Energy Price compare sites PAIN

Plushchris

alinwales wrote: »

Oh, and some discounts are not mentioned on comparison sites, which is a pain.

What discounts would they be?

alinwales wrote: »

You can't ignore the laws of physics.. the more energy you put in to get a good price, the cheaper the energy you get out (for your circumstances).

I dont understand that, why would you put more energy in than you need to? If you put a higher usage in than you actually use you will just end up on a tariff that isnt suitable for your actual usage. So the "put more in get cheaper out" doesnt work.

And doing comparisons based on quarterly usage figures is absolutely pointless.

Wywth

alinwales wrote: »

...I mean, who actually puts their details in, and just picks the top one because it says it's the cheapest?? ...

As a Fantastically Fervent MoneySaving Super Fan I do!

(unless, on reading the details of such offer, I see something I am unhappy to agree to)

Cardew

alinwales wrote: »

Oh, and some discounts are not mentioned on comparison sites, which is a pain.
So, these sites are useful as a guide only. Pick a couple of tariffs from the list and look in more detail through the suppliers website and check for other details, contractual stuff, discounts etc, and then make a choice.
I mean, who actually puts their details in, and just picks the top one because it says it's the cheapest?? You can't ignore the laws of physics.. the more energy you put in to get a good price, the cheaper the energy you get out (for your circumstances).

Analogy of Mortgages: 4% fee free, or 2.5% with a £2000 fee - you only know which is better if you know how much money you need.

Instead of the 'Money you need' it is the 'kWh you need'

In general terms a tariff with a low DSC (or zero like Ebico) and high unit(kWh) price will suit those with low consumption; whilst a high DSC and lower unit price will suit those with high consumption. However with scores of tariffs on the market it would be a huge job to determine the 'crossover' level of consumption.

Then the various discounts available(dual fuel, payment method etc) further complicate the situation.

You might also be better off taking gas from one supplier and electricity from another. e.g. someone who only uses gas for cooking would almost certainly be better off with Ebico for gas and ??? for electricity.

With the comparison websites, with knowledge of your consumption, you can work this out in minutes.

Stufrog

DragonQ wrote: »

How can you possibly know which provider is the cheapest unless you know either how much you pay (or how much energy you use) per year? There's no such thing as a simple comparison between one provider at 15p/kWh and another at 15.1p/kWh - the energy companies would never make it that easy to find the cheapest provider.

There's almost always two unit rates, or one unit rate plus a standing charge. So if one provider has a 15p/day standing charge plus 12p/kWh, and another has no standing charge but 15p/kWh, how would you know which is cheaper for you if you don't know how many kWh you use per day?

Great you just gave me an ephiphany for my energy comparison quote. :T