Energy switching newbie, advice

savefortherain

Never switched energy before, currently on british gas standard and have been for many years, both gas and electricity (direct debit monthly). What is the procedure, is it all admin and paperwork and no need for engineers to come to the house? (apart from smart meter work)

Is it better to take a topcashback or quidco offer and possibly a higher tariff? For instance Scottish Power currently offer £150 but that is a two year fixed tariff.

There is no way I'm letting an engineer in the house for a smart meter installation right now (or anytime soon). How badly will this affect my tariff and will it affect my tcb/quidco payout?

Hasbeen

savefortherain said:

Never switched energy before, currently on british gas standard and have been for many years, both gas and electricity (direct debit monthly). What is the procedure, is it all admin and paperwork and no need for engineers to come to the house? (apart from smart meter work)

Is it better to take a topcashback or quidco offer and possibly a higher tariff? For instance Scottish Power currently offer £150 but that is a two year fixed tariff.

There is no way I'm letting an engineer in the house for a smart meter installation right now (or anytime soon). How badly will this affect my tariff and will it affect my tcb/quidco payout?

Look out  bills from this time last year and input ACTUAL years usage not Money / Direct debits, for gas and electric below.
Try dual then separate gas / electric, Looking at tariff rates and standing charge.

If the top deals are on cashback sites then decide. But cashback is not guaranteed.

No paperwork or admin. They might want a smart meter eventually.
But seriously, please tell us you have not actually been on a standard rate for many years?    that would be very expensive?

Try sites here and come back with questions.
Compare Gas and Electricity suppliers - Which? Switch

Compare Gas & Electricity Prices - Citizens Advice Energy Comparison

savefortherain

The rate i'm on with British Gas is "standard" and is 17p (22p standing) and 3p (26p standing) for electricity and gas. The savings seem to be relatively small according to uswitch but a £150 cashback amount has raised an eyebrow.

Verdigris

You'll save tons of money, at those rates. Takes less than 15 minutes to switch, once you've chosen a new supplier. Just go to the comparison site. Select ALL suppliers. Put in your accurate annual usage. Check both dual fuel and gas and electric separately, as that can be even cheaper. The new supplier does all the work apart from you submitting opening meter readings.

Hasbeen

Uswitch will not show all suppliers unless you adjust the filters / search.

Use the sites in the links above to get all providers!

savefortherain

All the big money cashback offers seem to demand a smart meter be installed, are there any suppliers who won't demand a smart meter installed during a global pandemic that has new variants of the virus cropping up all the time and a national lockdown? (but it's ok as the engineer will wear a mask!?!)

Has anyone got the cashback from tcb/quidco while refusing a smart meter?

Gerry1

If a supplier is offering cashback it probably won't be the cheapest, you usually can't have it both ways.  If cashback is offered, it's much more likely to be from one of the big boys, hence the requirement for being forced to have smart meters.

Use Citizens Advice and 'Switch with Which?' to find a selection of cheap suppliers (not for getting to check whether separate suppliers are cheaper than dual fuel) and only then look at potential cashback.

Peejayuk1

 The company I am with has a cashback card and all the money I receive from it comes from the retailers I spend money with.  Every time I use the card it generates cashback off my monthly bill so i use it all the time.  With regard to being the cheapest, at any one time there is only one company that is the cheapest.  That means that every other company in the market can not be the cheapest whether they give cashback or not.

Peejayuk1

Incidentally, Savefortherain, my supplier gives cashback without insisting on a smart meter.  however, a £50 discount off your bill is offered for those who want a smart meter.

JJ_Egan

All depends upon what the unit costs are and how much you get on cashback .

doubleshot

We're standard users here, British gas. Direct debit & use 6000 kwh each of gas and electric but when I've done a comparison I get less savings than I see in the standard example with less use than is. 

Am I doing it wrong?