Add your feedback on energy supplier Powershop

DocFrog

Test Match Specials (2) out today:

30% (4 days) and 29.6% (2 days)

Pretty pathetic

Tafrock

Wouldn't say they were pathetic myself. The pathetic ones are below 20% In my opinion

DocFrog

Half the size of April's "Good Knight" packs and 5% lower discount.

Moneyspice

I have been with Powershop since October'18. The Top Shopper 1st year guarantee ensures I will effectively get 29% discount on their baseline tariff for 12 months. Discount to date achieved by selective purchase of Power Packs has been >33%. I upload meter readings about 3-4 times a month via the App. No one has ever hassled me about a smart meter and so far I have no compliants. PDF bills are emailed to me monthly and historic meter readings/power pack purchases can all be viewed online (I also record by spreadsheet to check billing accuracy/charges).

Each month I check price paid against the alternate fixed tariff that I ignored when selecting Powershop and against the cheapest available supplier listed in MSE energy club (lowest tariff listed for gas and electric that month multiplied by my usage). Every month so far Powershop has been the cheapest option despite comparison sites showing a £300 saving if I move supplier!

Worryingly the future packs on offer for June to September currently offer just 18% so I have NOT purchased. Hoping for a better deal when the month arrives. As others have said - the discounts may not last beyond year 1 and if my monthly saving disappears I will move supplier. Key point here is that there is no lock-in period and no exit fee.

Powerpack purchases for me are at the start of the month + 3 interim special offers in most months. The pack size offerred understandably was a lot higher in the winter months when usage was higher. I'm currently running just 1 month ahead because I only buy the higher discount packs.

If you are financially minded this is a great alternative to the traditional fixed monthly DD but I can see it would not suite everyone!

Umiamz

I wasn't aware that there was a Top Shopper 1st year guarantee - I can't see it mentioned anywhere. There's a "First Year Promise" guarantee, but that was only 4.18% off baseline. The Top Shopper rate, if achieved, was 26.4% for me.

fewkeste

It's no use putting out headline grabbing high % packs if they are for pawltry amounts of credit. They may look good on screen but their overall contribution to achieveing the month in month out overall discount of around 29% is negligable.

They are nothing more than a distraction and should be viewed as such.

I advise every customer (if they haven't already done so) to calculate what % discount they would need to achieve to go from whatever Baseline Tariff they are on to the relevant Top Shopper rate they were advised could be achieved when they joined.

The two rates will also be available on the link that is titled 'Your Prices' from memory.

The thing is - it's alright getting high discounts in the winter months but those higher discounts have to be amortised (shared) over all of the months of the year to get an overall % discount achieved.

Unless the discount pattern changes, % discount achieved from now until October/November time are unlikely to achieve the discounts needed to take you from your Baseline Tariff rates to the relevant Top Shopper rate you were advised could be achieved.

You 'accrue' most of the high discount for the whole year in the November to February period and then end up diluting that discount down to the Top Shopper rate as the year progresses.

The first thing any customer should consider is to work out what discount you need to achieve to go from your Baseline Tariff to your Top Shopper Tariff.

Every month you achieve/beat that - Great! Every month you don't will bring down your overall achieved average throughout the year.

High discount, low monetary value packs may flatter but do little to impact the overall % discount achieved when set against large Jumbo Packs with % discounts less than 10% for example.

Do your maths - look at your monthly bills and work out what discount you have achieved each month - it's easy to do - you're told what you paid i.e. what it cost you after discount and what discount you achieved so you can easily recreate the undiscounted bill and express the discount given as a % of the undiscounted bill.

So, every month you can calculate what % discount off your Baseline Tariff you have achieved.

Every time that % falls below what % you've calculated you need to achieve for Top Shopper rate you're losing out.

Every time that % is above what you've calculated you need to achieve for Top Shopper rate you're winning.

This was what I used to do in a spreadsheet every month - I hope it makes sense:D

fewkeste

Umiamz wrote: »

I wasn't aware that there was a Top Shopper 1st year guarantee - I can't see it mentioned anywhere. There's a "First Year Promise" guarantee, but that was only 4.18% off baseline. The Top Shopper rate, if achieved, was 26.4% for me.

You are correct - I think Moneyspice is mistaken/confused.

The First Year Promise is a derisory discount but I do not recall Top Shopper rate ever being promised (unless PS have changed things and not advertised it of course)

tlcgrantham

Maybe Top Shopper rates are guaranteed as it does say on your Tariff Information label about Top Shopper rates "Your effective prices if you buy all powerpacks" & "Effective Unit Rate to everyone who purchases all available powerpacks". You clearly are going to beat your Top Shopper Rates anyway by selective buying. As future packs are in addition to Top Shopper rate guarantees make sure you buy the high discount winter future packs hopefully starting this Saturday. They were 41% discount last year.

Tafrock

The high discount winter future packs are the cream of powershop packs it's a shame they only provide them in winter

tlcgrantham

As I use more than 10 times as much gas from Nov.-Feb. as I do from May-Aug. I'd rather have 40% + discount in winter even if I only get 20% in summer. Over the whole year this would average out at 38%.