Utility Warehouse (Telecom Plus) Discussion

AvengerSeawolf

jimexbox wrote: »

Absolutely not, no way, never. You seem have a predilection for obsessively ringing 0870/0845 numbers, may have numerous friends living from the Pitcairn Islands to Honduras, and have ample free time during the day, UW is perfect.

So for you my friends and the other 3* people in the UK with similar requirements, UW is the obvious choice.

*estimate

I would suggest that there are currently around 300,000 in the UK with similar requirements, and that 'hardcore money savers' like yourselves (I don't not meant that offensively) are perhaps the minority.

These are the issues I have.

1) None of the UW detractors (it appears) have ever sat in front of an actual potential customer(s) and asked what they want from their suppliers, yet you feel you can 'tar everyone with the same brush' as far as what their needs are. I've said it before - I've got happy, long-term customers who signed up on the basis of one bill, or the fact that they can pick up the phone and call me with questions. You simply cannot blanket everyone like you do.

2) You've never been customers! So you don't know what it's like!! Yet you feel qualified to tell others what they should and should not do - bizarre and perhaps arrogant, in light of the point I make above.

3) Despite lots of positive 3rd party credibility, your only response is to imply that the results are flawed because they don't fit with the points you try to make.

Hope this makes sense!

1carminestocky

AvengerSeawolf wrote: »

I would suggest that there are currently around 300,000 in the UK with similar requirements, and that 'hardcore money savers' like yourselves (I don't not meant that offensively) are perhaps the minority.

These are the issues I have.

1) None of the UW detractors (it appears) have ever sat in front of an actual potential customer(s) and asked what they want from their suppliers, yet you feel you can 'tar everyone with the same brush' as far as what their needs are. I've said it before - I've got happy, long-term customers who signed up on the basis of one bill, or the fact that they can pick up the phone and call me with questions. You simply cannot blanket everyone like you do.

2) You've never been customers! So you don't know what it's like!! Yet you feel qualified to tell others what they should and should not do - bizarre and perhaps arrogant, in light of the point I make above.

3) Despite lots of positive 3rd party credibility, your only response is to imply that the results are flawed because they don't fit with the points you try to make.

Hope this makes sense!

Funny thing is, I'm not even coming at it from the customer service/unique initiatives point of view (in my, albeit short, experience of UW it beats the Big 6 on this by a country mile so that goes without saying). As this is a money saving site, and I'm a determined money saver, I'm with UW simply because it's the best financial deal for me - the extras are just that, extras, albeit very welcome ones.

Granted, we have had to change our grocery shopping habits (luckily I have a wife who recognises that in marriage there's a very important thing called give and take, she wasn't entirely sure about shopping at Sainsburys at first but, as she trusts and respects my money saving skills, gave it a go, and now wouldn't go back to any of the others. Only downside is I had to go and see a rather soppy film with her, lol. Happy to do so, that's what marriage is all about IMO). Upshot is we are not only saving mega-money on our utilities, but also on our food and petrol/diesel. A no-brainer. For me/us. Not saying it would be a no-brainer for some people, but, then again, I'm not them so that would be of no consequence to me.

jimexbox

I would of thought free broadband and phone (including free weekend calls, sufficient spend on UW card applicable). Possibly even a profit as UW refund any unused discount back, then choose a cheap online energy tariff would be a unbeatable combination for most normal people.

As carmine has shown his own specific requirements are truly extraordinary, therefore UW are the way to go. Unless you have such amazing requirements, I would say the deal I've outlined represents better value for money.

Perelandra

Thanks Carmine,

So roughly speaking the numbers work out like this (I realise these figures aren't precise, but they're accurate enough to illustrate the points I'll make)-

In this situation:

Option 1:
Take BB and telephone from UW, take Gas/Elec from BG WS4 (and cashback card)

Option 2:
Take all four services from UW (and cashback card)

If you take gas/elec under the BG WS4 tariff, you'd save roughly £170 p.a. on the utilities, but forfeit £324 worth of free calls. In this scenario (not much of a surprise!), the UW deal works out cheaper.

The key statistic, though, is the telephone useage. If this were lower, then the comparison would be a lot closer (and so should be done rather more accurately than the quick calculations I've done here). As has been said... many times... on thsi thread, UW may not be everyone. However, from a pure cost point of view, I think there are three issues to consider:

1) Are you happy to spend a fair amount of money each money at the UW cashback partner stores. If you are, then taking Telephone/BB from UW seems to be a 'no-brainer' (as Jimexbox has been saying).

2) Are you a high telephone-user?
3) Are you a low user of gas/elec? (particularly elec)

If the answers to both 2) and 3) are 'yes', then there's a high chance that UW Gas/Elec may be the cheapest option for you. If both are 'no', then your best option is likely to be to take telephone/BB/cashback only, and get your gas/elec from a cheaper supplier. One 'yes' and one 'no', and you probably need to do the sums accurately to work out the best option.

In my case, I'm a low energy user, and a low telephone user, but I already shop at Sainsbury's, so I'm Yes/No/No... i.e. I should get BB, Telephone and cashback, but not Gas/Elec from UW.

I love rules-of-thumb.

espresso

NigeWick wrote: »

I do not believe you have fabricated your figures because you have not given them yet. You need to show us you actual usage, current supplier and tariff in order for us to see if you are saving money as you say.

You keep saying this time and time again, so why don't you "show us your actual usage, current supplier and tariff in order for us to see if you are saving money as you say" and also show how much you need to spend on the UW cashback card to counteract the higher UW prices?

Plushchris

Rael wrote: »

But at the moment, it suits 300,000 people, so obviously not as extraordinary as it may seem.

But does it really suit all those 300,000 people? I'm sure there are a good percentage of UW customers that arent on the most suitable deal for them for one reason or another (not using cashback card, not having all 4 services etc) and are only with UW because they have been sold it, not because its the most suitable deal for them.

1carminestocky

Perelandra wrote: »

Thanks Carmine,

So roughly speaking the numbers work out like this (I realise these figures aren't precise, but they're accurate enough to illustrate the points I'll make)-

In this situation:

Option 1:
Take BB and telephone from UW, take Gas/Elec from BG WS4 (and cashback card)

Option 2:
Take all four services from UW (and cashback card)

If you take gas/elec under the BG WS4 tariff, you'd save roughly £170 p.a. on the utilities, but forfeit £324 worth of free calls. In this scenario (not much of a surprise!), the UW deal works out cheaper.

The key statistic, though, is the telephone useage. If this were lower, then the comparison would be a lot closer (and so should be done rather more accurately than the quick calculations I've done here). As has been said... many times... on thsi thread, UW may not be everyone. However, from a pure cost point of view, I think there are three issues to consider:

1) Are you happy to spend a fair amount of money each money at the UW cashback partner stores. If you are, then taking Telephone/BB from UW seems to be a 'no-brainer' (as Jimexbox has been saying).

2) Are you a high telephone-user?
3) Are you a low user of gas/elec? (particularly elec)

If the answers to both 2) and 3) are 'yes', then there's a high chance that UW Gas/Elec may be the cheapest option for you. If both are 'no', then your best option is likely to be to take telephone/BB/cashback only, and get your gas/elec from a cheaper supplier. One 'yes' and one 'no', and you probably need to do the sums accurately to work out the best option.

In my case, I'm a low energy user, and a low telephone user, but I already shop at Sainsbury's, so I'm Yes/No/No... i.e. I should get BB, Telephone and cashback, but not Gas/Elec from UW.

I love rules-of-thumb.

That's about the gist of it. But, like I have demonstrated, the daytime call usage doesn't have to be in any way crazy! My call usage is in no way uncommon! With the advent of connection fees, calling someone is inevitably an expensive process! Especially if you make short calls (a 1 min and 1 sec call in the day to a geographic number would cost you 20p with BT, and approx 14p with UW!). Just 3 such calls during the day would add up to £18.60/mth with BT and £13.02 with UW!) THAT'S the extraordinary bit. For people who have families at home with kids at school, daytime calls are an absolute certainty. A fact of life. Some choose to use their mobile instead, which I think is ridiculous from a money saving POV. We know people who spend mega bucks on mobile contracts to avoid using the landline. Makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

1carminestocky

Plushchris wrote: »

But does it really suit all those 300,000 people? I'm sure there are a good percentage of UW customers that arent on the most suitable deal for them for one reason or another (not using cashback card, not having all 4 services etc) and are only with UW because they have been sold it, not because its the most suitable deal for them.

Does BG suit all the supposedly 16 million people* who use them? The same could be said of every energy supplier. Is your current supplier the best deal for you at the moment, for instance?


* I would imagine this is customer accounts as opposed to individual customers.

Cardew

1carminestocky wrote: »

Just 3x 10 sec calls per day between the hours of 6am and 6pm would cost over £10/mth with UW and their call costs are very cheap compared to most suppliers (the same calling pattern with BT would cost almost £14/mth!). A total of 30 seconds on the phone per day! Just 3 calls. As a family of 4 (but mostly 6 when we include our 2 sons' almost live-in GFs ) the daytime calls will probably run to at least 6, most probably average out at 7 or 8. Even if all these calls are less than one duration minute each, that would equate to £27/mth with UW. (£37/mth with BT!!!). Makes you think, doesn't it?

This is exactly the sort of misrepresentation that makes Carmine a legend!!!

All calls 24/7 with BT cost £4.95 a month (including 0870/0845 nos) - unlimited anytime plan. It costs nothing for evenings and weekend.
£11 a month line rental of course.

You don't pay extra for caller ID and voicemail with BT

1carminestocky

Cardew wrote: »

This is exactly the sort of misrepresentation that makes Carmine a legend!!!

All calls 24/7 with BT cost £4.95 a month (including 0870/0845 nos) - unlimited anytime plan. It costs nothing for evenings and weekend.*
£11 a month line rental of course.

You don't pay extra for caller ID and voicemail with BT

I have a feeling you've missed the gist of the discussion, lol.

Plus, you have also missed out one very important T&C of the BT deal. Plus the £4.89/mth it would cost you for inclusive Intl calls, of course.

* Err, yes it does!