Never switched before

pinkfirefly

Hi,

I'm money savvy in every other area - but bizarrely I've never ever switched my gas n electric supplier.

Currently with British Gas for both, my last fixed deal has just ended therefore I need to do something either change to their online variable which will only save £2.00

Or use a switching company to change to npower - and save £87.

Know at first it seems like a no brainer - switch n save money....however all I ever read about on this forum is problems with switching/cashback/suppliers (esp npower). So can you answer me if its really worth the hassle?

Also my my electric acc is curently £100 debit. (gas credit) so will i have to pay this off first?

Look forward to all your advice!

Wywth

pinkfirefly wrote: »

Hi,

I'm money savvy in every other area - but bizarrely I've never ever switched my gas n electric supplier.

Currently with British Gas for both, my last fixed deal has just ended therefore I need to do something either change to their online variable which will only save £2.00

Or use a switching company to change to npower - and save £87.

Know at first it seems like a no brainer - switch n save money....however all I ever read about on this forum is problems with switching/cashback/suppliers (esp npower). So can you answer me if its really worth the hassle?

Also my my electric acc is curently £100 debit. (gas credit) so will i have to pay this off first?

Look forward to all your advice!

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/you-switch-gas-electricity

If you switch supplier, you will receive a final bill from the old supplier after the switch takes place, and any balance needs to be settled (either way)

macman

Well in your case it's clearly worth at least £87, plus any cashback if you go via that route.
What hassle? An online switch should take you about 20 minutes, plus 5 mins to read the meters.
Maybe £150 for 20 minutes work? What other job do you know that pays £450ph?

pickoftheday

Co-op Energy seems to be popular at the moment and five of the cheapest tariffs come from the smaller providers.

Mirror Money

Wywth

pickoftheday wrote: »

Co-op Energy seems to be popular at the moment and five of the cheapest tariffs come from the smaller providers.

Mirror Money

There is no such thing as the cheapest supplier or the cheapest tariff, so I'm not sure how a list is generated (probably based on an average that makes the statistics suit the authors own argument).

The cost will vary by region and the user's own consumption level.
Follow the MSE guide to find the best deal for you
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/you-switch-gas-electricity

If there was a cheapest supplier/tariff, then Martin would not have had to write a lengthy guide and there would be no resaon to have comparison sites; Martin could just tell us the cheapest and we would all be on it

bob_bank_spanker

pickoftheday wrote: »

Co-op Energy seems to be popular at the moment and five of the cheapest tariffs come from the smaller providers.

Mirror Money

Sainsbury's Energy not one of the big six?! I know the whole point of the article is to get people to click on the Mirror's favoured comparison site, but have journalistic standards become so bad?

SwanJon

When looking at npower, remember that the DD discount is applied in month 13, so if you are not going to be with them that long consider the next cheapest supplier, although there may be exit fees on these too...
Whatever you do, avoid the standard tariffs if you can.

timbo58

Always also worth bearing in mind what reputation for customer service the company has IME.
I saved about £25 in the year I swapped to EDF then spent days on the 'phone being hung up on , emails ignored and meter change appointments missed (grrrr!) unbelievably rubbish customer service all for £25, wish I'd never changed and went straight back to SSE the moment I could.

25.6_Pre-contract_oblig

Hi pinkfirefly,

I agree with timbo58 and SwanJon.

I notice that in Post #1 you said:

"... Or use a switching company to change to npower - and save £87.

Know at first it seems like a no brainer - switch n save money....however all I ever read about on this forum is problems with switching/cashback/suppliers (esp npower). So can you answer me if its really worth the hassle? ..."

As documented in
Warning: npower accept new customers without sending them a Contract
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4273611
There are lots of people having problems switching to npower.

We now have evidence of knock on effects of the 'new system' affecting existing Customers too.
If you are short of time just read the most recent posts (Page 8, Post #141 ff).

So, it is up to you if you think the risk is worth it.
Until npower fix their 'broken system' I would rule them out.

25.6_Pre-contract_oblig