Does it cost to switch?

clairelg88

Hi I'm with npower at the moment. They have put my direct debit up to £89 a month which i've had to carry on paying because they say they can't review it for me until august.
I'm just wondering if it costs to switch suppliers? I have no idea about what energy tarriff i'm on but i'm pretty sure i'm locked in until a certain time.
how much does everyone else pay fixed monthy direct debit?
thanks

Terrylw1

OK, that's a total contradiction of Standard Licence Condition (SLC) 27.15 as your DD must be based on information.

Also, it must be explained per SLC27.14.

Use the supplier .pdf's to access the clauses in this link to Ofgem's site.

http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Licensing/Work/Pages/licence-conditions-consolidated.aspx

So I suggest you remind them of this and demand an explanation. Perhaps raise a complaint and get it in writing. If they still won't explain it 8 weeks later you are entitled to raise it to the ombudsman.

In terms of charges, they don't charge for you to join but many products do charge you an Early Termination Charge if you leave within x months, often 12. With Npower you also need to stay to get the discount and if your gas is within them you need to make sure you take advantage of the sculpting.

dogshome

n'power have some unique ways of chargeing their bills:
1) Whilst all Co's collect a Service Charge, either by a Daily Fee or a fixed number of high priced units a year which are rationed out to each day the bill covers, n'power charge more high price units in the Winter than they do in Summer -This could explain why your account is in Debit and the increase in the D/D
2) Every D/D you make includes an amount that makes up the Cash-Back you get after a year - This can be worth over £100, but if you miss a D/D payment or leave before a year, you lose the Cash-back - Look carefully at the figures before you jump ship

With that said, how much you pay in D/D's is not the way to judge your supplier. It's a must that you enter your annual Gas/Elec consumptions in KWh on a couple of Switch sites

macman

It doesn't cost anything to switch unless you are still in a minimum term on a lock in tariff. Only you can know that by checking to find out what tariff you are on-it will say on your bills or on your online account.

Perelandra

If you currently owe money to your existing supplier, you will normally have to pay this off before you can switch. This isn't a "cost of switching", as such, since you will need to pay it at some point whether you switch or not. However, it will feel like it.

(In addition to the other costs that have been pointed out by other posters).

NB: I work for BG, so my views will be biased. They are however my own, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.

undaunted

As others have already said it doesnt actually cost anything to switch supplier

However, if you are on a tarrif that applies a discount after 12 monthly direct debit payments you may lose it if you switch "early", similarly if you are in a fixed term contract and end it early your current supplier may charge you a termination fee.

You therefore need to check what contract & tarrif you have in place