Cheap Energy club v Others

Poet100

Has anyone used the energy comparison sites and received completely different results to that of the MSE promoted 'Cheap Energy Club'

I recently did a comparison of duel fuels on the cheap energy site. I used the very same data to do a comparison on another reputable site, and got hugely different results.
I used the freephone number of the site in question to try and get some answers, unfortunately they declined to discuss their competitors results. Just for good measure I did another comparison on a third site using the same data, the results were different again, however closer to the latter.
The only conclusion I can come to is, that Ed Milliband was right, the energy market is broken and corrupt, shopping for energy should never have happened.

molerat

The only real difference I have found is that some sites round to the nearest £ and others are exact to pence. What data did you input, kWh per year is the only one that will give an accurate result.

Poet100

I did the comparison using kWh per year, I used the same numbers on all comparisons.
MSE cheap energy club said that I was on the best supply and changing would cost me more. The other two comparison sites say, I could save about £60 per year by switching, It's not a huge amount as I first said, however it is completely different from the advice given by MSE cheap energy club?

System

The Cheap Energy Club does not use the Ofgem recommendations by default. Ofgen say that if you are in, say, month 10 of a one year fix the assumption should be that you will go onto the standard variable tariff in month 13. The savings will look greater because you'll have two months on your fix and 10 months on the standard tariff. The Cheap Energy Club simply projects your current fix for the next 12 months and bases recommendations on that. You get the option to use the Ofgem method if you wish. IMO the CEC way of doing it is better for me because I would never go onto a standard tariff and want to see how a new tariff measures up against the one I'm already on.

If I've got that completely wrong feel free to put me right!

Poet100

That is interesting, I am indeed on month 10 with my current supply, however I did account for the two months by submitting an average for the two missing months, I did not realise it was already factored in, this may have given me false comparisons?. I did this with all the comparisons.
How exactly do I choose the Ofgem option on the MSE comparison.

molerat

Ignore any "savings" figure as they are based on various spurious assumptions mandated by OFGEM. Just look at the actual cost per year and compare the 2.

Poet100

I will look at the comparisons differently before making any changes, thanks folks for the information.

System

Poet100 wrote: »

That is interesting, I am indeed on month 10 with my current supply, however I did account for the two months by submitting an average for the two missing months, I did not realise it was already factored in, this may have given me false comparisons?. I did this with all the comparisons.
How exactly do I choose the Ofgem option on the MSE comparison.

Tick the box under your current tariffs on the MSE site. It says something like 'all savings are based on this cost'.

The false comparisons only apply to customers on fixed price contracts with less than 12 months to run. According to a BBC article today, 67% of consumers are still on SVR tariffs. You can see why Ofgem stands by its methodology.

System

Poet100 wrote: »

How exactly do I choose the Ofgem option on the MSE comparison.

When I was within a few months of the end of my fix with British Gas there was a checkbox to switch to the Ofgem option. Now I am about to start a new gas fix for two years and electricity fix for one year the option is not there.

footyguy

Poet100 wrote: »

Has anyone used the energy comparison sites and received completely different results to that of the MSE promoted 'Cheap Energy Club'

I recently did a comparison of duel fuels on the cheap energy site. I used the very same data to do a comparison on another reputable site, and got hugely different results.
I used the freephone number of the site in question to try and get some answers, unfortunately they declined to discuss their competitors results. Just for good measure I did another comparison on a third site using the same data, the results were different again, however closer to the latter.
The only conclusion I can come to is, that Ed Milliband was right, the energy market is broken and corrupt, shopping for energy should never have happened.

No that has not been my finding

Occassionally a comparison site may make an error with one particular tariff - there are humans behind the sites and they do make the occassional mistake
(For this reason I would suggest consulting at least 2 comparison sites to ensure you get the same result from at least two)

Rarely you may be offered a supplier on one comparison site that is not available on the other. This is very rare and requires a supplier to actively request not to be included on a comparison site (it is usually a small, new company)

Perhaps you could give us some details of what you have found?
Data you input, comaprison sites involved, and the results you obtained.
Let's see if anyone else can get the differences you appear to have found.

footyguy

Poet100 wrote: »

I did the comparison using kWh per year, I used the same numbers on all comparisons.
MSE cheap energy club said that I was on the best supply and changing would cost me more. The other two comparison sites say, I could save about £60 per year by switching, It's not a huge amount as I first said, however it is completely different from the advice given by MSE cheap energy club?

But are the annual costs different?

The Cheap Energy Club does not, by default, comply with Ofgem regulations ... but you can cahnge the output so that it does.
Alternatively, some other comparison sites (e.g. EHL) allows you to revise their output away from Ofgem regulations. If you do that, you should get the same results as the CEC gives by default.

I'll ask again, as molerat has also requested in post#2, please give us the details.
Your vagueness otherwise raises questions over the accuracy of the allegations you are attempting to assert.