Best electric and or gas tariff for pensioners?

knightstyle

As title, have been looking but the comparison sites do not seem to take into account the extras pensioners can get. For example some give £135 credit if you are on certain benefits.
So is there a good guide to all this?

Nada666

But pensioners receive that money regardless of from whom they buy their energy. Pensioners are real people - use the same comparison sites as everyone else and choose from the same tariffs as everyone else.

They also have to check gas-only and electricity-only tariffs as separate suppliers are often cheaper nowadays.

Guaranteed pension credit, warm home discount, winter fuel allowance, cold weather payments - apply for them separately regardless of supplier.

happenstance

Nada666 wrote: »

But pensioners receive that money regardless of from whom they buy their energy.

Isn;t the warm home discount only for certain suppliers?

Pensioners already get a great deal with the winter fuel allowance and the warm home discount.

It's the enslaved young that have the most energy poverty.

Nada666

happenstance wrote: »

Isn;t the warm home discount only for certain suppliers?

Okay, I am not sure if all the smaller suppliers need to provide this. But there will always be a big six tariff near the top of the results table. If under-75 you may have to apply but few will not qualify.

apt

The Direct Debit saving is closer to £100 than £300 per year although still worth doing.

Nada666

apt wrote: »

The Direct Debit saving is closer to £100 than £300 per year although still worth doing.

I am talking about a group who obstinately stick with their regional suppliers and stick to paying quarterly. They often will also be higher than average users. Yes, a typical MDD saving is only around £90 but for this group a switch of supplier and payment method can easily save several hundred pounds.

A third extra gas and average electricity (22,000 and 3,300) on standard tariffs will cost you more than £300 extra. There are even two year fixes that are several hundred pounds cheaper.

(Okay, technically you are correct and I am conflating the two savings. But the Direct Debit discount is (mostly) pro rata consumption so pensioners will receive more than the average - maybe just £120 or £140 of the saving for MDDs.)

knightstyle

Thanks for the replies. I am going to do a workshop in our Church in January for people, mostly pensioners who don't have internet. I know each case will be different but getting info. before the event is important.
I will encourage them to set up DD but I am having trouble finding actual tariffs that are available to them, it seems that people like E-on do not publish actual tariffs, unless you know different?
Yes all pensioners will get the winter fuel allowance and some electricity providers give a warm home discount of £135 to certain needy people. So I need to take all these into account and was wondering if there is a comparison site that takes all these factors into account, or one that publishes current tariffs?

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

The tariffs will be somewhere on their website, though they're rarely accessible.

In any case, it will be impossible to sit there armed with some tariffs and give advice on what would be best. There are simply fare too many tariffs. A low user would be better with a low standing charge option, high user would be better with a low unit rate. There are a myriad of combinations.

You will need 2 things in order to give meaningful advice - a years consumption data in KWh, and an internet connection. This will tell them what the cheapest available is.

beardiedog

E.on have an Age UK tariff, fixed for 1 Year with no exit fees that you might consider.

I've switched my mum onto it and over to monthly DD which gives her a saving of more than £300 compared to BG's (pay on receipt of bill) new standard tariff, plus £30 for switching.

macman

knightstyle wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. I am going to do a workshop in our Church in January for people, mostly pensioners who don't have internet. I know each case will be different but getting info. before the event is important.
I will encourage them to set up DD but I am having trouble finding actual tariffs that are available to them, it seems that people like E-on do not publish actual tariffs, unless you know different?
Yes all pensioners will get the winter fuel allowance and some electricity providers give a warm home discount of £135 to certain needy people. So I need to take all these into account and was wondering if there is a comparison site that takes all these factors into account, or one that publishes current tariffs?

Just use a comp site with the annual kWh figures, they cover all available tariffs. Why waste time looking at the individual supplier websites? You can't factor in WFA etc directly, but if all your pensioners are receiving it, then it makes no difference to the comparative data.
What makes you think that certain tariffs are not available to pensioners? The majority (but not all ) of the cheapest tariffs require monthly payment by DD and online account management: filter these out and you'll eliminate many of the best ones.
Don't be fooled by 'Age' tariffs: they certainly give a discount against Standard tariff, but then Standard tariff is always the most expensive to start with. The cheapest variables are usually the online discount tariffs.
You need to get your pensioners switching now, not in January. It takes 4-5 weeks, so if they leave it till then, they won't be on supply until well into February, with the winter largely over.

victor2

knightstyle wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. I am going to do a workshop in our Church in January for people, mostly pensioners who don't have internet. I know each case will be different but getting info. before the event is important.
I will encourage them to set up DD but I am having trouble finding actual tariffs that are available to them, it seems that people like E-on do not publish actual tariffs, unless you know different?
Yes all pensioners will get the winter fuel allowance and some electricity providers give a warm home discount of £135 to certain needy people. So I need to take all these into account and was wondering if there is a comparison site that takes all these factors into account, or one that publishes current tariffs?

It's a sign of the times that being able to use a computer and the internet is pretty much a requirement to get a good deal.
Could the church consider making somebody available with a computer to assist the pensioners in getting a deal?
Or at least suggest in your workshop that Age UK offer advice and a service something like that.