MSE's Cheap Energy Club: Discuss & feedback

harz99

pollyloppy wrote: »

I was very happy with my experience of the cheap energy deals site. It came at the right time, as my current energy supplier's early exit fees finished today, so now is a good time to look at switching again..

I entered my yearly consumption of gas and electricity in KWh, and it estimated the price I would pay for my gas and electric with my current supplier (EON) at exactly the same price as EON themselves had quoted me (good start).

Looking at the comparison, initially, spark came out the cheapest - £153 cheaper - for a variable rate tariff (as has been the experience of a lot of other people by the looks of it), but it did warn that the prices were likely to go up soon, and there was no cashback. So then, I looked at the cheapest fixed deal, which was first utility. It is still a saving of £86 a year on what I would pay if I stuck with my current deal. On top of that is the potentially £70 cashback, which would take my total saving to £156 per year, beating sparks tariff. - so decided to switch to first utility.

n.b. I say potentially £70 cash back, as I am unsure of the T&C around cashback - I guess I am definitely getting £30 cash back from using MSEs site, and an additional £40 cash back is quoted if I sign up by 15th Feb, so whether "successfully sign up" means enter your details and initiate switch, then I'll get another £40, otherwise if I need to have successfully switched, or at least passed the cooling off period, then I might not get it...watch this space)

Overall, very happy bunny

Pollyloppy; have you searched for feedback and experiences of First Utility?

From personal experience with them as the first supplier in a brand new house, I wouldn't touch them again as their customer service is woeful, and their smart meter system never worked properly.

ernie-money

tallgareth wrote: »

As I said in my earlier comment, I think there is a bug in the calculation tool. It reckons I use £180 worth of gas+elec a month, but when I do the calculation using the same kWh usage numbers and the pence-per-kWh and standing charge figures from my bill I only use ~£100.

I thought the same, but when I looked in to it further it turned out to be my gas usage that was creating the miscalculation. I had googled how to convert gas units to kwh, but apparently there are 2 different calculations, depending on whether you have a 4 or a 5 dial gas meter, and I was using the wrong one. It would make it so much easier if you could base the usage on gas units, instead of kwh's, or if the site would do the conversion for you...

harz99

ernie-money wrote: »

I thought the same, but when I looked in to it further it turned out to be my gas usage that was creating the miscalculation. I had googled how to convert gas units to kwh, but apparently there are 2 different calculations, depending on whether you have a 4 or a 5 dial gas meter, and I was using the wrong one. It would make it so much easier if you could base the usage on gas units, instead of kwh's, or if the site would do the conversion for you...

My supplier - EDF - had just sent me an annual usage statement which shows the kwh figures for both gas and electricity, I thought all suppliers were supposed to do this now.

My EDF blue price promise to April 2014 turns out to be the cheapest for me anyway.:j

pollyloppy

harz99 wrote: »

Pollyloppy; have you searched for feedback and experiences of First Utility?

From personal experience with them as the first supplier in a brand new house, I wouldn't touch them again as their customer service is woeful, and their smart meter system never worked properly.

Hiya harz,

Thanks very much for the heads up. I did have a check on the feedback, and braved switching anyway. The customer service does not look the best, but I suppose like for any company, you are more likely to do a review if you have something to complain about.
I have switched with the knowledge that the customer service is not getting the best reviews, but hoping that I will not run into problems and need the customer service too much (if it is a simple meter read at switch over day, no smart meters and fixed prices, hopefully it will have a better chance of going smoothly) If it all goes a bit wrong, it is only fixed for a year, and if I really lose my rag and want to change, I will shoulder the early exit fee and chalk it up to experience - the cashback after 3 months would cover the early exit fee anyway!
Thanks again for highlighting potential pitfalls though

EDIT: After reading your post, I looked again at first utility, not just on this site but others, and it scared me enough to do an about turn. I cancelled the registration after I looked at my current supplier (EON), and switched to a better deal with them, able to get clubcard points for the new tariff, which will be less hassle, and take the tariff down to within £10 of the first utility estimated cost, without the worry of a horror story about being charged £800. Moral of the story: don't just look at any comparison sites, remember to look at what loyalty bonuses you would get for staying with your supplier and what they will do to the tariff.

Wilma33

Please can the comparison include the Independent Gas Transporter charge? For those of us who have to pay it, it makes using comparison sites tricky.

MarkP

Wilma33, I completely agree. This is a great thing but could you add an IGT option?

My results said there were 2 suppliers cheaper than the existing tariff, Spark & First Utility. Unfortunately I am on an IGT which neither of these support so are not applicable. None of the other online comparison sites have this option either so maybe MSE could lead the way?

Thanks

MarkP

Wywth

Wilma33 wrote: »

Please can the comparison include the Independent Gas Transporter charge? For those of us who have to pay it, it makes using comparison sites tricky.

It's not necessary imho.

HELP! I'm supplied by an independent gas transporter

Independent gas transporters (IGTs) are often used by constructors instead of National Grid in new-build properties as they charge less to fit pipes. One in 20 people are supplied by them instead of National Grid.

Previously you had to pay £30-£70 more on top of any comparison quote as the gas provider uses both pipes, so must pay National Grid and the IGT to supply gas to your house. This charge was passed directly on to you. Now, only Npower charges - it's £10 per annum per customer, for both pre-paid and credit customers.

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

silverback66

Joined up, compared and switched to Co-Op from edf, £106 saving plus points to the value of £21 a year. Co-Op 100% green too. Glad to be away from the nightmare of edf and anything which will help us fight back against the tyrannical utility rip off we are facing in the UK can only be a good thing. Hopefully the club will get a good tweaking as it gets better established and become more efficient but it is a good start along the right principles.

elainecap

Found a good tarriff, but the site wouldn't accept my bank details. It said they were incorrect, but I know they weren't.

DebbieR

I'm not sure how reliable the comparisons are in my case. I've input the estimated usage for the coming year from my last statement from EDF (which are about the same as my actual usage):
Electricity 7797 units £962.93
Plus standing charge £ 51.10

Gas 14715 units £539.40
Plus standing charge £ 80.30

Discounts £106.02
VAT £76.38

Total £1603.99

This equates to £133.66 a month. My actual payments are £131 a month due to a small credit on my account.

The Energy Club calculator tells me that with these readings I am paying £1766 a year or £147 a month. The cheapest fixed is with First Utility which is supposedly saving me £156 a year/£13 a month, although it would actually cost me £1610/£134 a month according to their figures!

I know I should be able to get a cheaper deal but I don't think I can take these figures at face value.