Energy: Find the cheapest supplier & earn cashback

lenski

Hi
Im completely new to this forum, but wanted to tell what has just happened when trying to switch.

I am currently with Scottish Power on a very low rate for both Gas and Electric because I fixed around 3 years ago. This deal runs out in November, but I wanted to switch now to a good capped rate before the new tariffs come in. I tried to use Quidco to switch to Npower, but unfortunately this did not give me the option of the capped rate until 2011 which I wanted , so I went to Moneysupermarket (via Quidco) and then to Npower.

Yesterday I had a phone call from Scottish Power asking why I was changing, so I explained that I wanted a new capped rate before the new rises came in.
I was asked if I'd considered their own capped rates and I said that it was only fixed until 2009, there was a penalty clause for leaving early (which is not on most other contracts) and actually it was not saving me anything over the Npower contract.

This is where the conversation became interesting.

The "representative" then said although energy prices will probably rise to around "£2000 per property over the next year" this was not particularly high and would be in keeping with other countries in Europe. After that "I can Guarantee" they will not rise much more, so why would you need a fixed rate past 2009.

I was gobsmacked to say the least. :eek:
I pointed out that I did not believe he could offer any guarantees about prices and that most people would not consider £2000 per property a reasonable cost.

He then asked if I would mind telling him what the tariffs were that I was being offered by Npower.

The letter had convieniently arrived that morning, so I quoted that Npower gas would be 6.470p for the first 4572kwh per year and then dropping to 2.235p.

The "representative" then said you do realise we only charge the higher rate for the first 1143kwh.

I was surprised at this and said that as far as I was aware the npower contract was a comparible deal to theirs with the added benefit of a longer fixed term. IF however I find it is not cost effective and I am not on the rates I expect I will leave this contract as there will be no penalties incurred for doing so.

At this the "representative" wished me luck and said goodbye.

This morning I thought I'd check out these rate claims as maybe this was something I'd missed and so dug out my existing bills and checked online.

He was right....kind of:

Scottish Power do charge the higher rate for the first 1143kwh, but this is per quarter. This equates to 4572kwh per year EXACTLY the same as Npower. The actual charges vary slightly, but there is little difference overall.

The lesson here is:

PLEASE BE WARY OF THE CUSTOMER SERVICES REPRESENTATIVES FROM ANY OF THESE UTILITIES COMPANIES AND CHECK OUT THERE CLAIMS BEFORE TRUSTING THEM.

Nosmo_King_2

wonko wrote: »

So I've used this sites excellent advice for a number of years.

My current spend on gas & electricity is £820 per year

Going to cheapest capped/fixed option will take it to £1,127 £307 extra, an increase of 37%

"...predicting rises of up to 60% over the next year" Okay - not disputing that but it's going against the MSE grain a little to leap into paying more NOW based on let’s be honest, speculation.

So what to do? No doubt the capped/fixed deals will demise but isn't it against the MSE mantra to move in my position?

Maybe I'm just confused...:confused:

I know just what you mean, we are looking at switching to BG as they seem to be the cheapest but they look like they could have the largest potential increase.
I am tempted to take the view that if the cap is only until next summer that will cover a period of say 6 months when hopefully heating costs should be minimal (if we have a summer, that is!)

wonko

I know just what you mean, we are looking at switching to BG as they seem to be the cheapest but they look like they could have the largest potential increase. I am tempted to take the view that if the cap is only until next summer that will cover a period of say 6 months when hopefully heating costs should be minimal (if we have a summer, that is!)

Mmmmm. Maybe I'm taking a short term view - but seems to me it 'may' be worth the gamble of sticking out the price hike on the basis that a rise would need to exceed 37% before I am loosing less the months from now and the balance of surplus payments that may have been paid if I had elected to move now to fixed/capped.

Nothing like making life easier is there?

Common MSE, there has to be some guidance about what to do here. If you already are on a low tariff, do you stick or twist?

imc_2

Can any one advice, I am currently with e-on, and only have electricity on a heat wise system, i cannot find another supplier to this type of tarrif, and e-on state that they cannot cap this type of system.. I currently pay 75.00 for a one bedroom aprtment, via direct debit.

heat wise is system of, night storage heaters with a boost switch, but also a main timer system for phased 3 time zones for each room, ( ie kitchen, lounge and bedroom ) each have 3 times zoned.

Basically like a normal heating system, but its with storage heaters rather than, what most have radiators.

Sorry long and boring, just want, usefull information back, as thus far, i have found nothing.

On another note, I had Britsh Gas, come round all the appartments, here, trying to get people to swith, ( stating he could save me money etc, ) but was caught out as I had MST ( MoneySavingTips ) information, he was also going to tie me in to his deal and if I wanted to leave there was 20.00 fee.

lenski

!!My current spend on gas & electricity is £820 per year
Going to cheapest capped/fixed option will take it to £1,127 £307 extra, an increase of 37%
"...predicting rises of up to 60% over the next year" Okay - not disputing that but it's going against the MSE grain a little to leap into paying more NOW based on let’s be honest, speculation.

If you can afford to take the risk of rises and are able to pay your bill should it rise by 60% then you are in a position to gamble on whether the rises are just hype and speculation. A lot of people can't afford that gamble and are better off paying a fixed amount over the coming period than ending up with a debt they cant pay.

I took the "gamble" of a fixed rate in 2006 and it has definitely paid off as I have avoided all the price rises over the last 2 years, but my deal runs out in November this year. I am fixing again and by switching now I will hopefully miss the predicted price rises, but I do loose the last few months of my existing deal. In November my bill will rise by around £350 anyway and fixing takes it to about £450 - I personally would rather pay that extra money and have piece of mind.

The best saving I can recommend is a new boiler! We had ours last Summer and so far we have saved around £400 on the previous years bill. It cost £1400 installed, so will hopefully pay for itself in about 4 years and offsets the price rises I have coming with the new contract :j.

I-LOV-MONEY

The only problem with these fixed rates is that you are paying more until the price rises. If the price rise doesn't go as high (ha ha!) as your fixed rate then you would also lose. You have to calculate how much you would save by paying an increased rate before the price rises.

I presume the difference with a capped rate and a fixed rate is that with capped, the price can still go up, but only to a certain level? I presume the companies still charge extra than the current / standard tariff.

lenski

I presume the difference with a capped rate and a fixed rate is that with capped, the price can still go up, but only to a certain level? I presume the companies still charge extra than the current / standard tariff.

The contract I've taken is a fixed tariff until the end of 2011, so no price rises, but it does cost me about £100 a year more than the current rate. There are some contracts that are capped to a percentage below the standard "variable" rate and again there is a premium. (similar to tracker mortgages). Some contracts have a penalty for leaving early, but the one I've taken has no penalties, so if the rises don't happen I can take my losses and leave.

money_saving_mummy_2

lenski wrote: »

The contract I've taken is a fixed tariff until the end of 2011, so no price rises, but it does cost me about £100 a year more than the current rate. There are some contracts that are capped to a percentage below the standard "variable" rate and again there is a premium. (similar to tracker mortgages). Some contracts have a penalty for leaving early, but the one I've taken has no penalties, so if the rises don't happen I can take my losses and leave.

Can I ask who you have this contract with? I have had a quick look at the energy helpline switching site and the cheapest fixed for me was with scottish power but only until next August so it almost doesn't seem worth it. The cheapest uncapped/fixed was with British Gas (Clickenergy 5) and seemed quite tempting, but then they seem to be the ones who will have the biggest hikes. Last time I switched it caused a lot of hassle that took ages to sort out and my direct debits just kept going up, so even though it might have been "cheaper" it certainly didn't feel like it. I just feel bewildered and confused about whether I should fix or not, switch or not - aaahhh! Sometimes there's just too much choice!

lenski

My fixed 'til 2011 tariff is with Npower and I applied 3 weeks ago for the switch and the paperwork came through this morning saying that it will be complete on the 30th of this month. So far I've had no problems. I don't know if this deal is still available though. When I was researching the various tariffs only the npower fixed until 2009 was cheaper and only just, so I decided to go for the longer term.

HanSpan

lenski wrote: »

Hi
Im completely new to this forum, but wanted to tell what has just happened when trying to switch.

[details of questionable claims from scottish power snipped for brevity]

The lesson here is:

PLEASE BE WARY OF THE CUSTOMER SERVICES REPRESENTATIVES FROM ANY OF THESE UTILITIES COMPANIES AND CHECK OUT THERE CLAIMS BEFORE TRUSTING THEM.

I'm also new to this forum but have a similar tale to tell of British Gas.

Having never switched before I decided to pull my finger out and look into it (after reading on this site the savings to be made!). I was with British Gas for Gas and EON for electricity and found Npower dual fuel would be the cheapest (saving me over £400 per year) so went for it.

Early this month I had a call from British Gas saying they could do it cheaper yet. I was suspicious but agreed to listen. They offered me a special not advertised (apparently) deal called a 10% disount tracker - basically 10% off their standard rates until May 2009. I compared the rates per KWH while he was on the phone and told him they were higher than Npower, however he explained the cutoff (the split where you go to lower rates) is lower with British Gas (which it is) and that they don't charge a monthly standing charge where Npower do. He estimated my annual bill at another £100 or so lower so I agreed to go with it on the basis I could cancel once all the paperwork arrived.

So the letter arrived, I did the calculations and have just rung British Gas and told them to get lost!

Firstly when I checked again Npower don't charge a monthly standing fee (at least not on the tariff I've just switched to).
Then, when I calculated it, the second tier (the lower charge after xKWH of electricity) is so much higher with British Gas that, even though it starts sooner I'd end up paying probably £300 more per year.
Last and definitely not least when I looked more closely at the letter it said 'you have chosen Discount Tracker 10 for your gas and standard tariff for your electricity' - which I most certainly did not!

So as lenski says be very wary of customer representatives trying to tempt you back.

I have to say that, although the switching was easy, calculating the costs has not been. Every company seems to offer so many different tariffs that working out what to enter in the comparison websites to get a realistic estimate has given me a stinking headache. I think I'll leave any thoughts of looking into fixed or capped rates for some time - until I've recovered from the brain strain of this switch!