Advice switching from BG to EON or Co-op

oldskoo1

I admit i've been lazy and let my click 6 expire 2 months ago and did nothing about it.

I'm on BG standard now so paying full whack. Time to do something about it.


Annual usage is:
Gas: 14718 kwh

Elec: 2378 kwh


After comparison sites i get

BG Standard = £1,059 annual
E.ON Online8 = £821.53 (cheapest)
CO-op Pioneer = £802 (think this includes a £50 credit when joining)
Co-op true price = £852

I would appreciate some advice on which to choose

E.ON
- £30 leaving fee
- They could put the prices up at any time
- Only guaranteeing to be 2% cheaper than standard
- They could put it up same amount as BG
- Would be stuck in 12month contract

CO-op
- Simple, 1 tariff (refreshing)
- No tiers
- Good unit prices
- No exit fee (free to leave if they raise prices)

On balance the Co-op looks good because even if they do put up prices like the others i could move without penalty it seems, plus they do seem quite competitive on unit price.


However, Co-op have things in there i don't understand, like I'm pretty sure the saving they stated includes a £50 credit for joining. So the true annual price is a bit more. However i'm a bit wary of credits to join because that could temp people in before a price hike.

Also, on their tariff sheet they have a £63 service charge for each utility. Does this mean there will be an extra lump to pay at the end of the year of £126 or is this built into the annual quote they gave me?

I have no idea what co-op are like so i would really appreciate hearing any experiences.

I have provided a link to all tariffs i'm considering, including the BG standard i'm on now.


Co-op energy price list (i'm west midlands)
http://www.cooperativeenergy.coop/assets/documents/price-list.pdf

Comparison between curren BG and E.ON
http://gocompare.energylinx.co.uk/calc_gocompare.html?db=dual&dualcalc=&go=rate_info&supplier=17234912&elecUnitsPerAnnum=2,378&gasUnitsPerAnnum=14,718&existingPoundsPerAnnum=1,059.30&newElecBill=308.64&newGasBill=512.89&newPoundsPerAnnum=821.53&savingsInPounds=237.78&percentSavings=22&greenElecLeague=&showIntroDisc=


I would be very grateful if you could advise me on which to go for, E.ON or CO-OP or even something else.

My goal isn't to switch to the cheapest i would rather pay just a little bit more and be with a supplier that isn't trying to change their prices and tariff's every 6 months to catch people out (like BG is doing).

I fully understand energy prices have to rise but providing co-op still price themselves competitively through each rise (not necessarily the cheapest) i'm happy to go with them providing there isn't any hidden nasties that i'm not fully understanding. I have a feeling that other companies including E.ON and CO-OP, my choices, may follow suit and also put up their prices. I thought i would ask here in case anyone has foreknowledge or a better understanding.


Thank you

Ypaymore

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3354730

oldskoo1

I've seen that thank you

To summarise

I wanted to know if there were hidden charges in co-op. The price list indicates a £63 service charge for each utility £126 total. Does the annual figure of £802 they quote include this service charge or is it an additional charge i need to pay.

I was also looking for advice from regulars here on which they would pick based on my usage and what they thought of the current unit prices from the co-op : http://www.cooperativeenergy.coop/as...price-list.pdf and E.ON as a company.

ceena33

I would advise you to fix your prices - Eon offers you fixed price v5 - that is fixed till 2013 and there is no cancellation charges either - check out there website.

kar999

oldskoo1 wrote: »

)
CO-op Pioneer = £802 (think this includes a £50 credit when joining)
Co-op true price = £852


CO-op
- Simple, 1 tariff (refreshing)
- No tiers
- Good unit prices
- No exit fee (free to leave if they raise prices)

However, Co-op have things in there i don't understand, like I'm pretty sure the saving they stated includes a £50 credit for joining. So the true annual price is a bit more. However i'm a bit wary of credits to join because that could temp people in before a price hike.

No..... The prices you see on the Coop website are the prices you’ll pay. If you’ve input your annual consumption correct that’s it… no hidden charges… no exit penalties.

The £50 first bill discount isn’t in the prices as it’s an extra bonus on top. It’s like cashback but is guaranteed so you don’t have to worry about it tracking.

The Coop may well put up it's prices but you are free to leave whenever without penalty if they become uncompetitive and keep the £50.

oldskoo1

Thank you

That is good news, currently they look quite competitive indeed! None of this 2 tier pricing either.

I think i will switch to them now as even if they do raise the prices, they are likely to do so if everyone else follows suit. So i will re-evaluate at that point and if there is a better deal out there i can always switch without penalty.

But hopefully they will remain competitive. They don't have to be rock bottom cheapest, in the top 5 would be nice, just as long as they remain competitive I will defiantly stay with them.

kar999

You'll also earn some Coop dividends as well. I've switched and I hope they stay reasonably competitive as I'm fed up with the big six cartel and totally hacked off at Scottish power for increasing my tariff by 40%. So much for their 10% & 19% marketing scam.