Never heard of them.

Holygrail

I am feeling reticent about switching my power suppliers. All the ones that come through as being cheaper I have never heard of which is making me dither over changing. How do I know they are reliable?

At present I also have one of those little machines from my electricity supplier which constantly monitors my usage and I don't have to worry about reading meters and such. I'm assuming I will
start giving meter readings again.

Advice appreciated as I could be saving money!

System

Hi - welcome to the forum. Sadly, if you switch you will lose the external communication part of of your smart meter. The new standard of smart meters is due to start the rollout phase later this year (but watch this space). When you say 'reliable', what do you mean? If a supplier goes bust then you will not lose your gas and electricity supply.

Smaller suppliers do offer the best prices and they are regulated by Ofgem. I can vouch for Zog (gas only), GBEnergy and Ovo as providing good service at competitive prices. Switching is easy. The new supplier manages all aspects of the switch. All you have to do is fill in the application and provide meter readings when requested to do so. Switching can take anything from 17 to 35 days from application.

If you want accurate bills, then you will have to provide your new supplier with regular meter readings.

[Deleted User]

If you are in receipt of the Warm Home Discount, I believe it is worth £140 a year to you off your electric bill.The small suppliers do not offer this discount so check before switching. Dont forget to try for cashback through the MSE switching site with the cheap energy club if and when you switch.
Personally I would steer clear from Scot Power (hopeless ) and Npower ( even more hopeless ) if you stay with the big 6.My favourites are BG ( and Sainsburys Energy ), Eon and EDF as the best of the big 6 for reliability. BG need to get their finger out fast tho and get reducing their tariffs fast ! they are far too expensive now although I got on one of their BG Collectives and I m now getting cheapest electric in the UK at 8p/kwh and a reduced DSC as well.

dogshome

Do your research on the switchsites, but before commiting to any supplier do a search on this site for customer feedback - There are some, and not just the small one's, who's service is so poor that any money you are likely to save will be eaten up by buying yourself anti-depressant pills

lisa110rry

Too right, and in particular, I would warn you away from Extra Energy. There is a very long thread on this site regarding their failings.

JJ_Egan

A lot of people wish they had never heard of NPower and Scottish Power .

For me its a case of finding the cheapest and then a bit of research . Ignoring those negative posts from those with a bee in their bonnet .
Currently Zog for Gas and GB Energy for electric two of the so called small unheard of suppliers.

Holygrail

Thanks guys,

The cheapest is a fairly new company called Flow Home Energy. I was also drawn to them because I went on their website and they appear to have the thumbs up from 'Which' consumer.
I mean if Which recommends them they should be pukka shouldn't they......:)

[Deleted User]

I won't put too much trust in a Which recommendation.

Eric_Disley

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/poll/17-11-2015/is-your-energy-companys-service-any-good

A good guide, in my opinion, to customer service, although I'd be wary of results for companies with less than about 100 votes.