British gas switch

wallofbeans

Hello,

I'm confused as to whether I should switch to this British Gas collective switch or not. I'm not sure how accurate the amount it's telling me I'm going to save is and don't like the exit fees idea.

I'm currently with EDF on the Blue+Price Promise Jan 2017 and this BG deal is apparently going to save me £11 a month. Any ideas how I can double check how accurate this is?

Thanks.

CashStrapped

How did you make the comparison?

Did you just enter your current Direct Debit amount?

or

Did you use your annual KWH figures calculated using meter readings one year apart?

You will get a more accurate indication of any possible saving with KWH figures.

Also remember that any "savings" are based on what you used for the last year. If we have a very bad summer and a very cold winter you will use a lot more energy and your bill overall may be higher. However the actual price of the gas and electric you use will be cheaper.

wallofbeans

I put in the details of my current tariff and let the software estimate how much I use. I don't have a full year of meter readings to put in.

But the suggestion of what I'm paying per month is £10+ less than what I a. Although the direct debit I pay is the same each month so must be an average. I don't want to switch to this BG offer and be stuck with a worse deal and a £60 exit fee.

JJ_Egan

Today's unit cost per kwh + today's standing charges .
Compare that to any new suppliers per kwh and standing charges .
Annual usage and DD are only estimates not the actual price .

phillw

wallofbeans wrote: »

I put in the details of my current tariff and let the software estimate how much I use.

The usage estimates are useless, any comparison based on them will be just as useless.

What Direct Debit you are currently paying is irrelevant as your energy provider knows less than you do about how much energy you will use in a year. So entering how much you spend each month is really not great either, you need the yearly usage figures to get anywhere near the correct payment. If the comparison site has the wrong tariff or has the details about the tariff wrong then it can also invalidate the result.

The right tariff for you can only be known for certain at the end of the year. You can only improve your chances by trying to enter your kwh as close as possible to what you will use.

It would be easier if all the providers had the same standing charge as you could just compare the unit rate, but the providers are gambling as well as you.

wallofbeans

phillw wrote: »

The usage estimates are useless, any comparison based on them will be just as useless.

What Direct Debit you are currently paying is irrelevant as your energy provider knows less than you do about how much energy you will use in a year. So entering how much you spend each month is really not great either, you need the yearly usage figures to get anywhere near the correct payment. If the comparison site has the wrong tariff or has the details about the tariff wrong then it can also invalidate the result.

The right tariff for you can only be known for certain at the end of the year. You can only improve your chances by trying to enter your kwh as close as possible to what you will use.

It would be easier if all the providers had the same standing charge as you could just compare the unit rate, but the providers are gambling as well as you.

So that means that there is little point moving supplies unless I know the yearly uses?

JStewer

wallofbeans wrote: »

Hello,

I'm confused as to whether I should switch to this British Gas collective switch or not. I'm not sure how accurate the amount it's telling me I'm going to save is and don't like the exit fees idea.

I'm currently with EDF on the Blue+Price Promise Jan 2017 and this BG deal is apparently going to save me £11 a month. Any ideas how I can double check how accurate this is?

Thanks.

Well you could work it out using pen & paper.

Or better still, use that big calulator thingy you have in front of you.

Why do you think the computer has it wrong? :huh:
Computers don't make mistakes; it's the human that operates it that causes errors.

wallofbeans

JStewer wrote: »

Well you could work it out using pen & paper.

Or better still, use that big calulator thingy you have in front of you.

Why do you think the computer has it wrong? :huh:
Computers don't make mistakes; it's the human that operates it that causes errors.

I didn't say the computer had it wrong. I wasn't sure the number were right, and how could i check. Plus, I'm not sure how I can figure out with a pen & paper or a calculator, without accurate usage amounts for a full year.

Unless there is a way to do that? I submitted some metre readings for the last year, but sometimes it was a guy who came to the door. But he got it wrong quite often and so did I sometimes (the electric meter is a really old one and hard to get right without a lot of trial and error) so the readings were estimated.

Wont this mess with the numbers accuracy?

SamNRG

Hey,

Just phone EDF and just ask how much you've used in previous years... If you've just switched to them, what readings did you use to run a comparison with them? Use the same readings?

Have you not got any old annual statements to get your previous annual usage from?

System

Agreed. The two figures that you need from your supplier are known as the Annual Quantity for gas and Estimated Annual Consumption for electricity.

This explanation from Ovo might help:

https://www.ovoenergy.com/binaries/content/assets/documents/pdfs/understanding_the_link_between_your_direct_debit_and_energy_consumption.pdf

wallofbeans

SamNRG wrote: »

Hey,

Just phone EDF and just ask how much you've used in previous years... If you've just switched to them, what readings did you use to run a comparison with them? Use the same readings?

Have you not got any old annual statements to get your previous annual usage from?

I've just spoken with EDF and they gave me estimates for this year. They can give me an actual in May apparently. They could give me the actual for May 2014 - May 2015 though. The electricity was pretty similar to the estimate but the gas was double!

Are estimates worth anything or should I only ever go with actuals?