Cheap Energy Club Confused - Please could anybody help?

footyguy

nic_c wrote: »

I bought my house last year as FTB. You are usually given supplier info on the seller provided documentation, and in my case the supplier wrote to me as I guess the seller had sent their final readings in.

First time using CEC as we opted to stay with the existing supplier and took their fix offering then (comparing it on uswitch there wasn't much cheaper). I do find it somewhat confusing. I know its marketing, but saying I will save £XXX when comparing to standard tariff is very sneaky. I'm currently on a fix, due to end next month, but assuming I will do nothing and go on to standard seems to be nothing more than maximising the savings figure rather than reality.

My current provider have told me of their new fix (which saves me £XXX over lapsing onto standard) and it could be very easy to think both options are saving money and not bother with CEC deal. Especially as you can't compare them yourself until you start to fill out the switching details :mad: . Luckily I'm okay with plugging numbers into excel , and found switching was still worthwhile (than going onto my current suppliers new fix), but as CEC knew what deal I was on, surely if the British Gas deal was as good as they claim, then allowing comparisons with your suppliers cheapest deal would be more open and honest, especially as people would be more likely to switch knowing it wasn't all smoke and mirrors by claiming what you'll save verses standard rates.

Are you sure you are signed up with the CEC?
The CEC offers both calculations, and clearly ststes which one it is showing you.

PixelPound

footyguy wrote: »

Are you sure you are signed up with the CEC?
The CEC offers both calculations, and clearly ststes which one it is showing you.

It says what it will cost if I switch and what it will cost if I stay with my current supplier, but in the latter's case it assumes I will lapse onto the standard tariff. No where does it assume that once my current suppliers fixed has ended I would opt to go on another fix, so really not a useful comparison.

Former_MSE_Laura_B

Hi nic_c,

Under regulations introduced by Ofgem if you’re on a fixed tariff which expires in the next 12 months, calculations on comparison sites should factor in your costs for the remainder of the fixed tariff, as well as the standard tariff which you’d be moved onto when the fix ends. This means if you have two months of your fixed rate tariff remaining, the savings calculation would be based on two months at the fixed tariff rate, and then ten months at the standard tariff rate.

However we don’t agree that this is the right approach, so if you’ve a fix expiring in the next 12 months, on CEC you can toggle to see savings against your current fix’s price, what it'll be after, and the personal projection, And if you're unsure, we default to the most appropriate (based on where you are in your fixed term).

For more info about this, see our news story:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/energy/2015/08/test-your-energy-fix-check-if-you-can-save-100s

Thanks,
MSE Laura

molerat

nic_c wrote: »

It says what it will cost if I switch and what it will cost if I stay with my current supplier, but in the latter's case it assumes I will lapse onto the standard tariff. No where does it assume that once my current suppliers fixed has ended I would opt to go on another fix, so really not a useful comparison.

It shows what you are paying now and what you will pay if you do nothing. It cannot guess what tariff you may or may not choose to change to and give that cost in the headline. It does give you the option to compare savings against 3 scenarios and gives you the actual annual cost of each of the tariffs you can switch to. It is now one of the better comparison tools.

PixelPound

MSE_Laura wrote: »

However we don’t agree that this is the right approach, so if you’ve a fix expiring in the next 12 months, on CEC you can toggle to see savings against your current fix’s price, what it'll be after, and the personal projection, And if you're unsure, we default to the most appropriate (based on where you are in your fixed term).

Thanks. Had a look at it again. I guess the reason I came up with my own figure is that my current supplier's new tariff would save me more than my current fix, but less than the BG collective. I guess my current supplier used the personal projection figure to make savings look better

Nick_C

Reputable as they are, I wouldn't trust Money Supermarket or any other commercial price comparison site to always give me the best deal. So I used Which? as well, and it couldn't come anywhere near the the savings that the Cheap Energy Club could offer me via the October 2017 collective switch. So again, well done and thank you.

sstjc

WARNING - There is something Cheap Energy Club don't tell you. I'm afraid for many it is neither quick or easy - Many of us have our gas supplied by an IGT (Independant Gas Transporter). You won't become aware of this until to try to switch. Equally when I used Cheap Energy Club to change from British Gas to Ovo neither Ovo or Cheap Energy Club told me this. An IGT can take 14 weeks to change and while that is happening you won't be billed for your gas so when the change does happen, which in my case took exactly 14 weeks you suddenly get a demand for 3 months gas which won't previously be calculated into your direct debit. After weeks of waiting it took me many phone calls and emails before I could get the answer as to why nothing was happening with my gas account. Its all very well for MSE to claim that switching is quick and easy but they are not telling you the truth. Many people change because they are on a tight budget and to not know that you will not be billed and then suddenly get a demand for 3 months gas can be crippling..... I don't here Martin Lewis or MSE shouting about that ! :mad::(

Nick_C

sstjc wrote: »

..... I don't here Martin Lewis or MSE shouting about that ! :mad::(

I've not heard anyone else shouting about it either, so presumably your experience is rather unusual.

But surely you know how much you should be paying each month for gas and electricity, and put that money into an account paying interest. That is what a true moneysaver would do.

For most of us, switching is quick and easy. And it should be, whether you switch yourself or use a third party to do it for you. Perhaps you should be raising this with OFGEM.

deanos

that reminds me my gas is on a igt , i have switched to british gas and so far its not held anything up, but i recall when i switched last year the gas took 2 weeks longer to switch

sstjc

If you do a google search for IGT it does say that a switch of provider can take up to 14 weeks but its not much help if you don't know that when you sign up to switch which is my point. There are many people on an IGT and I discovered that many new build estates built in the last 10 years are on an IGT presumably because the developer installed the pipes that extend into the new estate.