Energy: Find the cheapest supplier & earn cashback

MSE_Dan_L

sueizzie wrote: »

I've had a look to see if the answer to this is already on the forum but can't find it. Apologies if the question has already been answered.

On the Big Switch page, it says you can still switch to the new tariff if you are already with the supplier. In my case, I am currently with Octopus but want to switch to their new 14 month fixed tariff.

Hi Sueizzie - I can confirm that you can switch from one Octopus tariff to the MSE collective tariff with it via Cheap Energy Club.

Usually Octopus doesn't allow this, but it has agreed to these tariff changes as part of our Big Switch event.

I hope this helps.

ASavvyBuyer

It is worth noting that if you are not already an Octopus Energy customer you can switch to a fixed 12 month tariff at the same rates as the Big Switch 14 month tariff.

However, if you use a referral link from the referrals board you can get £50 cashback for signing up. :money:

bigoll

Apologies if this has already been covered somewhere in the expansive forum threads but I couldn't find the answer.

Browsing the Cheap Energy Club and Big Switch information, I cannot find the Tariff Comparison Rates (TCRs) for any of the supplier deals listed. There is plenty of other information, including the unit rates and standing charges, but without the TCR (which combines the two to calculate the real-terms cost, it's very hard to make an accurate comparison.

Am I missing where the TCRs are recorded or an alternative method of finding out the figures? Or as MSE not included them for some reason?

I'm currently with Affect Energy on expiring fix but find it impossible to compare the cost of their new fix with, say, the collective Octopus fix, given Affect provides a TCR but the Cheap Energy Club doesn't. Affect's electricity and gas unit rates are cheaper, however, Octopus's standing charges for both are cheaper. This is where a TCR would come in handy!

Thoughts welcome...

cinders59

I am locked into EDF until Sept 2018, is it worth switching to the MSE club switch for 18 months, I would have to pay an exit fee of £70

will the benefit of having a cheaper rate for the next 18 months or better to wait until my fixed rate ends?

System

bigoll wrote: »

Apologies if this has already been covered somewhere in the expansive forum threads but I couldn't find the answer.

Browsing the Cheap Energy Club and Big Switch information, I cannot find the Tariff Comparison Rates (TCRs) for any of the supplier deals listed. There is plenty of other information, including the unit rates and standing charges, but without the TCR (which combines the two to calculate the real-terms cost, it's very hard to make an accurate comparison.

Am I missing where the TCRs are recorded or an alternative method of finding out the figures? Or as MSE not included them for some reason?

I'm currently with Affect Energy on expiring fix but find it impossible to compare the cost of their new fix with, say, the collective Octopus fix, given Affect provides a TCR but the Cheap Energy Club doesn't. They're within 0.1p unit rate for electricity, but Affect's gas unit rate is cheaper. However, Octopus's standing charges for both are cheaper. This is where a TCR would come in handy!

Thoughts welcome...

It might be because Ofgem has withdrawn the requirement for PCWs to quote flawed TCRs:

Quote In spring of 2017, Ofgem announced it would roll back its requirement for suppliers and energy switching sites like uSwitch to provide a tariff comparison rate (TCR), effective 23 June of the same year. Unquote

Source: uSwitch

From NPower's website:

Quote: Both the Competition Markets Authority (CMA) and Ofgem now recognise that TCR doesn't help customers make informed choices about their energy tariffs, as it focussed only on cost and didn't consider any other added value elements of tariffs. So, Ofgem have decided that all references to TCR in customer communications should be removed - this is a mandatory change across all energy suppliers. Unquote

The most accurate way to select a supplier is a cost projection using kWhs/year and your postcode.

[Deleted User]

TCT's are useless because they are not tailored to your use but the average user. And no-one is the average user.

What you need is the total annual cost per fuel for your own usage (calculated from the annual fuel used in kWh) and whichever is the cheapest is the cheapest.

The TCR is calculated by

Multiply unit rate by Ofgem's average consumption figures – 3,100 kWh for electricity and 12,500 kWh for gas
Add a year's standing charge i.e. Standing Charge x 365 days
Subtract any discounts applicable
Add VAT at the current rate
Divide this figure by 3,100 (electric) or 12,500 (gas) to give us the tariff comparison rate in pence per kWh

https://www.ukpower.co.uk/home_energy/tariff-comparison-rate

System

cinders59 wrote: »

I am locked into EDF until Sept 2018, is it worth switching to the MSE club switch for 18 months, I would have to pay an exit fee of £70

will the benefit of having a cheaper rate for the next 18 months or better to wait until my fixed rate ends?

You need to do your own calculations based on future cost including having to pay the £70 exit fee. It is worth pointing out that collective switches are no longer market leading offers. You also need to look at alternative solutions. For example, if you switch to Bulb with a referral link then you can do so with a £50 credit when your transfer goes through and Bulb will also refund you your EDF exit fee. Octopus Energy is also offering a £50 credit if you use a family/friends link.

Bear in mind though that your present fix does offer you price protection in the event that energy costs increase. Only you can know how important this cost protection is to you.

cinders59

Hengus wrote: »

You need to do your own calculations based on future cost including having to pay the £70 exit fee. It is worth pointing out that collective switches are no longer market leading offers. You also need to look at alternative solutions. For example, if you switch to Bulb with a referral link then you can do so with a £50 credit when your transfer goes through and Bulb will also refund you your EDF exit fee. Octopus Energy is also offering a £50 credit if you use a family/friends link.

Bear in mind though that your present fix does offer you price protection in the event that energy costs increase. Only you can know how important this cost protection is to you.

Thank you for the advice, I will look into all the options

momist

I switched myself to a Fairer Power dual fuel 1 year fix in November, when my last deal with Eon ran out and their prices were no longer competitive. Fairer Power is a strange local (NW) arrangement with local council backing, but utilising Ovo Energy as supplier at a special rate.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, I can't find the actual rate that I am paying in the Cheap Energy Club, and therefore the comparisons offered here are way off target. The Club says I'm paying £486 per year too much! :money:
I have just done a comparison using my own consumption figures, and the standing charge and unit prices of the tariff I am on, with the Octopus rates on the Big Switch. They prove that I'm saving enough on the lower unit rates to compensate for the higher standing charge, and even with the £50 cashback for switching I could only save less than £3 in the next year. I'm staying with what I've got.
You really do have to check your own figures, every time.

PhylPho

I've just checked, too. We're on EDF's Blue Price Protection to October and the figures on offer by the Energy Club really don't stack up. There's also the fact that the 2-year fix is posited on the notion that after October this year, we'll be paying a 'standard tariff'. But. . . We won't. There'll be plenty of offers between now and then from suppliers large and small. This is one ticking clock -- the deadline is apparently only a few hours away -- that we'll let tick on regardless.