Energy: Find the cheapest supplier & earn cashback

Timmymna

I-LOV-MONEY wrote: »

Surely if that is the case, then everything else is irrelevant.

The owner / landlord will be the official customer.

I never thought of that so that maybe a fair point, I have emailed to check the circumstances.

NonGeographicalMan wrote: »

Which contract exactly says you must stay with Npower?

It is the house contract, it states that it's the nominated supplier, but like I say I've emailed to check.
It's a 12 month contract like all my previous student rentals so the minimum term thing shouldn't be a problem. We've always just switched the provider when we move in, never had this sort of setup before.
I'll wait for a reply and take it from there, thanks for the advise so far

Premier_2

Timmymna wrote: »

I never thought of that so that maybe a fair point, I have emailed to check the circumstances....

Any response yet?

If the accounts are to be in your name, then ignore any comment about not being able to change supplier - the OFT have already deemed such terms to be unfair, inclusion of which could put the whole of the TA into dispute depending on how it's worded.

You could have fun here if it's some amateur LL writing his own contracts.

However, if the accounts remain in the LL's name, then you won't be able to change supplier. Perhaps you don't have to pay for any consumption? If you do, the LL can't charge more than it costs them (i.e they can't profit from reselling the energy), but there's no obligation on them to get the cheapest deal, so beware.

Timmymna

Premier wrote: »

Any response yet?

Yeah they finally got back to me, apparently it's just a 'standard contract' that they use and not to bother with that bit so we can change to any provider we like. Still waiting on the previous bills and will take it from there.
Next thing is to chase up the deposit scheme certificate...
Cheers.

Susan1942

I was cold called from Scottish Power on Monday asking me to change to them from Southern Go Direct 5.
They were offering a capped rate until May 2012 which was about 4p per unit cheaper on day rate and 0.3p cheaper on night rate. I have economy 7 heating.
I only switched to Go Direct a few months ago from Atlantic and my bill was reduced from £101 to £80 per month.
Scottish Power have an internet offer for something 11 and it would reduce by bill by quite a bit as the cheap day rate if 7+p per unit and the night rate 1p+ cheaper.
I would incur a fee of £50 to leave is it worth it?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Sue

EternallyGrateful

Whenever I have looked at switching gas and electric suppliers I have always found an alternatative who is cheaper than my current supplier. However, when I have spoken with my current supplier I invariably find that since joining them they have introduced tariffs which are invariably cheaper than what I am paying.
So, before you set the wheels in motion I would call your current supplier, explain the situation and give them an opportunity to put you on a better tariff.
I am with Scottish Power and have just discovered that if I switch to EDF/Sainburys I can save £250pa, but then when I checked Scottish Power tariffs I found I could save even more by switching to their Online Saver 11 tariff!
The other thing I would say is always compare your consumption in kWh and never the amount of your direct debit.

Susan1942

Yes this offer is for Scottish Power on line 11. It does look to be much cheaper and yes I did put in the consumption not the amount of money I would pay. I would save £167 on the consumption and £243 if I was using the monthly spend.

It is just the penalty and even with the £50 I would still save.

Many thanks for your response and advice

Sue

EternallyGrateful

Probably best just to do it then.

I have to say that I have been with Scottish Power for a few years now and they always seem to be 'there or thereabouts' when it comes to being competitive. The only thing you have to do is check to see what plans they have introduced since your deal because (understandibly)they will never tell their existing customers that they can switch and save.

I should have been more diligent because I am currently on Online Saver 8, they are on Online Saver 11, so I've clearly missed 9 & 10!

Susan1942

Thank you so much! Yes you are right I was with Atlantic and when I said I would have to leave based on their prices they then told me of the Go Direct 5 with Southern Electric and as I say it is £21 cheaper than I was paying them. Also they had wanted to increase my monthly spend to £110 from £101 now £80.
Hopefully if I make the change I will save further.
I will look at Atlantic and Go Direct and see if that is their best price. These forums are so helpful especially if you are like me a single occupied household with no one to really advise me. Being a pensioner I am also on a fixed income so need to keep costs down.

Thanks again.

Sue

danielley

I am really confused.

I shop around for most things, house, car insurance, currency, mortgage etc. But I just get the jitters when it comes to switching Gas & Electric!

I think it harks back to my youth; I remember when 'switching' first came out and my Mum got in a terrible mess with double bills and all that malarkey!

Anyway, today I decided to go and do a few comparisons as I was on British Gas FP (Fixed Price) August 2010 and they have defaulted me onto their FP August 2011 (got until Nov 2010 to get our penalty free)

I got my consumption figures off their website

Gas 13787 kwh

Electricity 3374 kwh

I have put these into energyhelpine.com and they reckon if I stay with British Gas I will pay £1020 in the next year, but if I switch to N Power I will pay £ 744 on Sign Online 19 tariff plus I think I will get £40 cashback from Quidco.

Now this amounts to a saving of £274 without any cashback, so it sounds like great offer right?

I rang British Gas and I asked them to ensure that I didn't default permanently onto the August 2012 so for now they have switched me onto their standard tarrif which is cheaper than the August 2011 FP (?) due to the Fixed element guaranteeing the price.

I explained to the lady at British Gas that I was reviewing all my options and she tried to pretend that she didn't hear that much, but everytime I tried to end the phonecall, she kept coming up with nuggets of information of why British Gas may not appear better on comparison sites (she said due to their tier pricing) but how they are cheaper than other companies overall.

Now I just dont know what to do... Is it better the devil you know??

blahblahdoh

danielley wrote: »

I am really confused.

...
Now I just dont know what to do... Is it better the devil you know??

NO! My advice would be to IGNORE EVERYTHING said by energy companies. They don't have your interest at heart, only their own, and they don't reward loyalty, quite the opposite. As someone who changes annually (on dual fuel), I think you'd be well advised to switch.

You're right to be slightly worried about the billing, as some companies are simply incompetent in my experience. The billing is, of course. the only thing which changes when you switch, so it's quite suspicious how badly they deal with it. However, it usually only takes a couple of phone calls to sort things out and last time I got compensation due to the switch taking far longer than it should have done. Good luck.