Questions about simply switch and octopus ..

MWT

Ignore the quoted direct debit amounts, just compare the unit and standing charges and see if it really is going to save you money.

Robin9

A phone call from "Money Expert" -   suspicious.
Have you done your own sums ?

Gerry1

another_casualty said:

I received a call asking me how I was . It as from money expert . I initially thought it was the guy from simply switch .

So, I've agreed to w switch to...ORBIT ENERGY .
In a nutshell I should be saving over £100 a year so it seems sensible to do it . The tariff is for 12 months

Direct debit looks too cheap to be true

Oh dear, looks like you've ignored all the advice you were given and done the worst possible thing.  The savings will may well be illusory, and there will be probably be exit fees.

You should NEVER respond to cold callers, just hang up.  It's very unlikely you've been signed up to the cheapest deal: they seldom pay commission, so the caller won't earn anything.  Note that Money Expert is nothing to do with Money Saving Expert.

Fortunately, you're still in the 14-day cooling off period.  If you are unwilling or unable to use the suggested comparison sites and do the sums yourself, tell us your annual kWh consumption from actual meter readings plus the first part of your postcode and no doubt the Forumites will be able to suggest the best tariffs.  Your best bet may be to cancel the switch until you're certain that you have the best deal which, as previously stated, may well be from separate suppliers rather than dual fuel.

As things stand, by responding to telephone calls you may well become Another Casualty.  Don't say you weren't warned !

another_casualty

Thanks for your input folks . 

I made the same mistake as with the previous caller..I put my phone no. On the Money saver form when applying 🤦 lesson learned, albeit a bit late in the day . 

As you quite rightly mentioned Gerry 1 , there is a cooling off period of 14 days. 

I have to own up to a few other things while I'm at it : I haven't done meter readings on electric and gas every month as I should . More often than not, edf send someone if I leave it too long ..then I read it to confirm the readings are what they say . 

Also, I don't like the way edf keep altering the direct debit amount . What I have bern doing is paying more per month that I need so that I'm always in credit . I've been in 5his flat just over 3 years . There are other factors why I haven't bothered as much as I should , mainly living in a converted flat on gd flr with 2 flats above and I like keeping myself to myself etc 
( long story ) . Still, I'm man enough to be told off 🙀😸

I was on the blue + tariff with edf and bizarrely the electric came to an end of the tariff in April and the gas finishes today . No penalty now for leaving 

Now a brief summary : 
Leaving EDF  ( now standard variable ) existing annual cost £586.05 
Moving to : New estimated annual cost £490.86 
There will be exit fees £30 gas + £30 electric 🙀
looking at my edf bills : Electricity standing charge 18.00p per day 
Annual consumption 4, 501 kWh . kWh rate 16.05p
Gas : standing charge 25.00p per day  kWh rate : 3.235p
Edf estimate that my new direct debit bills : £72 pm electric , £24-27 pm gas .

Orbit energy ;gas  .. unit rate 2.75 per kWh standing charge 27.34 per day 
                     Electric unit rate 13.46 per kWh  standing charge 23.07 per day 

That more or less sums it up 

Let me know your thoughts again 🙀

Thanks 😼

Talldave

Follow the advice everyone keeps giving you!  Put your figures into a comparison site - without entering your 'phone number - and find the cheapest suppliers for your consumption.  You appear to have "selected" a supplier with higher standing charges but lower rates, although the rates are still too high.

Never, ever, sign up for anything as the result of an unsolicited 'phone call.

Never, ever, believe any "savings" figure unless you can confirm it yourself using a calculator.

If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing properly. 

Gerry1

STOP THINKING IN ESTIMATED £DIRECT DEBIT MONTHLY AMOUNTS !

Sorry to shout, but you just keep ignoring all the advice.  Those Orbit rates are ridiculously high.

We've established that your annual electricity consumption is 4,501kWh.  That's extremely high for someone who also has gas.  Are you using any electric heaters or immersion heaters?

• What's your annual gas consumption in kWh?
• What's the first part of your postcode?

another_casualty

Thanks again for the advice . Message received loud and clear 
My postal code BH14
Annual gas consumption : 5,973 kWh 

I t seems like a no brainer to cancel orbit ASAP ( I have no brains here ..hands held up)
I will do comparison search again , .without disclosing phone no
I will check here first though for more creative input 
thanks 😼

forgot to mention electric costs ..at home all day / lots of electric gadgets 
/ combi boiler
i think that's it 

Talldave

I checked one comparison site to get the ball rolling. Cheapest dual fuel option was Outfox The Market at £831 (£69 a month). 

But, as usual, separate suppliers are cheaper (£60 cheaper).  Lowest prices were Symbio (electricity) £558, Zog (gas) £214 - total £772 (£64 a month).  However, Symbio are a bunch of incompetent muppets who couldn't organise a p155 up in a brewery [I am with them!], so a safer option would be Neon Reef (electricity) at £579, making a total of £793 (£66 a month).

Your EDF prices would give £1073., your orbit prices would give £954.  I think £772 or £793 sounds more attractive, don't you?

Time to switch and reap the savings!!

PS: Your electricity consumption does look a little bit high - it's probably not the gadgets but perhaps an older fridge freezer, or halogen lightbulbs?  Your savings could go into replacing anything energy guzzling and then more savings will follow!

Gerry1

There seems to be something seriously wrong with your electricity consumption, unless you're growing something interesting.  But see what you think of these results based on your funny figures.  Dual Fuel is more expensive.  I've excluded OTFM and Symbio because of poor practices and poor reviews.

Electricity

• Neon Reef: £578.97 variable.  No phone support but I've found them very good answering queries promptly.

Gas

• Zog Mercury 12 v39 fixed12 months, £213.71  Total £792.68  Exit fee £30
• So Artichoke Essential - Green fixed 12 months, £223.24  Total £802.21  Exit fee £5
• EDF fixed 12 months £233.39  Total £812.36 Exit fee £35  ** Warm Home Discount **
  

So Artichoke is available only via comparison sites.

Check to make sure the rates are up to date and check the sums yourself.  If you qualify for WHD then that's the decider: it brings the cost down to £672.36.  The 2020 to 2021 scheme will open on 12 October 2020.

Your Orbit total would be elec £690.04, gas £264.05, total £954.05 and perhaps 5% VAT on top. 

No wonder the salesmen were so keen so sign you up and grab their commission !

Update: Talldave posted while I was researching this, but you can see we agree the savings are spectacular.

another_casualty

Wow! Thanks for that Gerry1 
I think I may have misread the electric bill  judging by what you're saying. 

It may be that because they're all paperless and I took the most recent 3 monthly statement and took the kWh and estimate as gospel . Having said that , I had major boiler trouble over the winter and spring where  I used electric fans etc . Thankfully I'm nit the type to grow anything 😹
I mentioned what edf estimated my bills would be so it does seem best to change.
I'll look at those companies you mentioned tomorrow and see what gives. 

I don't qualify for warm home discount , as I'm not a pensioner just yet.
Eon did give me a boiler grant though as I'm on universal credit and a home moaner.
EdF refused to help me and told me all companies are the same and I'm not entitled to one
Their stalking of me to get a smart meter by email, phone and lettter plus live chat was too much until I saw an ad on Facebook and criticised them for it. 

I'm not sure if it's a good idea to try and get a proper reading of my yearly usage from edf via their live chat function on their app . 

Any advice there is appreciated 
I'll leave it there for now ..😼