Can Sse block me switching to another energy company.

Laione

I used to have both gas and electric with sse. I tried to swap to bulb for duel fuel but sse blocked me. 
The let me change electricity to bulb as its a pre pay meter. They refuse to let me change gas which is metered, not a smart meter. Is this legal as I can't seem to get around it.
Please help as I'm losing money not being able to use duel fuel. 
Many thanks 

Robin9

On the contrary - dual fuel is more expensive. 

The usual reason for a block is that you owe them money - do you?

Laione

Hi Robin9
Thank you for your reply. 
I pay by direct debit and I wasn't contacted to give me the option to pay the outstanding bill. I was just blocked with no explanation. 
On the first occasion I tried to switch there was £400 outstanding on the account.
I tried to switch again same thing happened but this time it was only £5.96 owing.
I didn't realise that duel fuel was more expensive. Laione

macman

They won't block you for £5.96. Recheck your online account and do your own calculation.

Talldave

Laione said:

Hi Robin9
Thank you for your reply. 
I pay by direct debit and I wasn't contacted to give me the option to pay the outstanding bill. I was just blocked with no explanation. 
On the first occasion I tried to switch there was £400 outstanding on the account.
I tried to switch again same thing happened but this time it was only £5.96 owing.
I didn't realise that duel fuel was more expensive. Laione

Any comparison site will allow you to determine if this is the case.  Sadly, they won't tell you whilst showing dual fuel tariffs whether separate suppliers would be cheaper. You have to do three comparisons (dual fuel, gas only & electricity only) and add the gas & electric figures together to get your answer.

Of course, most people would expect that you'd get some kind of discount for buying two things from one supplier, but the suppliers are simply cashing in on this myth.  It's the savvy money savers who go for separate suppliers and make the biggest savings.

Robin9

@Laione Could you post a copy of the Electric bill - blank out the personal info.

Give us a reading from today and we can crunch some numbers for you.

dogshome

DUAL FUEL tariffs were outlawed some time ago because the discount could not be enjoyed by All-Electric households, of which there are many.

In a way SSE have done you favour - Buying your fuels from separate suppliers saves more money the Dual Fuel ever did.

Search the Citizens Advice Energy web-site for the Gas prices of every supplier, ( The current going rates for Gas are well under 3p a KWh ), and then do a second search for Elec only prices.

There are a few dogs out there, so before you sign up it's important you check the customer feed-back

[Deleted User]

If they are outlawed, how come they still exist and are being offered by suppliers?

D3xt3r5L4b

Yes they can block you

Gerry1

dogshome said:

DUAL FUEL tariffs were outlawed some time ago because the discount could not be enjoyed by All-Electric households, of which there are many.

Many suppliers refuse sell you gas unless you take dual fuel.  If Ofgem were any good they'd outlaw this practice because it restricts the consumer's ability to shop around for the best gas prices.