Energy: Find the cheapest supplier & earn cashback

johnfthetraveller

Although I'm a great fan of Martin's site, he does get things wrong occasionally. I'm afraid I think he is setting up people to lose money by NOT being clear in the guide that:

1) The best buy tables often include loyalty discounts, which you only get if you stay for a period of time (often a year), and
2) If you switch before you get the bonus (ie chasing a cheaper rate) you may well end up having paid more than you should.

This issue has been discussed on the forums for a while now, but I still can't see it mentioned anywhere in the guide.

harryhound

brian01 wrote: »

any one know if there have been any problems with over charging because of metric conversions as discussed on watchdog on monday with both electric and gas bills

Beware of the electronic electricity meters supplied by Electricitie De France (EDF) that look like a white post card with a widow showing one liquid crystal number complete with one decimal place (ie measuring 1/10ths).
If you are on economy 7 the number of kilo watt hours cycles round (night - day - both added together).
The tablets, that the meter readers use, expect day plus night and the meter shows night plus day; making transposing the reading's child's play.

The message is understand your meter and READ IT REGULARLY YOURSELF.

E.ON_Company_Representative

I-LOV-MONEY wrote: »

My meter has 4 digits plus an extra one after a decimal point !

Hi I LOV MONEY,

As long as you have 4 digits before a decimal point you have an imperial meter. Make sure the bill reflects this as per my earlier email and all should be well.

I-LOV-MONEY

harryhound wrote: »

Beware of the electronic electricity meters supplied by Electricitie De France (EDF) that look like a white post card with a widow showing one liquid crystal number complete with one decimal place (ie measuring 1/10ths).
......

READ IT REGULARLY YOURSELF.

Yes, I have this for electricity. As I don't have Economy 7 that number is constant. There is a display of actual electricity used, and the two figures added together is the third figure. As the meters are in a locked shed, and I am not always home, I read the meters myself and then supply them to the company.

hilary1

My boss is over 70 so are there any companies that have special rates for that age group?

Also with Scottish Power he just gets a statement not a proper bill showing consumption and price per unit. Anyone know the actual unit prices?

His gas for this last quarter to 4th Feb is £397.43 and electric £77.87 and he is looking to change to some-one else now but its difficult to get a realistic comparrison with just those figures.

x

Travelbsu

I am also with Scottish Power and just gets a last statement.

My gas for this last quarter to 6th Feb is £357.43 and electric £75.37 and I am looking to change to some-one else aswell. Ho is chipest in Scotland?

JojoFaeJockland

Ive just signed up to use the above for my electricity and gas
Im not so sure now
Has anyone had dealings with this company
Is it worthwhile to change
Or should I stay with Scottish Power
thanks for reading
Jojo

energy_news

The cost per barrel has fallen significantly, however not all of the energy companies are passing these savings on to you. The best way to find out if you are getting fair prices is to compare electricity suppliers in your area. http://www.comparegasandelectricity.com/

All of the hard work is done for you, you just have to compare the rates and look over the provider reviews. Doing a comparison is even more important when the oil market has such huge swings. Some of the suppliers are a year behind in what the current prices should be. Make sure you are not with one of these companies.

teddyco

In discussing energy bills, there is a lot to be said about energy loss in the home as a result of poor insulation.

The majority of British homes are very poorly insulated, and any work that could be done to upgrade the amount of wall and loft insulation will reduce energy bills considerably.

Installing double glazing, better loft insulation and wall-cavity insulation are a few ways to reduce home energy bills and see a very noticeable difference.

milkybars

I've just done a comparison search on Energy Helpline, Simply Switch, U Switch and MoneySupermarket. All of them come up with different resutls.

I used the same details and infomation for each of these four searched. Two came up with the same provider and plan but my estimated savings were different, and neither were the greatest saving.

The range was £121 to £170 savings per year for British Gas, First Utility and npower... and all 4 indicating paperless billing was the way forward.

Which one to trust? Or just go with the cheapest?