Goodbye BG Collective Fix Feb 2017

Finishrich

I've just been checking tariffs too, the best showing up for me is Robin Hood Energy (launched by Nottingham City Council but offer tariffs nationwide) but it's £29 a month more than the Feb Fix rate I've been on.


Given MSE have done Feb fixes the past 2 years I think I'll hold on for now.


Interesting I heard on the radio yesterday about an energy crowdfunding project. www.crowdfunder.co,uk/ourenergy they're aiming to launch in Spring 2017, could be another option out there in the future.

Toki

I notice through TCB switching to EDF gets £80. Quidco offering £50. May go with them myself rather than MSE CEC offer of £30.

Obviously only good if EDF are cheaper for you on the comparison.

phillw

Luckwudaveit wrote: »

Massive dilemma over what to do. The mse post above sounds hopeful, but it could go wrong. Perhaps time to 'use' more units up, in terms of meter readings, and delay a switch as long as I dare;)

Scottish power is the cheapest for me on CEC, iresa shows up similar on tariff when I looked on uswitch but no cashback so it's £30 more expensive, but no £60 exit fee. So I am in a dilemma as well.

rusty_frog

I started off this thread hoping that you guys would come up with a clear cut winner when it came the to the best alternative when the BG Collective 2017 ends.

Obviously I have learned that there isnt one, and a provider that is good for one user isnt necessarily good for another.

I have personally found a couple of small providers that, on paper, are not much more expensive than I am paying at the moment.
Then MSE Dan pops up and says that there is a chance that there is a chance of a new 'MSE' collective !
Thanks Dan!
Now I am no nearer deciding as to which way to jump than I was before.

Just how long does it take to set up a new supplier from the date of application?

System

Can I ask British Gas for an up to date energy statement at any time to work out where I am up to? I would like to know before I look at switching.

phillw

GrrArrgh wrote: »

Can I ask British Gas for an up to date energy statement at any time to work out where I am up to? I would like to know before I look at switching.

Enter your current meter read.

Then go here for electricity consumption:

https://www.britishgas.co.uk/EnergyUsage/Overview/#/usage/chart/year/latest?fuels=electricity&display=consumption&granularity=quarterly

Then tick gas and untick electricity (no idea why they let you tick both when displaying kwH).

I would guess they are a month short, so the simplest option would be to multiply them by 1.09. But it's a cold month, so if you know how much you used in the last 30 days then add that in. But of course the weather next year could be completely different & so getting a 100% accurate figure is not that important.

Anyone who can predict there energy usage 100% over the next 12 months has skills that can make far more money than you could ever save on your energy bills. Best guess is all you can really do.

lstar337

gsmlnx wrote: »

@savingsteve
Last time MSE ran a collective tariff, it failed totally. They could not get any supplier to offer a cheap tariff as the market prices are rising daily. I doubt they will find any company willing to do a deal this time as well.
Why in a rising market would any company large enough to handle a 100k new subscribers want to cut a deal as it will be a massive loss leader not only in terms of tariff costs but also the £6m in fees that 100k subscribers would cost the company (MSE gets £60 per new subscriber for a referral)

So the collective tariffs only work when nobody needs them. Awesome. :rotfl:

martyp

Joanthebone wrote: »

Are you going with Iresa now Martyp ?

It's looking that way as they are the cheapest for me even if I was to get elec and gas separately.
I could potentially ask them to start supply on 1st March when the collective ends but I'm really not sure as what if the MSE collective comes out better halfway through February when I'm in the middle of switching?
Iresa don't charge exit fees but not sure how much of a mess it might be if it's past the 14 day cooling period and I switched again?

Beer_Belly

Well I just received a letter from BG confirming, yes you've guessed it, I can leave without exit fees being incurred from 11th Jan. Just shows that the staff at the call centres don't know what they are talking about.

System

Beer_Belly wrote: »

Well I just received a letter from BG confirming, yes you've guessed it, I can leave without exit fees being incurred from 11th Jan. Just shows that the staff at the call centres don't know what they are talking about.

A Chief Executive of one of the smaller but growing suppliers said recently that the industry was finding it extremely difficult to recruit enough staff with experience of the domestic energy sector. That said, I would have thought that a supplier the size of BG would have a top notch staff training organisation.