Money saving switch services - are they really any good?

wood1e1

One of the money saving switch companies kindly found me a new energy provider cheaper etc!

Still the same monthly DD so not sure what I have saved!!

And I have a lovely £360 final bill from previous providers!!  So I now have a £500 bill this month!!!

Do these service providers everything of the debt that switching leaves people?

Maybe I am that unique and the only person to be caught out by this.... I doubt!!! 

[Deleted User]

Firstly, your monthly payment means absolutely nothing: you pay for the actual energy that you use at the agreed tariff price.

Switching services by their very nature will always chose a supplier that pays them a referral commission so the whole market is not available to you. Also, as far as I know, they do not select separate suppliers for gas and electricity which are often cheaper than dual fuel with the same supplier.

My advice, FWiW, take 5 minutes out of your busy life and do your own tariff comparisons based on your annual usage in kWhs/year. Take another 5 minutes a month to check that you have provided your supplier with an actual meter reading. Do this and there should be no Final Bill surprises.

Finally, under Ofgem rules, PCWs and switching services can claim that they saved you £x00s the first time that you switched, and another £y00s  when they switched you again a year later. Ofgem allows them to claim savings against a supplier's SVT. In truth, you could end up saving £00s but paying more than the previous year.

JJ_Egan

As above problem is saving is made against standard tariff not best deal .

Savings can be made if you are paying over the odds .

But if you are on best deal actual savings are not the same as against expensive SVT that is used as the base line for calculations .

Robin9

These firms do nothing that you can't do - only you can do it better and you will get a much better appreciation of your costs.  Doing itself should prevent big bills like you have  - providing you read the meter and look at your bills !

Gerry1

Start comparing with Citizens Advice and 'Which? witch', entering your annual kWh usage derived from actual meter readings a year apart.  Just compare annual costs, always ignore all projections and savings claims.   Remember that separate suppliers are often cheaper than dual fuel, so do the sums for both cases.

Also have a look at the customer service ratings on Citizens Advice and the 'Add your feedback on energy supplier xxxx...' threads here on the forum.

MSE DD advice

niktheguru

Also, start sending meter readings to your supplier monthly, so you are billed accurately and then your direct debits will be changed to cover those costs.....rather than relying on estimated readings, underpaying for a year and then being shocked with a huge catchup bill when your actual use is registered.