Advice on Energy Comparison Websites

Fozzie_Bear

I regularly switch and use a number of different comparison websites however they all appear to have the same flaws.

Firstly they compare against your existing tariff which is due to expire therefore any savings are unrealistic as this does not take account of savings by switching to the same suppliers new fixed tariff. (I always select for comparison my existing suppliers new fixed tariff when entering details of my current supplier. What I am trying to do is see if anyone else is cheaper than staying with my current provider on their latest fixed tariff.)

Secondly the software assumes you revert to the variable tariff and so shows savings of companies with fixed tariffs against my existing companies variable rate. Again this is not accurate in terms of savings as most fixed tariffs will be cheaper than a variable rate.

Are there any comparison sites which allow you to compare one fixed tariff against all the other available fixed tariffs?

Cardew

Most comparison websites list every tariff available. You just have to ignore the 'savings' figure and look at the cost.


Many (most?) have a facility - by clicking a button - to compare costs of prospective tariffs against what you are actually paying annually on your current tariff.



e.g. It tells me that at the end of my fixed period in, say, 4 months time I will be paying, say, £500 pa - this after moving to their 'standard' tariff after that 4 months i.e. 8 months on my present tariff and 4 months on the new standard tariff..


By clicking a button it will tell me that on my present tariff I am paying, say, £467 pa

Gerry1

There is no ideal Price Comparison Website. They all have limitations, even the Ofgem accredited ones. The bad news is that you need to use several and to run each more than once. However, the good news is that you can save quite a lot with a bit of effort, provided that you know all the obscure rules.

You've spotted the main flaw, that you won't get the mythical savings promised by comparing what you'd pay if you did nothing and allowed yourself to be rolled on to the rip-off standard variable tariff vs. what you'd pay if you switched now. This lunacy is entirely Ofgem's fault because they decided to specify this daft methodology. The CEC deserves some praise because, although it reluctantly follows Ofgem's daft rules, it defaults to a more realistic comparison of what you would save in practice. But like most PCWs, it misses Neon Reef, so only two cheers.

As with supermarket shopping, it's far better to ignore all the claims about savings and just compare the new prices with what you're currently paying.

However, there are several other flaws with PCWs. The accredited ones don't have to show all suppliers, even in the wider market view, which is often well hidden; Ofgem just says that if they show only the suppliers that pay them commission they must include a link to the unbiased Citizens Advice PCW (which uses Energy Helpline but CA shows all suppliers).

Another issue is that PCWs are allowed to have exclusive deals, so even if you find a site that covers the whole market you still have to use multiple PCWs. The Which? website (Energylinx) is good and may have offers that CA don't show but, despite claiming to show all suppliers, it misses Neon Reef as does the CEC and most other PCWs.

A third flaw is that PCWs don't work out whether dual fuel or separate suppliers are cheaper. You have to run three comparisons: gas only, electricity only and dual fuel.

A fourth flaw is that if you have an E7 meter a single rate electricity tariff can work out cheaper, but the PCWs won't tell you: you'll have to run all your comparisons again ! Some sites look up the meter database and will automatically select E7, in which case you'll have to use a neighbour's address.

Once you've made your choice, check the CEC and cashback sites to see whether cashback is available, remembering to clear your cookies first and that cashback cannot be relied upon.

Finally, beware the suppliers' own websites that give fake E7 'quotations' . Even if they ask for your day and night usage, they often then assume you use much more at night, resulting in 'quotations' that can be hundreds of pounds lower than the truth. Ofgem has known about this scam for over three years but has chosen to do nothing.

Fozzie_Bear

Gerry1 wrote: »

Once you've made your choice, check the CEC

Apologies Gerry 1 but who or what is CEC?
Thank you for some very useful tips particularly about economy 7. We have economy 7 and use the washing machine, tumble dryer (Not Whirlpool) and dishwasher at night on a time switch so this is important to me to check if a single rate electricity supply is cheaper than economy 7. Interestingly the BG guy who recently installed my mothers smart meters said its no longer worth having economy 7 unless you are still using nigh storage heaters? The usage I suggested above is insufficient even though our night usage is 27% of total electricity

SpanishBlue

Fozzie_Bear wrote: »

Apologies Gerry 1 but who or what is CEC?

CEC = MSE's very own Cheap Energy Club

Fozzie_Bear

Cardew wrote: »

Most comparison websites list every tariff available. You just have to ignore the 'savings' figure and look at the cost.


By clicking a button it will tell me that on my present tariff I am paying, say, £467 pa

Many thanks for that info. Could you possibly give me some examples of Price Comparison Websites that allow the functionality you outlined above.
Thanks again

Fozzie_Bear

SpanishBlue wrote: »

CEC = MSE's very own Cheap Energy Club

Of course should have realised.
Many Thanks

Gerry1

Fozzie_Bear wrote: »

Interestingly the BG guy who recently installed my mothers smart meters said its no longer worth having economy 7 unless you are still using nigh storage heaters? The usage I suggested above is insufficient even though our night usage is 27% of total electricity

If you run comparisons for both single rate and E7 you'll find that some companies (e.g. Yorkshire Energy) are still cheaper at relatively low levels of night time usage, although of course the difference may not be so spectacular as with night storage heaters.

Basically, if you have an E7 meter I just don't see the point of changing it: you're unlikely to find a supplier who would save you a king's ransom if only they could manage to add the two readings together !

Having an E7 supply available could also be useful if you ever want to plug in an EV, albeit at a low charge rate.

Fozzie_Bear

Gerry1 wrote: »

Having an E7 supply available could also be useful if you ever want to plug in an EV, albeit at a low charge rate.

A very good tip as we are thinking of changing to hybrid/Electric vehicle.
Thank you

Glandel

Fozzie_Bear wrote: »

A very good tip as we are thinking of changing to hybrid/Electric vehicle.
Thank you

Once you get an electric vehicle, increasing numbers of suppliers now have specific electric vehicle tariffs that may suit you even better

https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/transport/electric-cars-and-vehicles/electricity-tariffs-electric-vehicles

Glandel

Fozzie_Bear wrote: »

I regularly switch and use a number of different comparison websites however they all appear to have the same flaws.

Firstly they compare against your existing tariff which is due to expire therefore any savings are unrealistic as this does not take account of savings by switching to the same suppliers new fixed tariff. (I always select for comparison my existing suppliers new fixed tariff when entering details of my current supplier. What I am trying to do is see if anyone else is cheaper than staying with my current provider on their latest fixed tariff.)

Secondly the software assumes you revert to the variable tariff and so shows savings of companies with fixed tariffs against my existing companies variable rate. Again this is not accurate in terms of savings as most fixed tariffs will be cheaper than a variable rate.

Are there any comparison sites which allow you to compare one fixed tariff against all the other available fixed tariffs?

They are not flaws; it is the way the regulator has ruled the calculation on savings is made.
e.g. If your existing contract ends in 6 months time, you will not be on it in 7 months time

But some of the comparison sites also offer the calculation method you are seeking. e.g. 2 of the 3 comparison sites MSE refer to here (the 2 that actually pay cashback)
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/you-switch-gas-electricity/
offer that option, and MSE's own actually does the calculation you want by default. MSE can do this because it is not Ofgem accredited.

The cheapest available tariffs are actually often variable ones currently