Switching Energy Supplier search results?

coxi61

Now this may be me just being stupid, but....... Our current energy deal is due to come to an end this month and I have been looking at switching to a better deal. I have used the MSE Energy club and the new 'Look after my Bills' site to get some comparisons. After entering details of our current tariff the results came back saying we could save between £500 and £700 per year by switching. Great I thought, but when I looked into the deals offered and compared the figures with out last bill as guide they all worked out more expensive?? Am I missing something here?? We currently have a Economy 7 tariff with Shell Energy. We have stuck with the E7 tariff because we have an electric car, which we charge overnight. But as we both work from home we also use quite a lot of electricity in the day time. Unfortunately the energy companies don't seem to provide smart meters for Economy 7 tariffs. We are currently spending around £1800 on gas and electricity. Four bed house, 2 adults, 2 children (11 yrs) Any help or guidance appreciated. :money:

Quentin

You say your current deal is ending.

So comparing future prices against your current (ending) tariff is irrelevant

matelodave

It's possible that you might save some money if you are on an expensive tariff but due to the way comparisons sites calculate the savings they are seldom as good as the headline figure especially if you are already on a good tariff.

The comparison sites calculate the savings based on the premise that you'll go onto your providers standard tariff at the end of your deal which is almost always the most expensive so savings are highly optimistic (this is the way Ofgem have decreed that they should be calculated).

You should be looking at the comparison sites to find the best deal based on your annual consumption (in kwh) so you'll be able to work out whether you'll save or not.

If you are on a good deal now then it's unlikely that you'll save all that much, if anything, when you change tariff because energy prices have risen over the past year or so

[Deleted User]

coxi61 wrote: »

Great I thought, but when I looked into the deals offered and compared the figures with out last bill as guide they all worked out more expensive?? Am I missing something here??

The comparison companies will default to the OFGEM approved method of calculating savings which is:-
1. Only use the current fix rates for the number of days it has left to run;
2. Use the suppliers Standard Variable Rates for the rest of the 12 month period going forward;
3. Use the new tariff rates for the comparison;
4. Calculate savings from that calculation.
That is why you never check savings, only the total annual costs of the new deals going forward.
And electricity prices have been rising for the past few years so the changes of real savings are rare for anyone on a fix deal that is ending shortly.

coxi61

Thank you for all your replies, very helpful and informative. This explains why all the results have been so optimistic, (or misleading).

mac.d

Using the MSE Cheap Energy Club, on the results page you can easily switch between basing your savings on what you'll pay when your current deal ends and based on what you are currently paying.

AndyPK

prices have gone up in the last year, so unlikely to be saving anything sadly.

Biggus_Dickus

gsmlnx wrote: »

The comparison companies will default to the OFGEM approved method of calculating savings which is:-
1. Only use the current fix rates for the number of days it has left to run;
2. Use the suppliers Standard Variable Rates for the rest of the 12 month period going forward;
3. Use the new tariff rates for the comparison;
4. Calculate savings from that calculation.
That is why you never check savings, only the total annual costs of the new deals going forward.
And electricity prices have been rising for the past few years so the changes of real savings are rare for anyone on a fix deal that is ending shortly.

...rare, but not impossible to find;...Avro have just introduced a new 12-month fixed (£0 exit-fee) tariff called ’Simple & SuperSave’ which, surprisingly, is slightly cheaper than their previous tariff ‘Simple & Superfix’;...the standing charges and leccy Kwh charge remained unchanged but the gas KWh charge has dropped very slightly.

However, (based on my personal usage figures of course!) those two tariffs are significantly cheaper than the tariffs that were on offer from Avro and many other competitive companies late last summer.

I’m presently in the process of switching back to Avro from Yorkshire Energy. My switch should take place on the July 10th and my tariff (Simple & Superfix) has already been superseded by the cheaper (Simple & SuperSave) Avro tariff!

I wonder if I can switch to their new cheaper tariff even though I’m in the process of switching to a previous (more expensive) tariff? :doh:

P.S. for what it’s worth my annual usage figures are;... Elec: 4224Kwh...Gas:15942Kwh

Smodlet

Bulb may be competive for you and, if you head over to the Referrers' board and sign up using someone's link, both you and they receive a £50 credit on your accounts.

I am a few days into the process of doing precisely this but do not think it would be right to post my link until I have actually switched myself. Fwiw, I used gsmlnx's link as he has been very helpful to me. :A

[Deleted User]

Biggus_Dickus wrote: »

...
I wonder if I can switch to their new cheaper tariff even though I’m in the process of switching to a previous (more expensive) tariff? :doh:

P.S. for what it’s worth my annual usage figures are;... Elec: 4224Kwh...Gas:15942Kwh

The only ones who can answer this are Avro so if I was you I would contact them and ask if it is possible to swap to the newer tariff. They can only say NO.
If they do say no, are you still within the 14 days since signing up to them? You could just cancel the switch and then try again. BUT I won't just do that without checking first if Avro would accept another switch in such a short time window.

Biggus_Dickus

gsmlnx wrote: »

The only ones who can answer this are Avro so if I was you I would contact them and ask if it is possible to swap to the newer tariff. They can only say NO.
If they do say no, are you still within the 14 days since signing up to them? You could just cancel the switch and then try again. BUT I won't just do that without checking first if Avro would accept another switch in such a short time window.

I signed up for my switch to Avro's dual-fuel ‘Simple&Superfix’ tarif about 9 days ago;...however, they've introduced a slightly cheaper new tariff called ‘Simple&Supersave’ in the last few days..

The difference between the two tariffs is minimal tbh;...it will only be £3 per annum cheaper for my usage (15942Kwh gas). The gas Kwh charge dropped to 2.966p from 2.987p.

I’ll just leave my switch to go through as normal and then let the dust settle before opting for an internal Avro switch;...with a bit of luck they’ll have introduced yet another even cheaper tariff by then!