It's time to start digging up those Squirrelled Nuts!!!!

Sea_Shell

Our gas drop off was a combination of no pilot light on the new boiler (the old one was using 4kw per day just for this!) and realising that we didn't need our hot water coming on twice a day.  Plus I hope it's generally more efficient too!!

michaels

Because of the way the cap works I suspect that until the reset next March it will be best to stay with an existing fix and then roll onto the standard variable tariff although it is not impossible that the situation my be so difficult for the suppliers that there may be an emergency cap increase.  I would definitely not switch to any company not in the 'big 6' right.

westv

michaels said:

Talking of inflation, my energy supplier has just gone bust, when I can switch the new tariff will be at least double costing £900 pa more - that would make a pretty big dent in a £15k annual retirement budget.

I starting switching providers at the weekend and then discovered this morning the new one might be in trouble!

Ganga

westv said:

michaels said:

Talking of inflation, my energy supplier has just gone bust, when I can switch the new tariff will be at least double costing £900 pa more - that would make a pretty big dent in a £15k annual retirement budget.

I starting switching providers at the weekend and then discovered this morning the new one might be in trouble!

Ours went bust and i am afraid to jump into another deal straight away in case the same happens again ,it looks like the big energy companies are safe BUT expensive 

westv

I'll stick with the switch and see how it goes. If they did go belly up it'd be the third time it's happened to me.

Melvinsmum58

michaels said:

Because of the way the cap works I suspect that until the reset next March it will be best to stay with an existing fix and then roll onto the standard variable tariff although it is not impossible that the situation my be so difficult for the suppliers that there may be an emergency cap increase.  I would definitely not switch to any company not in the 'big 6' right.

But which of the big 6 give good customer service? It isn’t just about cost….

We have just been moved from British Gas to their Evolve brand, with no permission required, very little notice and, it seems, Evolve are very difficult to contact. No phone line, online chat times out, emails take days.  DD details not transferred across, now 2 showing on our bank app…having been loyal to BG for many years as their CS was good, we will almost certainly switch now. But where to? I am happy to pay a little more for a company who will talk to me.

Ian_Brown_3

I’ve been with Avro for about 6 years now. Never a problem and when I do a comparison, which I do regularly, they come out one of the most competitive. Plus although you get a 12 month fix, there are no penalties for leaving early if you see a better deal. Only issue is their system doesn’t yet deal with smart meters, so have to submit a monthly reading if I want accurate bills, but it’s no great hardship. 

Melvinsmum58

Thanks, that is good to know.

I will do a comparison in next few weeks. I want the Evolve account to run for a month or so to make sure there are no major problems before I switch and with prices going up in October, I will let the market settle a little before I run our usage figures through.

Stargunner

Melvinsmum58 said:

But which of the big 6 give good customer service? It isn’t just about cost….

We have just been moved from British Gas to their Evolve brand, with no permission required, very little notice and, it seems, Evolve are very difficult to contact. No phone line, online chat times out, emails take days.  DD details not transferred across, now 2 showing on our bank app…having been loyal to BG for many years as their CS was good, we will almost certainly switch now. But where to? I am happy to pay a little more for a company who will talk to me.

Why do you need an energy company to talk to you? I switch every time my current deal comes to an end as energy companies give new customers much better deals than existing customers, I just do the switch online without talking to them.

atw_uss

Octopus have worked well for us over the past couple of years (although response rate to emails has been painfully slow at times). They fitted our smart meters with no issues when Ovo could not. I do keep checking the tariffs and they seem to remain one of the most competitive providers. We opt for the Green Options, so never the cheapest but not too far off.

Now I just need to persuade my husband to use thermostats and close doors ....