Energy: Find the cheapest supplier & earn cashback

mattsaze

I switched to a fixed rate in July with Eon using a comparison site, however by the time the account was actually moved to them from N Power (my old supplier) in September I was put on a higher rate than what was advertised as it had increased on september 1. Surely I should have been kept on the rate I agreed to switch to in July?

pcwttt

On Monday 17th November Scottish Power sent me a letter telling me that from 1st September the cost of my gas and electric was going up. Consumer Direct say this is OK! So realistically the price is going up retrospectively! Which other companies are allowed to back date price rises and get away with it!

John_Pierpoint

On Monday 17th November Scottish Power sent me a letter telling me that from 1st September the cost of my gas and electric was going up.

I think you will find this discussed further back on this thread.
Your are not the only one.

In September I was put on a higher rate than what was advertised as it had increased on september 1. Surely I should have been kept on the rate I agreed to switch to in July?

Something similar happened to me with N.Power (they refused to honour the agreed tariff as well as the agreed price). You cannot expect to keep the original price unless you have gone for a fixed price deal BUT you may well be able to say you have a right to move again and you have the right to be charged the "old" price for the standardised time it takes to move, but I looks like you have left it too late. When were you informed of the price increase? (good luck you might need it).

johnfthetraveller

There seem to be a few pitfalls to switching utilities that are not highlighted in Martin's guide. I've switched a few times, but I suspect I've been worse off because of it. You have to be on the ball. The pitfalls I've become aware of:

1) It the energy supplier gives a cashback incentive for staying for a year (nPower give £100 back after a year) then this is used by the price comparison sites in their calculations. This means if I move before the end of the year, I will have lost out. Really you should include the disadvantage of not being able to switch to a cheaper rate for a year when weighing up your decision - it's not just as straightforward as the comparison sites make out.

2) As mentioned elsewhere, Moneysupermarket only give cashback once. I found this out the hard way, so I lost out there.

3) Because of the length of time it takes to transfer your account, the account you transferred to is not necessarily the best deal at the time the transfer happens.

caracara

Was With Eon Since 22 Years Old Without Revealing My Age Been A Long Long Time Been Scared To Switch Cos Thought Would Cause Too Much Hassle For V. Little Gain Followed Martins Advise Tried All Sites Listed For Compare And Did Dual Fuel Plus Single Turned Out Cheaper To Do Single Suppliers For My Needs (want Cost Cuts Plus Service) And If It Works Out Ill Get £15 Cashback Save 83pa On Elec And Gone Non Profit Co For Gas (no Cashback On This One Though Never Mind) And Save £15 Pa It Was About Time I Swapped A Refund Of Balance Last Year Caused A Debit Balance This Year And They Hiked My Dd Up From 65 To 89 To Cover I Was Told Once Deficit Covered Would Have To Wait For Them To Bring Down Again In One Month Cleared Deficit Customer Service Ws Poor Once I Changed From Elec Only To Dual Fuel. Thank You Martin And Co For Guidance. You Truelly Are On Our Side:a

pmacs123

i found out u switch are just out to make money, i proved it my brother said he was on oe suplier, and i was on another, they recomended us for each others supplier hows that work.
i'm doing my own uttility busines all services on one bill, theres even a cash backk card for shopping at sainsbury's halfords argos and many more shops just in time fore xmas.:rotfl:

vixon wrote: »

I looked at USwitch and found that Scotish Power would save me a lot on a dual switch plus £7 cashback via Greasy Palm, when I checked Greasy Palm I could earn £50 cashback for going direct to Scotish Power them than using USwitch!!!!!:p Always check your cashback/point sites for special offers too.

Quentin

pmacs123 wrote: »

i'm doing my own uttility busines all services on one bill.........

Elsewhere you have posted that you are a rep for uw.

This thread is discussing how to find the cheapest supplier and get up to £30 cashback, and not intended for uw reps to break the rules and use it for some free advertising.

And what is the connection between finding the cheapest supplier and the company you claim to be your "own uttility busines"?

John_Pierpoint

Only last night did I get a roundtuit and recorded & watched last Monday's BBC TV "Watchdog" about electricity supply..

It explained that there are 6 big suppliers (Does that sound like a cartel?) and 8 minnows:
Scottish & Southern,
n-power,
e-on,
British Gas,
eDF,
Scottish Power,
**
spark,
EBICO,
Good Energy,
first utility,
green energy,
ecotricity,
utility warehouse,
utilita.
(How do we ever teach kids to write correctly and how much of our money has been spent on consultants to design these logos?)

My take on the present situation is this: Thanks to the recession, energy prices are falling. The cartel will do almost anything rather than cut prices, especially to "numpty" who never bothers to check his bill. However they must have spare capacity and need to flog the stuff. So expect to see some short term deals featuring cheap unbranded electricity leaking out via small "bucket shop" suppliers. Don't expect all the minnows to appear in the comparison sites & do expect some to go bust.

My personal interest and recommendation is to learn how to reduce consumption and make savings for ever more.
I've done the insulation and switched what I can to the night rate years ago, but chickened out of installing traffic lights in the hall to publicise the rate being used..

Has anyone got practical experience of smart metering as promoted by "first utility", who also got a plug for cutting their prices?
I believe you can install your own additional smart monitor even if you don't sign up with "first utility", has someone got one of these?

I-LOV-MONEY

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

Don't expect all the minnows to appear in the comparison sites & do expect some to go bust.

What would happen in that situation ? Do all your lights etc suddenly go off ?

John_Pierpoint

Nobody can turn your lights off without coming out and pulling one of the company fuses. (I don't know just how clever smart meters could be).
I have no idea how the liquidator would handle the situation but at the back of my mind I have a memory that it has happened already say 11 months ago?
Anybody able to throw light on this?