Energy: Find the cheapest supplier & earn cashback

daz9643

sanfly wrote: »

Martin said on GMTV this morning that it is rumoured that the best capped rate was going to cease on monday, anybody know which company this is as he did not say, checked on the comparison sites and im getting different answers...........

Martin will be on radio 2 shortly, i'm sure it'll be one he mentions.

daz9643

Now it has got even better than better, i just phoned British Gas as today was the anniversary and i'm due £80 cashback after one year of having dual fuel, although when the welcome letter came from British Gas it said £40. The customer service rep didn't know how much cashback i should have or which account it related to so he had to ask me !!!!

BB78

I've just had EDF round trying to get me to switch to their capped rate. I had already had a look into it yesterday & knew I could get cashback by switching online so I asked the field sales rep what he could do & he said he would match it. Signed up & before the guy had even left I got a call asking to confirm my details, I asked about the cashback & they said there is no such deal & they wouldn't honour what their rep offered!! So I've cancelled the contract!!

I've been on the comparison sites and they are saying the most I will save is £22 a year and the capped rates will cost an extra £50 a year. The EDF guy said every suppliers prices will be going up 40% on Monday (true or not??) are my savings so low at the moment because the sites are working on today's prices and not the expected hiked prices? and if so; how do I work out who to switch to and which tarrif? How do I know if the capped tarrif I chose will save me money in the long run?

Also how often can you switch? I moved from EDF to E.on in August last year.

Money_Maker_Shaker

I-LOV-MONEY wrote: »

I am about to switch from two separate companies to E-On for dual fuel. I asked that when they work out my monthly payment, would I be able to change it if it was too much/too little and she said yes. If I need to, I will move again if they don't keep their word.

I today asked E-On to lower the high monthly direct debit they've just changed me too I've been told no. In fact I was told the computer won't let them lower the amount only increase it! So don't take their word for it.

oranger

I'm curious about this capping stuff, but the savings aren't guaranteed: from my workings out, it will cost us around 30% more per year to be on an EON capped rate rather than the EON Energy Saver 5 that we're on at the moment (Energy Helpline recommended the EON capped as cheapest capped product). So unless prices go up more than 30% then it's not worth being capped. And the more time between now and the price rises the less it makes sense to be on a capped rate!

Hmm...

silps

oranger wrote: »

I'm curious about this capping stuff, but the savings aren't guaranteed: from my workings out, it will cost us around 30% more per year to be on an EON capped rate rather than the EON Energy Saver 5 that we're on at the moment (Energy Helpline recommended the EON capped as cheapest capped product). So unless prices go up more than 30% then it's not worth being capped. And the more time between now and the price rises the less it makes sense to be on a capped rate!

Hmm...

I just switched to Npowers capped rate today which is costing me 30% more than Npowers cheapest rate. I figure that cause we use less gas in the summer it wont hit us too hard but it will give me enough time to see if prices increase and if they don't then I will switch to a lower tarrif.

I-LOV-MONEY

Money_Maker_Shaker wrote: »

I today asked E-On to lower the high monthly direct debit they've just changed me too I've been told no. In fact I was told the computer won't let them lower the amount only increase it! So don't take their word for it.

Hmm. Well if it is necessary I will switch again. I suppose my other weapon is to cancel the DD until they set it at a realistic price !

JimmyTheWig

oranger wrote: »

I'm curious about this capping stuff, but the savings aren't guaranteed: from my workings out, it will cost us around 30% more per year to be on an EON capped rate rather than the EON Energy Saver 5 that we're on at the moment (Energy Helpline recommended the EON capped as cheapest capped product). So unless prices go up more than 30% then it's not worth being capped. And the more time between now and the price rises the less it makes sense to be on a capped rate!

Hmm...

I think generally speaking, from a pure money point of view, you are better off not on a capped rate.
I mean the energy companies know what they are doing, don't they. They're not going to let you off lightly. They're trying to make money.

The advantage of the capped rate, and I think Martin agreed with this from what I read in the article, is that for people who can't afford more than, going with your figures, a 30% increase then now is a good time to cap.
If you can afford a 30% increase but not a 50% increase then cap at the 30% increase. Because there is a risk of a 50% increase. And if you couldn't afford that then you'd be in trouble.
But if you can afford any increase they care to throw at you then I believe you'd be better off without a cap.

I think it's the same with mortgage rates.

We couldn't afford for our mortgage rates to go up much, so are on a fixed mortgage rate. But we could afford an increase in gas and electric, so are happy to stay uncapped.

Capping (or fixing) is like an insurance against rising prices.
Insurance is always in the favour of the insurance company, but you need it if you can't cope with the consequences.

nigelf1234

Are there any comparison sites or suppliers that allow switching when I have a debit balance on my gas & electric accounts. I pay by Direct debit & at this time of the year I am always in a debit balance. I will only be in balance / credit around October, but everyone says switch now! So how can I do it?
I asked Uswitch, but they said I have to be in credit to do it.
Any ideas welcome

rikthered

Having spent a few hours looking for a cheaper dual gas/electric deal for a friend I would recommend people actually compare tariffs before signing up for anything.

Either the models are way off or work it out for yourself but comparison sites tell me the best deal will save me £80 a year but comparing tariffs in a simple spreadsheet shows that I would actually be spending nearly £100 a month more than now - that's based on saying I'm a medium user and giving actual monthly spends.

Don't trust them!