Advice needed about switching!

mammame

Hello everyone!
I need a bit of advice. I think its about time i changed my gas and elec suppler. I have been with Southen elec on the IPLAN for over 5 years now and been to scared to leave. I'm a single working parent and money tight at the best of time and i have always been worried about moving and it will end up costing me more money. I but now looking at what i pay i think i pay to much.
I pay £50 an month elec and £16.00 gas. im in credit with the elc of over £100 and about £70 with my gas. looking at it i think we use to much elec and we need to do something about it.
I've looked on you switch and EDF seem to been the cheeper saving over £80 an year. But something is telling me not to move. I get really confused with all the prices of useage and then some charge a standing charge some don't i get really confused. i think it would be best if i went on a fixed taff? would it?
I have no one near me that i can talk to and get a bit of advice as this is a bit of an mine field for me. So im hoping that people hear will help me.

I if help anyone i have my last years useage 4456kwh for elec and gas is 2620kwh

Thanks

jalexa

mammame wrote: »

I think its about time i changed my gas and elec suppler. I have been with Southen elec on the IPLAN for over 5 years now and been to scared to leave.

It would be better if you thought "it's about time I compared", rather than definitely switching.

For most people switching works without any problems but some people do experience disappointment. For the consumption stated you could save about 10%. Only you can decide if that is worth the hassle. Also only you can decide whether to fix or not. I strongly recommend giving serious consideration to a fix over the next winter period. For "peace of mind" rather than to save.

Don't worry about standing charge or no standing charge, trust the comparison website to do the calculation for your particular usage, which is well below average for gas and below average for electricity.

Come back with specific questions about specific tariffs. Beware "deferred discount":eek: tariffs if you do not understand the circumstances you could forfeit the deferred discount.

You are entitled to ask for your credit balance back at any time. The supplier must agree or explain why not. IMO 3 months of payments ahead at this time is an unnecessarily large credit balance. You are currently paying about the right amount for your consumption. Perhaps a couple of pounds per month too much.

lithopsian

Switching is not difficult or scary. Usually! There are occasional nightmares, but mostly it goes smoothly. Eighty pounds a year estimated savings from uSwitch is not huge but probably worth switching for. Although if you are happy with the customer support and treatment from your current company you might wish to just sit tight. Or see if they have an alternative tariff that might save you nearly as much. There are lots of tariffs and nobody can tell you which would suit you better.

A no standing charge tariff usually costs just the same as the equivalent standing charge tariff, but in a few cases it can be to your benefit. For example, if you spend three months in Florida then you wouldn't want to be paying a standing charge for using zero electricity. Or if you only use a tiny amount of gas for cooking you wouldn't want to be paying a forty quid standing charge to get five pounds-worth of gas.

A fixed tariff works for some people. If you can afford the current prices, which are usually a bit higher than the best available tariff, but need to know that they won't increase for a certain period. Or if you are a bit of a gambler and think that prices are going to rise by considerably more than the extra you are paying to get on a fixed price tariff. Or if you just want that price and don't want to be bothered about it for the next two years. Remember you are tied to that tariff and may have to pay to get out of it before the end date.

If you don't mind checking, and possibly switching, every few months, then you can always get something cheaper than the fixed tariff. Expect that the cheapest tariff will almost certainly increase within about a year, although different suppliers vary about how much of a bait-and-switch policy they operate. Don't get too panicked about exit fees. They are legally impossible to enforce if your prices go up anyway, although you might have to exchange some stern words with the company when it comes to the crunch. Because of this, fewer and fewer energy companies have straight exit fees except on their fixed price tariffs. Watch out for sneaky tactics though, things like annual discounts that you won't get if you leave before the end of the year.

victor2

As already said, use a comparison site with your annual kWh figures and see which suppliers are recommended.
Then look at the cheapest suppliers closely and read their tariff details, particularly the discounts offered and penalties should you leave before the end date.
Only you can decide if a fixed or variable tariff is for you, but look at both alternatives.

If you do decide to switch, it's usually a painless process, with the new supplier handling everything for you. However, it might be worth contacting your current supplier first and telling them you're thinking of leaving, but want to know what is the best tariff they can put you on. If you are attracted by a new supplier, search this forum for threads about that supplier and it could reveal a little about them.

mammame

Thank you all for of your replys. I did phone Southen elec this morning and spoke to them about saving money and they put me onto the Iplan as they said it would save me £5.00 an year!! not masive but a start they also explaned that i then could see what i was spending and then see how to save. By going on to the iplan im not in a contract so i can still leave then i kepted checking all the way through the phone all. I switch to a fixed plan with them and that will cost me and extra £21 pound a year. i was explaned that southen prices would be going up in oct (weather this is true or not) so it was suggested that i did something by then. I think going on a fixed traff is my best bet as im dont want the worry of my bills going up over the coming years. This is all very confusing for me as you can probley tell.

Thanks again.

victor2

mammame wrote: »

I think going on a fixed traff is my best bet as im dont want the worry of my bills going up over the coming years.

You do of course pay a bit more for fixed tariffs and if you want to be covered for the coming years, you'll be looking at a long term fixed plan.
You are of course gambling on the prices not falling significantly during the contract and actually increasing for you to realise savings. Nobody can accurately predict which way prices are going to go and by how much, but given that the recent heavily publicised cuts were only about a third of the increases that preceded them, you'd probably be unlucky to get caught in an expensive tariff. As a precaution though, look at the exit charges for the fixed tariffs you consider, so that you'll know what it will cost you to get out, should that become necessary.