Energy: Find the cheapest supplier & earn cashback

harryhound

purplestar133 wrote: »

Do you have wireless internet? If that's the case, your router must be on all the time too. Try turning that off when you close your laptop.

Doesn't turning off the router (on BT local loop = phone wires) degrade your internet speed, 'cos the computer at the exchange, that experiments with improving your speeds, thinks you are having a problem ?

SD-253

harryhound wrote: »

Doesn't turning off the router (on BT local loop = phone wires) degrade your internet speed, 'cos the computer at the exchange, that experiments with improving your speeds, thinks you are having a problem ?

I haven't noticed this and I switch of at the plug (everything including the router) and I check my speed regularly. I find it very diffcult to believe that BT has set up a system where something has to be on for 24 hours a day for it to work properly?? I think you may have got an old wives tale here. When you first set up you have to leave it for a while for it to work at its best but not for ever!

harryhound

brandeberryj wrote: »

I haven't noticed this and I switch of at the plug (everything including the router) and I check my speed regularly. I find it very diffcult to believe that BT has set up a system where something has to be on for 24 hours a day for it to work properly?? I think you may have got an old wives tale here. When you first set up you have to leave it for a while for it to work at its best but not for ever!

Perhaps you are lucky with your line? I'm on the end of about two miles of copper wire that goes through heaven knows how many junctions (there are three in my loft before one gets to the master socket).

I regularly get down graded to about 3.2 Mbps, sometimes 2.8 (the computer at BT works in steps and it takes about 3 days for the BT computer to risk edging you up a step again) My regular speed is 3.7 Mbps and I am currently trucking along at my best speed of about 4.3 Mbps. These better figures were first achieved some years ago after "having the snip". (cutting the obsolete two wires in the middle of the standard domestic 4 wire telephone connection).

Personally I cannot switch off the router as I have agreed to be a guinea pig for Thinkbrioadband/samknows monitoring of the joke "up to 8 Mbps" standard offering over the BT local loop.

kes4026

Hi everyone,

Am looking to switch energy suppliers and have worked my way through the comparison sites as recommended in Martin's guide, and they all point to E.ON online V8 being the cheapest tariff for us to make the switch.

Trying to be extra moneysaving I have noticed that Quidco are offering £55 cashback as opposed to the £30 offered by the comparison sites (I am sure a few weeks ago Quidco was £70, should have snapped it up then!)

The problem comes when trying to get a quote and switch from the EON website, as when it searches for our address from the postcode a screen pops up saying it is unable to locate a meter at the address and to phone a number provided to get the quote/switch, but if we do this we will lose the cashback won't we, as it won't track as an online sale?

I initially started comparing prices a few weeks ago and remember going through the E.ON site and it producing a quote without a problem (I did this to confirm that the comparison sites were giving the same figures as direct from the supplier) But now there seems to be a problem with our address all of a sudden!

Has anyone else tried a quote in the last few days from the EON website and not been able to get a 'live' quote but been directed to phone them? I am wondering if it is a temporary glitch in their website and it will be restored soon. I'll give it a few days and try again, otherwise I'll use one of comparison sites and lose the extra £20-£30

Cardew

harryhound wrote: »

It is about "future proofing" your home and includes putting PV panels on your roof. It claims that the consumer will get a subsidy from the government - that is wrong the subsidy of (say) 25 - 30 pence per unit (Kwh) comes from your fellow customers via the electricity company.
I am not clear how that is going to be fairly spread over the industry?? Is it going to be based on the "polluter pays" - ie the electricity producers creating the most CO2 will have to pick up the tab for the most subsidy ?

The FIT for retrofitting PV is 41.4p per kWh if fitted before next April.

My understanding is that a levy on all companies is paid to a central fund administered by the Regulator(ofgem) and the FIT paid from this fund.

The levy is proportional to the number of customers each company has on its books. So it wouldn't matter if Company A with a million customers had, say, 5% getting FIT and Company B with a million customers had, say, 1% getting FIT. Both would pay the same levy and the 'pain' would be shared equally amongst every customer in the land.

SD-253

Cardew wrote: »

The FIT for retrofitting PV is 41.4p per kWh if fitted before next April.

My understanding is that a levy on all companies is paid to a central fund administered by the Regulator(ofgem) and the FIT paid from this fund.

The levy is proportional to the number of customers each company has on its books. So it wouldn't matter if Company A with a million customers had, say, 5% getting FIT and Company B with a million customers had, say, 1% getting FIT. Both would pay the same levy and the 'pain' would be shared equally amongst every customer in the land.

Sometimes I wonder if we are living in a real world "The FIT for retrofitting PV is 41.4p per kWh if fitted before next April." You can easily buy electric for 10p a KWh I wonder how long before people start putting electric into the system from a generator or batteries and getting back 2, 3 or even 4 times there cost. Can it really be good for the environment to create electric for 41.4p when it only costs 10p max to produce & sell normally?? Do they care about the damage (carbon produced) in manufacturing and putting in place these so called carbon reducing products??

SD-253

harryhound wrote: »

Perhaps you are lucky with your line? I'm on the end of about two miles of copper wire that goes through heaven knows how many junctions (there are three in my loft before one gets to the master socket).

I regularly get down graded to about 3.2 Mbps, sometimes 2.8 (the computer at BT works in steps and it takes about 3 days for the BT computer to risk edging you up a step again) My regular speed is 3.7 Mbps and I am currently trucking along at my best speed of about 4.3 Mbps. These better figures were first achieved some years ago after "having the snip". (cutting the obsolete two wires in the middle of the standard domestic 4 wire telephone connection).

Personally I cannot switch off the router as I have agreed to be a guinea pig for Thinkbrioadband/samknows monitoring of the joke "up to 8 Mbps" standard offering over the BT local loop.

Again, I can see no reason for keeping your Router on permanently and you have not supplied one. I have asked my Internet Provider if there is any advantage in this and they said no. I live rural and I obviously don't get 8Mbps nor do I expect it. You should think about sorting out your loft problem (the junctions) if that is causing a problem? Also what do you mean by "it takes about 3 days for the BT computer to risk edging you up a step again" Can you tell me what the risk is?? Thanks JB

Doc_N

brandeberryj wrote: »

Again, I can see no reason for keeping your Router on permanently and you have not supplied one. I have asked my Internet Provider if there is any advantage in this and they said no. I live rural and I obviously don't get 8Mbps nor do I expect it. You should think about sorting out your loft problem (the junctions) if that is causing a problem? Also what do you mean by "it takes about 3 days for the BT computer to risk edging you up a step again" Can you tell me what the risk is?? Thanks JB

For what it's worth, my router's frequently switched off (every night and whenever we go out), and it creates no problems at all. In fact, we're getting a better speed than most other people in the village (2.8mbs, as against 0.5mbs) for some reason I can't work out, despite being three miles or so from the exchange.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

harryhound wrote: »

Are you saying that the "subsidy" agreement stays with your original provider, thus giving you two electricity bills. One that you have to pay and one that pays you ? (I don't think that makes sense?)

Hi harryhound

As I said previously, I'm no expert on FITs but the way it was explained to me is, generally, there will be three meters involved.

A standard meter as now which records all the electricity bought from the Grid.

A generation meter which measures all the electricity produced by accredited renewable sources installed at a property.

An export meter to measure any electricity exported back to the Grid.

The standard meter will continue to work as at present and customers will receive bills for all electricity channelled through this meter. Again, as now, customers can change supplier for all electricity taken this way whenever they wish.

The generation and export meters will be linked directly to the Grid. Therefore, the electricity will go through the distributor for the area involved. This will not change unless the regional distributor changes.

Payments for every kWh generated will be made to the customer, whether used at the property or exported to the Grid. The rate per kWh will depend on factors like the type and size of generator used.

Additionally, there will be a separate payment for every kWh exported to the Grid.

These payments are fixed by the Government and will be the same across the country, regardless of who the regional distributor is.

I'm sorry my knowledge of this subject is a bit sketchy but hope the above makes things a little clearer. Again, give me a shout if I can help further as I definitely need to increase my understanding of this topic.

Malc

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

kes4026 wrote: »

The problem comes when trying to get a quote and switch from the EON website, as when it searches for our address from the postcode a screen pops up saying it is unable to locate a meter at the address and to phone a number provided to get the quote/switch, but if we do this we will lose the cashback won't we, as it won't track as an online sale?

Hi kes

I'm sorry you have had a problem using the quote and switch tool on our website recently.

I have just tried it myself and it's now working ok.

The pop up message you describe can appear where customers do not select Economy 7 when they have this meter; or do select it when they don't. So long as you select the correct type of meter it should now work.

Hope this helps kes. Give me a shout if I you have any further problems as will be happy to help.

Malc