1st Time switcher

Marksteeler

So our currently fix and fall tarrif is up with british gas and were now for the 1st time ever looking to switch,


we have put our details into uswitch (is that the best to use?) and sainsburys is showing it would save us £330 a year.


my question is in this we put in how much we pay a month which for dual fuel is £90 is it best to put in how much you pay or the actual usage from the previous year? or does this not matter?

Cardew

Always, always, enter your annual consumption in kWh.


Try a couple of comparison websites - they should be identical; except when they have a 'collective' deal.

System

Marksteeler wrote: »

So our currently fix and fall tarrif is up with british gas and were now for the 1st time ever looking to switch,


we have put our details into uswitch (is that the best to use?) and sainsburys is showing it would save us £330 a year.


my question is in this we put in how much we pay a month which for dual fuel is £90 is it best to put in how much you pay or the actual usage from the previous year? or does this not matter?

Do not trust the savings as these will be inflated. You need to do a full comparison - as Cardew states - based on the amount of energy that you have used over the past year in kWhs not £s.

Use a site like MSE CEC or theenergyshop.com to get a 'like for like' annual comparison. This will show you what 12 months on your present tariff has cost compared to 12 months on tariffs going forward.

Remember, the last 2 winters have been very warm. If you have Gas CH, for example, I would look at suppliers that offer the lowest price per kWh. If you want the cheapest energy, then look at separate suppliers for gas and electricity. I use Zog for gas and GBEnergy for electricity. If I was to dual fuel with GBEnergy it would cost me £50 a year more: that is, their gas is not that competitive.

Finally, when you switch remember that the new supplier manages ALL aspects of the switch. There is no need to contact your old supplier. You will be told when the transfer will take place. Try to give the new supplier actual meter readings on this day rather than 5 days before or after. Do not cancel your DD with your old supplier and be patient. It can take some weeks to get a final bill.

Marksteeler

Thanks for the advice.


Whats the easiest way of getting my usage over the last year? if i call my current provider will they give me the annual figure?

System

Marksteeler wrote: »

Thanks for the advice.


Whats the easiest way of getting my usage over the last year? if i call my current provider will they give me the annual figure?

Your latest statement should have an annual estimated projection on it for gas and electricity.

Personally, I prefer to look at two statements a year apart and do my own calculation.

Or, you can ring your supplier and ask for the Annual Quantity (AQ) figure for your property for gas, and the Estimated Annual Consumption (EAC) for electricity.

marksmith99

Be prepared that the switching process could be an elongated nightmare.

Still paying direct debits to Ovo following the MSE collective switch last February.

victor2

Once you've established your annual usage in kWh, put that into a comparison site (uSwitch is as good as any) and completely ignore the "savings", which are invariably meaningless. Just look at the predicted costs with different suppliers going forward. The cheapest may well be one you have never heard of, and/or one that has a poor reputation for customer service, so cheapest is not necessarily best. Consider also any exit penalty the new tariff may impose if you decide to leave early.
If you want to save a bit more money, choose your supplier and then look for a site that can switch you and reward you. Cheap Energy Club will pay cashback. Last time I switched I went through Quidco to uSwitch and got cashback that way, Consider it a little bonus if you get it.

Edit:
Another thing to consider is that quite a few suppliers (especially the smaller ones) take the monthly DD up front, so you can end up paying twice in the same month when you switch from someone like BG (who probably take the payment in arrears) to one requiring the payment in advance. It evens out in the end, but can be a bit of a shock to some people.

DannyG16

I had been considering using the CheaperEnergy club to switch but was extremely worried the switch would not go smoothly due to any unknown reasons. If your still making payments to OVO, could you share how it went with you?

Thanks.

System

DannyG16 wrote: »

I had been considering using the CheaperEnergy club to switch but was extremely worried the switch would not go smoothly due to any unknown reasons. If your still making payments to OVO, could you share how it went with you?

Thanks.

Hi - welcome to the forum. There is little to worry about. Comparison sites are nothing more than a link to your chosen supplier. The new supplier manages the switch. Your old supplier will continue to take DD payments until it receives final readings from the third party that reviews the readings that you provide on switch. This can take a week or so. If you have overpaid your old supplier, you will get all your credit balance back.

I switched 5 times last year and had one issue. It didn't affect my supply and the new supplier (Ovo) paid me a small amount of compensation. My advice would be 'go for it' but have a look at the supplier's terms and conditions just to make sure that you know when the first payment will be taken. Base any comparisons that you make on kWhs/year not £s and you will be fine.

System

Do not trust or rely on the comparison sites . We have found the "savings" are based on really low DD which leave you with a debt.

System

CHRISSYG wrote: »

Do not trust or rely on the comparison sites . We have found the "savings" are based on really low DD which leave you with a debt.

Sorry - but that just isn't true: all comparison sites have to follow the Ofgem Confidence Code. If a consumer enters projected usage - in kWhs not £s - into a comparison site and the supplier's own site, then the annual cost will be exactly the same*. The mistakes that people make are (a) the projected annual usage that is used for the comparison is incorrect: (b) they mistakenly believe that a fixed contract is the same as an 'all your eat' mobile phone contract, and (c) they fail to monitor usage by not providing the supplier with actual meter readings. The 'bottomline; is that if more energy is used than was assumed at the time of the switch, then the annual cost will increase.

*NB. the only slight difference is that some suppliers' websites do not include VAT in the standing charge and kWh cost whereas comparison sites do. The annual cost will though still be the same.