Scottish Power switch nos make no sense!

unsure

I was recently alerted by MSE energy club that my Scottish Power duel fuel tariff was no longer competitive, so like a good MSEr I decided to take action. Among the best options suggested was another Scottish Power Tariff which would save £25 per month without too much switching hassle I thought.

Scottish Power website confirmed figures using exact yearly use for last 12 months. Then I went to apply online and the monthly DD figure suddenly jumped £43 to make an £18 pm increase! So I called Scottish Power to clarify who said the switch to the suggested tariff would actuallysave me £76 per annum - quite a difference and three different numbers to ponder from the same info!

The big problem I am left with is knowing which of the three figures to believe and whether I'd be better going to another supplier (several with similar prices). Or are their figures all just as suspect? I'd assumed giving an accurate annual usage figure would give an accurate estimate but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Can anybody offer any explanation or advice please?

Nada666

Does your current tariff end soon? The prompting quote will include a period of time at standard tariff prices.

You should put your likely usage and postage code in a comparison site and look at the prices of the results - savings figures can be ignored. That will give you the cost of currently available tariffs.

System

A couple of things you should check. One, what credit/debit balance has been carried forward? If it is a debit balance then this may be the reason that your monthly DD has increased. Two, when comparing tariffs you must use the same annual projections. If your annual usage has been more than projected 12 months ago, then this will also result in a higher DD.

Forget MSE club for the moment. Work out your usage for the past 12 months and run these figures through a comparison site such as Which. You can review the results and decide for yourself whether to stay or switch to another provider.

unsure

Thanks for replies,
Just to clarify, I was using actual figures of last 12 months usage, confirmed in bill two weeks previously so still very current. The account is marginally in deficit at present but will probably be clear next month so that shouldn't be affecting figures very much either. Current contract runs until December but there are no exit penalties so free to move at any time.

Have done as suggested and put the same figures into both Which and USwitch.

Which says £70 saving, very close to Scottish Power's phone figure.
Uswitch still saying £300, close to MSE energy club msg and Scottish Power online headline figure.

I still don't get the discrepancy as the figures and post code are the same for both but I'm inclined to accept the lower figure which means a switch to another provider is now likely in the near future.

thanks for your help.

molerat

One reason I don't use the MSE CEC

Your gas tariff is due to end in 7 months and 14 days. If you don't switch, your supplier will roll you onto its standard tariff. Your cost and saving calculations are based on 7 months and 14 days on 'Zog Energy Mercury 12' and 4 months and 17 days on the standard tariff.

I don't need to know my "savings" 7.5 months in advance. I will not save any money by changing now, the savings shown in the table are a misleading irrelevance.

nightswimming

The "saving" is compared to what you would pay over the next 12 months if you let your current deal end and got transferred to the standard tariff, not compared to what you are currently paying.

Look at the actual figures for the new tariff compared to your current one (£/kwh and standing charges, make sure the figures you are comparing are both either with or without VAT). As prices tend to rise, it is likely your current tariff is cheaper and you would be better off waiting until the end of the year to switch, but by then the new deal may have been replaced by one even more expensive, so it's always a bit of a gamble. Good luck!