Does Martin Lewis know ...?

mattcanary

Who's to say a fixed tariff will be best in the enxt few years? Depends what happens to the variable cost in those future years. It may go down! It might seem unlikely but nithing is set in stone.

Did many people predict decreasing house prices were on the horizon, 4 years ago?

Plushchris

broxis11 wrote: »

My advice is good, as this thread demonstrates

Can you point me to the post where you gave advice?

You just sound like you are defending door knockers, the only "advice" I can see that you have given is...

Put a `No cold caller` sticker on your door and do us all a favour.

Its advice yes, good? Well its been established on here that the majority of energy salesmen will just ignore them desipte it being as you say "Gross misconduct and the salesman *could* be dismissed"

Could, but probably wont be and if they are they'll just go and work for the next supplier and spout the same lies and rubbish they did before..

Rinse and repeat...

broxis11

Plushchris wrote: »

Can you point me to the post where you gave advice?

You just sound like you are defending door knockers, the only "advice" I can see that you have given is...
Its advice yes, good? Well its been established on here that the majority of energy salesmen will just ignore them desipte it being as you say "Gross misconduct and the salesman *could* be dismissed"

Could, but probably wont be and if they are they'll just go and work for the next supplier and spout the same lies and rubbish they did before..

Rinse and repeat...

What I`m defending is the representatives that provide customers with proper advice on suppliers, tariffs, insulation and energy saving initiatives which will save them money. For the avoidance of any doubt, I am not defending the scumbags that mislead and lie to make a living. My point is that there are employees who take the job seriously and act in a professional manner.

backfoot

broxis11 wrote: »

What I`m defending is the representatives that provide customers with proper advice on suppliers, tariffs, insulation and energy saving initiatives which will save them money. For the avoidance of any doubt, I am not defending the scumbags that mislead and lie to make a living. My point is that there are employees who take the job seriously and act in a professional manner.

Just because you personally may have a professional manner and abide by the script isn't the point. By your own admission, all you do is sell the standard product, which is the default position for people who don't use online options.

What service is really being provided? Why don't you tell them all how to go about getting a cheaper online deal? For some reason, your companies expend overheads in capturing (conning) customers to switch from one standard product to another with only short term timing gains or likely not even to the cheapest standard product.

The silly merry go round continues between the companies and costs are added to all the player's cost bases.

I've yet to find any Salesperson at my door or by phone (and there have been many), tell me truths about costs, levels of Direct Debit,ownership of companies etc. Indeed despite the COP for doorstep selling, they flount rules about dealing with vulnerable people. Where this happens and they are caught, the culprit receives further training......:rotfl:

You may be a saint in the world of doorstep selling,:A but the commission based temptation is for most doorknockers to make up a sales pitch to suit themselves and confuse the customer into signing up.

The process should be banned.

backfoot

I've just done a quick cost comparison for my postcode for standard dual fuel using average consumption of the big 6.

SP were the highest because they are ahead of the price rises.

The others were in a very tight band of £40 with SSE, EON, and BG within a couple of pounds of each other.

So why are the doorstep sellers wasting their time and more importantly ours in getting us to switch?

How can good advice accompany such a process ?

How much do all these people cost?

Where do those costs go? (That's an easy one)

broxis11

backfoot wrote: »

Just because you personally may have a professional manner and abide by the script isn't the point. By your own admission, all you do is sell the standard product, which is the default position for people who don't use online options.

What service is really being provided? Why don't you tell them all how to go about getting a cheaper online deal? For some reason, your companies expend overheads in capturing (conning) customers to switch from one standard product to another with only short term timing gains or likely not even to the cheapest standard product.

The silly merry go round continues between the companies and costs are added to all the player's cost bases.

I've yet to find any Salesperson at my door or by phone (and there have been many), tell me truths about costs, levels of Direct Debit,ownership of companies etc. Indeed despite the COP for doorstep selling, they flount rules about dealing with vulnerable people. Where this happens and they are caught, the culprit receives further training......:rotfl:

You may be a saint in the world of doorstep selling,:A but the commission based temptation is for most doorknockers to make up a sales pitch to suit themselves and confuse the customer into signing up.

The process should be banned.

If you had read my post properly, you would have noted that I said that we have access to all of the tariffs apart from Essentials and Websaver but we do advise on these and a customer can decide if they want to find out nore once they join.

We also advise customers on the maintenance contracts, advise on Energysmart, set up surveys for loft and cavity wall insulation and set an account up for dual fuel as they may still have them seperate.

You seem to think that every customer has internet access and qualifies for the cheapest tariffs. Even those who do have it may not want to manage the account online.

The majority of people don`t know that there is a choice other than the Standard and a lot of people don`t even know they have a choice of suppliers.

I also don`t have a `script`.

You may think that it should be banned but that doesn`t bother me. I know that I make a positive difference to the customers that I meet. As do my colleagues.

backfoot

broxis11 wrote: »

If you had read my post properly, you would have noted that I said that we have access to all of the tariffs apart from Essentials and Websaver but we do advise on these and a customer can decide if they want to find out nore once they join.

You seem to think that every customer has internet access and qualifies for the cheapest tariffs. Even those who do have it may not want to manage the account online.

The majority of people don`t know that there is a choice other than the Standard and a lot of people don`t even know they have a choice of suppliers.

I also don`t have a `script`.

You may think that it should be banned but that doesn`t bother me. I know that I make a positive difference to the customers that I meet. As do my colleagues.

Read your post properly? You had embedded an answer within a quote from me, without distinguishing it. I'd missed it. What is the best deal amongst the other products, usually?

I don't think every customer has internet access. Where did I even hint at that? Why would I possibly think that? Just because they don't have internet access, shouldn't stop a company offerring equivalent deals. Why does internet access give people an advantage in pricing of an essential commodity?

What I was questioning was the added value above the added cost of doorstep energy selling, when the differential is so minutely small and often negative.

Will you be withdrawing from selling dual fuel deals at the door when BG put up prices in line with SP. At that stage, how can you be selling something which is well above the lowest rates.

No doubt you will avoid the trickier parts again.:D

broxis11

backfoot wrote: »

Read your post properly? You had embedded an answer within a quote from me, without distinguishing it. I'd missed it. What is the best deal amongst the other products, usually?

I don't think every customer has internet access. Where did I even hint at that? Why would I possibly think that? Just because they don't have internet access, shouldn't stop a company offerring equivalent deals. Why does internet access give people an advantage in pricing of an essential commodity?

What I was questioning was the added value above the added cost of doorstep energy selling, when the differential is so minutely small and often negative.

Will you be withdrawing from selling dual fuel deals at the door when BG put up prices in line with SP. At that stage, how can you be selling something which is well above the lowest rates.

No doubt you will avoid the trickier parts again.:D

The best deal at our disposal in my opinion is the 4% discount tracker combined with Energysmart and the BG dual fuel free loft/cavity wall insulation offer. The customer can also get nectar points.


Your previous post suggests that we should be offering cheaper deals to all > `Why don't you tell them all how to go about getting a cheaper online deal?`

Online deals are cheaper as the overheads are lower and that saving is passed onto the customer.

In the area that I work the host supplier is SSE. If BG are uncompetitive due to an increase prior to SSE and a suitable tariff is not available which would make commercial sense then yes, my G+E sales will stop until we could offer savings again. I don`t have a minumum target for these sales so it is completely my choice whether I sell or not.

Loft and cavity wall insulation surveys and Homecare sales would be the work I would do should the need arise.

backfoot

broxis11 wrote: »

Online deals are cheaper as the overheads are lower and that saving is passed onto the customer.

Very marginal and not anywhere near the price differential charged.

Take for example a customer who has never switched and is supplied by the incumbent Supplier.They are billed and maintained on the same suite of systems as the new entrant. There have been no set up costs. The only difference may be that a paper bill may be produced four times a year.

What are those extra overheads that I am missing? Don't say meter readers because I still have readings taken on online products.

broxis11

backfoot wrote: »

Very marginal and not anywhere near the price differential charged.

Take for example a customer who has never switched and is supplied by the incumbent Supplier.They are billed and maintained on the same suite of systems as the new entrant. There have been no set up costs. The only difference may be that a paper bill may be produced four times a year.

What are those extra overheads that I am missing? Don't say meter readers because I still have readings taken on online products.

Backfoot, I am not involved in the pricing of energy products.