Energy bills to fall for 11 million, but don't be fooled - MSE News

MSE_Andrew

Energy bills will fall by £75/year for 11 million households in October, regulator Ofgem has revealed this morning – but don't let this lull you into a false sense of security, you can still save £100s/yr by switching...

Read the full story:
'Energy bills to fall for 11 million, but don't be fooled - check if you’re still being ripped off'

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Benight

You can use our Cheap Energy Club to compare the whole of the market

No you can't.

Apparently, by MSE's own admission to an MSE Board Guide it does not cover the whole of market as there are too many suppliers & tariffs for MSE to keep up with.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=76115137&postcount=277

This means MSE misses the cheapest suppliers off (presumably as there is no financial benefit to MSE by including them)

Don't be fooled – check if you’re still being ripped off

Use a couple of the Ofgem accredited comparison sites to ensure you are really getting the whole of market.
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/consumers/household-gas-and-electricity-guide/how-switch-energy-supplier-and-shop-better-deal/compare-gas-and-electricity-tariffs-ofgem-accredited-price-comparison-sites

Mister_G

I see that the Bulb and Octopus spammers are out already.

MSE tell me that they can't do anything about it, despite contravening their rules.

Gerry1

Benight wrote: »

Use a couple of the Ofgem accredited comparison sites to ensure you are really getting the whole of market.
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/consumers/household-gas-and-electricity-guide/how-switch-energy-supplier-and-shop-better-deal/compare-gas-and-electricity-tariffs-ofgem-accredited-price-comparison-sites

Nope, they don't have to show the whole of the market either !:eek:

In its infinite wisdom, Ofgem has ruled that they can show only the companies that pay them.

Use the excellent Citizen's Advice website to see all suppliers.

TheGMan

I'm confused by this. My current supplier is Avro energy. We switched in November 2018 and we are on their Simple and Autumn Tariff which ends 21/11/19. I presume we will then move onto Avro's Standard Variable Tariff.

According to Avro, our yearly energy bill for gas & electric combined is £1325.

Have just done a comparison based on our usage and the cheapest per uSwitch was £1301 per year.

So does this mean it's better for us to stay with Avro after November 21st at which point I presume we'd move onto their standard variable tariff and be capped at £1179 per year (a saving of £146)

Can someone advise as I'm confused as to whether I should stay or go when my tariff ends in November. TIA

Gerry1

Avro brings out new tariffs every few weeks, and many of their fixed tariffs had no exit fees. You may already have missed out by not switching to a new Avro fixed tariff (which also resets the 12-month clock). Check out the Citizen's Advice whole of the market comparison site.

TheGMan

Right, just had a look - uSwitch didn't show those suppliers who I had to contact directly to swap to (I'd missed a tick box!!!) It shows Avro who I'm with currently and their "Simple and Super Saver" tariff which comes out at £1199.47 a year (Gas, Elec and daily standing charge are all cheaper than the Simple and Autumn Tariff). So am just firing off an email to them now to have our tariff moved across as soon as possible!! Would be nice if these suppliers reviewed your tariff monthly and automatically moved you on to their cheapest one but that's life I suppose.

Gerry1

Some people have reported that it's quicker to phone: the sooner it's actioned, the more you save ! Watch out for any exit fees.

molerat

TheGMan wrote: »

So does this mean it's better for us to stay with Avro after November 21st at which point I presume we'd move onto their standard variable tariff and be capped at £1179 per year (a saving of £146)

You misunderstand how the cap works, your bill is not capped at £1179. The £1179 is an illustration of what the average use customer will pay in the average price area.

tempus_fugit

I wouldn't go by Avro's yearly figure either, which is just an estimate. Our annual usage would have produced a bill of about £700-£800 but the annual figure on their bills was always around the £1700 mark.

ProDave

So what ARE the actual capped pence per unit of electricity and pence per unit of gas going to fall to?

Saying they have capped the average bill at a certain level tells you nothing, when they don't even say how many units they assume the average user uses.

Why all the complication and mystery behind it?