difference between usage and price on comparison sites

bern_2

not sure if this is the right place to post this.i have tried various comparison sites for cheaper gas and electric,why is it that there is such a difference in price quoted when you put in either usage or what it has cost you over the last year.the same site quotes me £615 based on cost and then quotes me £472 when i put in usage,this is for gas and electric on dual fuel offers.it is very confusing when you get this happening,especially when the supplier i am with comes out at over £140 cheaper on the price comparisons based on usage then i am paying them now.am i missing something here or does this happen all the time to other people that have used these sites.

espresso

Don't waste your time entering cost figures. Enter your previous annual kWh figures and then check the actual prices for yourself. i.e. simply use the comparison sites to give an idea of which supplier is cheaper for you, in your region.

Cardew

Agree with the above.

Everyone should appreciate that these comparison site have only one aim; to get you to change supplier and thus get their commission.

Thus if there is anyway they can confuse, and still remain within the law, they will do so.

If you want to try an experiment, try phoning pretending you know nothing about utility prices. Say you are with Company X and are paying, say, £80 a month.

You will always get a cheaper quote(normally to the firm that is currently giving them the biggest commission)

Phone again and give a slightly different postcode, and quote the latest amount you have been given, and you will be given a cheaper quote.

If you keep repeating that action you will probably finish up with Company X at half the price.

bern_2

thanks for the replies.it looks to me as though these comparison sites should just be used to see who is cheapest,beyond that i have lost all faith in the figures being quoted as factual.when these companies actually quote my own supplier as being over £140 cheaper on usage something must be wrong some where

Ken68

How are consumers to know the cheapest supplier?
As far as I know there is no independent list of prices, unless ,perhaps, MSE.