MSE News: Collective switching comes of age as 60,000 save £10 million

Jeffperk

I want to switch to Sainbury's but the Cheap Energy Club system is blocking my switch because I had started a switch to Co-op Energy even though it's still within the "Cooling Off" period! Any ideas on how to overcome this, please? Jeffperk

MSE_Dan_L

Jeffperk wrote: »

I want to switch to Sainbury's but the Cheap Energy Club system is blocking my switch because I had started a switch to Co-op Energy even though it's still within the "Cooling Off" period! Any ideas on how to overcome this, please? Jeffperk

It sounds like the supplier hasn't updated us yet - drop us an email to collectiveswitch AT moneysavingexpert.com and we'll help you out.

redux

MSE_Dan_L wrote: »

Based on my calculations, the difference looked to be as much as £66 in one region. I think the key thing we can agree on here is that we'd suggest always checking the full market comparison before deciding on the tariff to switch to.

Although the Scottish Power tariff has no exit fee, the customer service feedback about it hasn't been great. So I suppose there is a decision here on tariff price, exit fees and customer service rating.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/poll/02-12-2014/is-your-energy-companys-service-any-good

Oh dear ...

I don't think we'll agree on much.

Now you admit that Scottish Power has no exit fee, but earlier you said there were no competitive tariffs (or you had not found any) with no exit fee. Which suggested not looking very carefully. But your last remark suddenly and unintentionally sounds like introducing a reason why you might have suppressed it.

The email claims our winners smash the best-buys, and that for most the Sainsburys offer is by far the cheapest, with huge savings.

Untrue. Untrue whether it is not the cheapest at all or whether it is only £5 cheaper.

As I've pointed out, Sainsburys is in 8th place here, not the cheapest in several other areas, and has a high exit fee, so it may form a trap in a period of falling prices, and its gas units are about 15% more expensive than the cheapest 3 rivals, so maybe not attractive during seasonally high gas use in winter. Recommending it without spotting that might be ill-considered.

As for customer service, you make this sound like last minute taunt flung in a losing argument. The last time I called Scottish Power the whole call lasted 3 minutes, including call queueing and my question being answered. This house has been with Scottish Power for a number of years, which has involved talking to them less than once a year on average.

Yes, people should consider a full comparison when looking at tariffs. But we can surmise from some forum discussion that some people seem to unreservedly accept MSE's latest product choice without looking so closely themselves, so perhaps you might bear a bit more responsibility for accuracy than you are showing here. What is guidance and what is advice, as a discussion elsewhere on here asks. Some people may then come to regret it, such as those who unwisely but persuaded by MSE went for Scottish Power's 3 year fix, or those who didn't realise they would lose their Warm Home Discount.

MSE has achieved what it calls a collective discount with Sainsburys, but maybe Sainsburys wasn't so attractive without that discount. Questions could be asked why you didn't go so hard for or didn't achieve such discounts with others. Don't let the negotiating success go to your heads and overblow the result.

I've unsubscribed from the Cheap Energy Club again, and I don't need to read such hyperbolically languaged distortion in the MSE email, even if it is as unintentional and unwitting as you imply.

polymaff

Dan,

You are skittering around all over the place. Redux is not out to crucify you - just to illustrate how this project does not reflect at all well on MSE

Nota Bene:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=67579982&postcount=48

System

I have just made a similar comment on another thread. E.oN/CEC is to be congratulated on the previous Big Switch but it would seem that other suppliers are lining up for MSE CEC endorsement. The headline on this site states:

The 15 Day Big Winter Switch Event II - We've negotiated cheaper than the cheapest energy

is just plain misleading. As MSE puts such great store in its openness and transparency, I just wonder how it would defend this statement to the ASA? As others have said, this deal is not showing up as the cheapest. My CEC comparison shows E.oN as the cheapest for fixed dual fuel at £695 compared to this deal which comes in at £711 per annum. MSE Dan L - please discuss bearing in mind that many users of this site take MSE's advice at face value.

Consumerist

I suspect that much of the problem is timing.

At the time the headline was prepared for release, it was probably the truth but suppliers are wasting no time to compete as soon as new offes are released. Extra Energy is launching new tariffs like there will be no tomorrow.

Coincidentally, e.on has launched a new tariff which is only available until 10 February.

In my view, CEC should have realised that the market would react to its collective switch and should have prepared headlines which anticipated that reaction. It seems to me they will now lose credibility over these now-misleading claims as switchers come to realise they might have done better.

MSE_Dan_L

It's really difficult to explain everything within a short headline.

The Sainsbury's Energy tariff, based on average price and usage across all regions on price alone is the current cheapest on the market at £901. I believe the Extra Energy tariff averages at £913 with Eon at £920.

We did try to explain that the 1 year tariff could be beaten, in the top section of this week's weekly email:

"...Show your exact prices and compare them to ALL tariffs. Worth doing as while our collective tariffs usually win, there are regional variations. So you can see who wins, how much you'll save and then switch to your best."

Hope this makes sense to you all. I'm not sure there's much more to add around this, but thanks for your contributions - certainly interesting perspectives on the matter.

NittyGritty

seems MSE didn't do too badly out of the switch either, 60,000 switchers = £3.6 million in commission

System

Dan - whether you or MSE Towers likes it or not your headline statement is misleading and, in my opinion, it needs to be changed ASAP. Please do not try to hide behind small print. MSE has clearly not negotiated 'cheaper than the cheapest energy' - or if you did, it is not the cheapest tariff available to some domestic customers today.

I am happy to be proved wrong if you wish to share your methodology.

For clarity, I should add that when statements such as the above are made the Committee on Advertising Practices states that the comparative basis on which the statement is made should be given. The MSE webpage uses the word 'most' and Dan uses the words 'average price and usage'.

Consumerist

NittyGritty wrote: »

seems MSE didn't do too badly out of the switch either, 60,000 switchers = £3.6 million in commission

Assuming each switcher got their £30 cash-back, MSE would have reaped about £1.8m - still not to be sniffed at, of course.