own research, but will keep an eye on billing, just in case he has done it anyway. Thanks for the warning.

Macman: that was my impression really, re the sales pitch/pressure.

My concern re switching myself is that i will take on a deal, just before a price drop or something. However i know that all the info is on this site, i just need to take the time this evening to read it, and get myself a better deal, via comparison site and cashback site, so that when he returns tomorrow, i can politely say no thanks (while not thinking politely) I expect its one of those things that once you've done it, you wonder why you didn't do it much sooner.

If nothing else at least it has spurred me on to do something as its been a while and therefore there must be savings to be made!

Thanks again,

GS

macman

Prices change all the time, if you wait on that basis you will never switch. The important thing is what tariff are you on now. If (as you imply) you're on standard tariff then any other tariff is better. You are simply throwing money away, as you are paying up to 20% more than the cheapest online tariffs through the winter).
Price rises will still affect you after a switch anyway, unless you opt for a fixed tariff.

GoldenSwan

Hanging my head in shame here...i have no idea what tariff i am on.

I pride myself on getting the best deals on most things, but have been sticking my head in the sand on this one, leading to a situation just as Macman describes...

Definetly sorting this out tonight.

Thanks

macman

GoldenSwan wrote: »

Hanging my head in shame here...i have no idea what tariff i am on.

I pride myself on getting the best deals on most things, but have been sticking my head in the sand on this one, leading to a situation just as Macman describes...

Definetly sorting this out tonight.

Thanks

It's shown on your bill.

GoldenSwan

macman wrote: »

It's shown on your bill.

Yes thanks i knew it would be.;) I think what i meant was that i thought should know it in my head, if i had it on the same priority level as my other household utilities/policies etc.

Having spent some time last night trying to do comparison sites i remembered why i have given up on this one in the past.....

On my bill it says i an on energy saver R1 (E.on) Yet when i do the comparison sites its not an option on thier drop down tariff menus.

So last night i thought i'd stick with it, i figured out my annual usage by subtracting oct 09 meter reading from oct 10 reading. Am i right to assume that this is KwH?

I found that the price per unit on the energy saver 9 tariff is the same as the one on my bill, so i put that one in, in the absence of R1. But when i filled in my usuage it said that on that tariff my bill should be under £600 per year! I wish....I pay £129 a month! Perhaps there are some standing charge differences, perhaps the meeting reading is not KwH,... so confused.

SO my questions are:
1) am i filling it in all wrong?
2)How should i fill it in given that my tariff is not an option?

Thanks again for your patience....i'm not "fick" really, my freinds all come to me for advice to get the best deals on insurance etc, but this energy one always stumps me!


Going to phone E.on to get my annual usage now, just so i can be sure i have that right...

GS

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

GoldenSwan wrote: »

Yes thanks i knew it would be.;) I think what i meant was that i thought should know it in my head, if i had it on the same priority level as my other household utilities/policies etc.

Having spent some time last night trying to do comparison sites i remembered why i have given up on this one in the past.....

On my bill it says i an on energy saver R1 (E.on) Yet when i do the comparison sites its not an option on thier drop down tariff menus.

So last night i thought i'd stick with it, i figured out my annual usage by subtracting oct 09 meter reading from oct 10 reading. Am i right to assume that this is KwH?

I found that the price per unit on the energy saver 9 tariff is the same as the one on my bill, so i put that one in, in the absence of R1. But when i filled in my usuage it said that on that tariff my bill should be under £600 per year! I wish....I pay £129 a month! Perhaps there are some standing charge differences, perhaps the meeting reading is not KwH,... so confused.

SO my questions are:
1) am i filling it in all wrong?
2)How should i fill it in given that my tariff is not an option?

Thanks again for your patience....i'm not "fick" really, my freinds all come to me for advice to get the best deals on insurance etc, but this energy one always stumps me!


Going to phone E.on to get my annual usage now, just so i can be sure i have that right...

GS

Hi GoldenSwan,

If you need your usage, you can use the email address in my profile page and I will be happy to help you.

Save you ringing

Helena