Energy: Find the cheapest supplier & earn cashback

YoYoY

poisondwarf1 wrote: »

I am in the process of switching from Swalec ( as they are hiking their prices by 9% ) to the EDF blue that has been much trumpeted on here. I spoke to a great guy from EDF who assured me I would save money with them, etc, etc. However, when I compared the prices of EDF's KwH and standing charge price, it turns out that the new, higher Swalec prices are still cheaper overall, than EDF's, which works out at 4p more a day. I am not at all happy with EDF who are investigating apparently and should get back to me toiday. So, be careful folks and check the unit prices before switching.

I would recommend people follow the advice given in the article and use a comparison site that will easily identify the cheapest deal for them, rather than hope to get unbiased opinion from a sales advisor of one particular supplier.

You don't get any cashback going direct either...

Terrylw1

murphydavid wrote: »

When on economy 7 In the moneysupermarket comparison it asks "What is your economy 7 usage" and says national average is 54.6%.
Maybe I'm out of touch but I thought that when I was on economy 7 all my electric is economy 7 usage.
If I am correct; does anyone know - is this asking what % I am using at the lower economy 7 tariff or what % I am using at the higher economy 7 tariff.

I have always had economy 7 and never thought to change but my usage at the lower economy 7 rates (night use) is more like 35% so would it be advisable to cancel my economy 7. ie where is the financial break even point in % terms and is it the same for every company?

Ignore it. Any national average is worthless because an average will disadvantage anyone close to the breakeven point.

The only true way to determine if you need E7 is to do a quote on E7, then do a seperate quote on a standard rate by adding your kwh together to form one value. This is exact. I would also advise you check any list presented to ensure the suppliers agree, which is important for anyone close to a break even point.

Values for the Night block vary and have changed over the years but there is no industry agreed value. I've seen 20%, 24%, 26%, 30%, etc. These are all flawed as they don't consider the price per kwh which is crucial in this type of calculation.

smurth

After the switch do check up that the payments to the old supplier are correct. I switched from Npower in early summer. All seemed okay but I recently found out that Npower had taken a another normal monthly payment just after my final bill and then took the final bill amount as well, so I was paying an extra month into my Npower account. I guess this might be happening to many others. Npower have agreed it was a mistake but still waiting for refund after 10 days.

shays_mum

which just gives us all the unit prices, with/without standing charges etc from all the suppliers?.
Am moving soon so have no idea about usage as yet, but previous owners are with BG who i know are expensive!!.
I bet i am going to have to trawl through all the major suppliers sites right?.
Have used the price comparison sites & they are not showing much in the way of savings if that helps!.

Thanks in advance

YoYoY

shays_mum wrote: »

which just gives us all the unit prices, with/without standing charges etc from all the suppliers?.
Am moving soon so have no idea about usage as yet, but previous owners are with BG who i know are expensive!!.
I bet i am going to have to trawl through all the major suppliers sites right?.
Have used the price comparison sites & they are not showing much in the way of savings if that helps!.

Thanks in advance

But they will show you all the information you are seeking on one site

Not sure what you want it for though? The comparison sites compare your total cost, not just the unit price with/without the standing charge wich in most cases is totally irrelevant if you are interested in getting the lowest cost deal.

But mine is not to reason why ... the information you seek is within

shays_mum

YoYoY wrote: »

But they will show you all the information you are seeking on one site

Not sure what you want it for though? The comparison sites compare your total cost, not just the unit price with/without the standing charge wich in most cases is totally irrelevant if you are interested in getting the lowest cost deal.

But mine is not to reason why ... the information you seek is within

To get the best deal, surly the best way would be to pay the lowest unit price?, then factor in other discounts i.e direct debit etc!
The price comparisons only show what they think is the best deal & most probably whoever gives them the best kick back. I agree its a starting point, but its not the be all & end all, hence the need to just view all of the major suppliers in one place & not deal by deal which is time consuming.
I guess we have years before we have clarity from the main suppliers , am actually thinking of getting the "free" solar panels just to cut down on bills......need to read abit more first though!

bunnydrumming

So I have just bought a new house and have nothing to go by with recent utility figures. I know my gas usage will be high as I have an AGA (not very money saving but I dont' care - I LOVE IT) but I do still want to get the best deal.

First Utility comes out as the best fixed price deal (until March 2014) but no one seems to be mentioning it - Martin only referred to Scottish Power deal but I think that has now gone. Is first Utility a a good company. I've tried to do my maths looking at all the different tariffs but it's blown my head whether it's best to pay a standing charge (1st utility) or a reduced charge once a certain usage is reached!! I guess the difference can't be that much as there is only £5 between companies. Am I right - should i just go for the top deal. The only difference seems to be that I would pay a £30 cancellation with 1st utility but can anyone see prices going down in the future!?!

YoYoY

bunnydrumming wrote: »

So I have just bought a new house and have nothing to go by with recent utility figures. I know my gas usage will be high as I have an AGA (not very money saving but I dont' care - I LOVE IT) but I do still want to get the best deal.

First Utility comes out as the best fixed price deal (until March 2014) but no one seems to be mentioning it - Martin only referred to Scottish Power deal but I think that has now gone. Is first Utility a a good company. I've tried to do my maths looking at all the different tariffs but it's blown my head whether it's best to pay a standing charge (1st utility) or a reduced charge once a certain usage is reached!! I guess the difference can't be that much as there is only £5 between companies. Am I right - should i just go for the top deal. The only difference seems to be that I would pay a £30 cancellation with 1st utility but can anyone see prices going down in the future!?!

As you say you do not know what your annual consumption in kWh will be, what figures are you putting into the comparison site?

Martin's suggestion is presumably based on average consumption figures. If you have used different figures, it is not surprising you get a different result.
The other reason Martin suggested the supplier(s) he did is because of the long term fix (2 winters) and the no early exit fees.

Why are you trying to do your own sums? The comparison site does it all for you

Like all suppliers, you will probably find both good and bad experiences of those who have FU in the past.
(Most comparison sites usually have a crude customer satisfaction rating of each of the suppliers)

YoYoY

shays_mum wrote: »

To get the best deal, surly the best way would be to pay the lowest unit price?, then factor in other discounts i.e direct debit etc!
The price comparisons only show what they think is the best deal & most probably whoever gives them the best kick back. I agree its a starting point, but its not the be all & end all, hence the need to just view all of the major suppliers in one place & not deal by deal which is time consuming.
I guess we have years before we have clarity from the main suppliers , am actually thinking of getting the "free" solar panels just to cut down on bills......need to read abit more first though!

No.

To get the best price, the only way is to pay the lowest annual cost as shown by the comparison sites.

The comparison site calculates this based on the information you provide.

It is "the be all & end all", other than if you have reason not to go with a particular supplier/tariff and are prepared to pay more for a different offering.

Wywth

bunnydrumming wrote: »

So I have just bought a new house and have nothing to go by with recent utility figures. I know my gas usage will be high as I have an AGA (not very money saving but I dont' care - I LOVE IT) but I do still want to get the best deal.

First Utility comes out as the best fixed price deal (until March 2014) but no one seems to be mentioning it - Martin only referred to Scottish Power deal but I think that has now gone. Is first Utility a a good company. I've tried to do my maths looking at all the different tariffs but it's blown my head whether it's best to pay a standing charge (1st utility) or a reduced charge once a certain usage is reached!! I guess the difference can't be that much as there is only £5 between companies. Am I right - should i just go for the top deal. The only difference seems to be that I would pay a £30 cancellation with 1st utility but can anyone see prices going down in the future!?!

On Martin's new ITV show last night, FU were mentioned as an alternative in a subtitle to the programme. It appears the FU tariff was only launched yesterday which was presumably too late to be included during the actual filming.

By the way, somewhat off topic I know, but does anyone else think Martin should take a leaf out of Alan Sugar's book and fire that apprentice reject?
I thought she was dreadful.