A few questions about swapping suppliers

ValiantSaint

Hello everyone. I have just used the energy supplier "swap-over" section on MSE and I have been told that I could be saving over £200 a year, if I move from British Gas to Eon (I'm on BG's "standard" tariff, by the way)

Now, how true is this? And just how do you swap from one supplier to another? (Never done it before!)

And as I'm in credit with British Gas, will they have to refund me the amount I'm "up" by? And will I be out of pocket if I swap-over at a certain time in the month, as I pay by Direct Debit?

Many thanks

System

Hi. Provided you have used reasonably accurate energy usage projections, in kWhs, then the POTENTIAL savings will be realistic. I say potential as the amount that you pay is of course based on the tariff and your usage. Fixed price tariffs are not all you can consume for a stated annual cost.

Apply to switch via the MSE CEC and they will contact E.on. E.on then manages all aspects of the switch. There is no need for you to inform your present supplier. You will get a welcome pack and you have 14 days to re-consider. Three days later your switch should go through. E.on will ask you for meter readings. Job done.

Your present supplier will use the readings that you have given to E.on to produce your Final Bill. This will show a charge or refund. Once your final bill has been produced you can cancel your Direct Debit mandate.

It is true that during the switchover you may end up paying 2 DD payments. You will not lose out when the BG account is closed.

modsandmockers

The savings of £200+ are entirely feasible if you are used to paying “standard” tariff prices and, yes, if you switch away from BG then they will have to refund the credit on the account. But switching supplier takes weeks rather than days, and the final bill/credit refund from the previous supplier takes even longer. Like all suppliers, BG have tariffs which are cheaper than their standard tariff and, like most suppliers, they have a customer retention team who will do all they can to persuade you to stay with BG. If you ask them, it is quite possible that BG’s customer retention team will be able to match, or nearly match, the savings which you stand to gain by switching to E-on. They will also be able to re-calculate a monthly DD payment plan based on your known history and, if you insist, they will probably refund the existing credit balance.

Bear in mind that the cheaper tariffs come with strings attached. The most important one is that they all have an expiry date and unless you move to an alternative tariff before the expiry date arrives then you will probably find yourself back on the supplier’s standard (ie very expensive) tariff. The other ‘string’ is the fact that, if you want to change tariff more than seven weeks before the expiry date, then you might have to pay an exit fee. The prospect, or otherwise, of exit fees will be made clear in the terms and conditions of any tariff which you sign up to. The seven-week period of grace is designed to allow you sufficient time to organise a switch without penalty.

Before switching, always calculate the potential savings first, and then offer your existing supplier the opportunity to match it.