Energy Switching Services

lindylootoo

I seem to have registered for switching with two organisations - the MSE Cheap Energy Club and Look After My Bills. They've both been in touch recently as my current tariff ends soon - MSE have said stay with my current supplier 'Everything is looking good, you're still on the right deal' and Look After My Bills say "We're preparing to switch". The last time I was switched - I had to pay a penalty for switching before the end of the contract............so I want to check everything this time. How do I find out which tariffs MSE have looked at and which Look After My Bills have checked? 

Neil_Jones

lindylootoo said:

I seem to have registered for switching with two organisations - the MSE Cheap Energy Club and Look After My Bills. They've both been in touch recently as my current tariff ends soon - MSE have said stay with my current supplier 'Everything is looking good, you're still on the right deal' and Look After My Bills say "We're preparing to switch". The last time I was switched - I had to pay a penalty for switching before the end of the contract............so I want to check everything this time. How do I find out which tariffs MSE have looked at and which Look After My Bills have checked? 

Cancel both of them and do the legwork yourself.  The likes of LAMB (and presumably the MSE Auto switching service) will always have their own vested interest which may not be the best deal for you.  LAMB and friends do nothing that you can't do yourself.

Reed_Richards

Obviously, signing up with two switching services is a recipe for trouble but I predict that the vast majority of answers you get will be in the same vein as the one by @Neil_Jones .

Gerry1

Yes, cancel them both.

Start comparing with Citizens Advice and 'Which? Switch', entering your annual kWh usage derived from actual meter readings a year apart. Just compare annual costs, always ignore all projections and savings claims: they aren't realistic because of Ofgem's daft rules.  Remember that separate suppliers are often cheaper than dual fuel, so do the sums for both. 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.

Then remember to send monthly readings, keep your own records and check that your DD payments are keeping up with your usage, it's not All You Can Eat: if you use more than expected, your DD will be increased twice, once to reflect your higher usage and again to reclaim your arrears.

yelias

lindylootoo said:

I seem to have registered for switching with two organisations - the MSE Cheap Energy Club and Look After My Bills. They've both been in touch recently as my current tariff ends soon - MSE have said stay with my current supplier 'Everything is looking good, you're still on the right deal' and Look After My Bills say "We're preparing to switch". The last time I was switched - I had to pay a penalty for switching before the end of the contract............so I want to check everything this time. How do I find out which tariffs MSE have looked at and which Look After My Bills have checked? 

What was your intention when you signed up with each of the switching services?

Who switched you last time  where you "had to pay a penalty for switching before the end of the contract" ?

But don't worry, as your "current tariff ends soon", there will be no early exit fees applicable. (so long as your switch does not occur before 49 days before the expiry of your existing deal)

In regards to Look After My Bills, they only review your deal and recommend a new one at, or near, the end of your existing deal. Only if you are on a variable tariff, where no early exit fees would apply anyway, do they review it monthly, after initial 3 months. They are effectively a 'set and forget' service.

In regards MSE one click switching, they review your deal annually, so beware if you have previously agreed a tariff that is not 12 months. But you have to actively accept any deal.
In my experience with MSE, which admittedly does not include their one click switching, they do warn you if switching from your current deal may incur early exit fees.

As regards Look After My Bills, they will only consider new deals with suppliers/tariffs they have a current affiliate deal with. That list is continually changing. They will advise you what supplier & tariff they are switching you to, and if you don't want it, you need to a actively object.

With regards to MSE Cheap Energy Club, they search the whole of market (save for any possible unique deals suppliers sometimes make available through specific third parties only, if Moneysupermarket is not one of those selected third parties, or occassionally for any suppliers who have specifically requested MSM not to include them, usually because they are new/small and do not wish to be advertised at this time ). However, MSE can only 'one click switch' you to a deal they have an associated affiliate agreement with. But they tell you if there is a cheaper deal available by switching direct (subject to the above).
Then it's up to you what you do.

I agree with RR that "signing up with two switching services is a recipe for trouble" as you will need to always manually update the other site as to any switch in supplier/tariff you have switched to, or both sites if you switch yourself or use another third party.

As you state "MSE have said stay with my current supplier 'Everything is looking good, you're still on the right deal'" just after you say "They've both been in touch recently as my current tariff ends soon", it does sound like you have not updated MSE with your current, correct tariff details. It would be very rare, if ever, for MSE to suggest you do nothing with a deal that is ending as you will end up on the supplier's default tariff, and that is usually the supplier's most expensive!

When you have ensured MSE have your correct current tariff details, you should be able to see where the deal you are being switched to by LAMB on the MSE Cheap Energy Club comparison service, and see how it compares.

But if you are going to go to all this effort checking and double checking you are getting the best deal, is any auto switching site really the appropriate service for you?

In a similar vein, you may wish to consider the value to you of the MSE one click service as it is rare in recent times that any affiliate deal from MSE (even after cashback) is the cheapest when compared to the whole of market. The one click simply saves you time having to go direct to the supplier and applying directly, so having to input all the required data, that MSE already hold, again.

Services that save you time and effort usually end up costing you something.

If you are going to spend time and effort yourself on switching supplier, and you seem to have spent quite a bit already by signing up to two separate switching services, then you may wish to investigate separate suppliers for gas and electricity (if applicable to you) as they often offer the cheapest options. Comparison sites do not tend to consider separate suppliers, but if you take the time and effort to actively look, most do offer this option to consider.

But first of all, decide on what you hope to obtain from a service and decide which one, if either, you have already signed up to is best suited to your needs.

wild666

I have signed to to look after my bills but always switched providers by doing my own legwork. Every time they said that I was on the cheapest tariff be it with OFTM or Bulb both of which I left in years gone by. 
I signed up with them in 2018 and even though my searches said I could get cheaper deals LAMB always said I was on the cheapest deal, although switching would only save me £20 or £30 per year. I left Bulb because they were increasing their prices too often and my new provider, Avro, was £70 cheaper only around £6 per month but that's £6 in my pocket not theirs.

Gerry1

wild666 said:

LAMB always said I was on the cheapest deal

They don't promise that.  They only switch you to suppliers that pay them commission, which rules out many of the cheaper tariffs, and they won't switch you again if the saving on a credit tariff would be less than £50.

niktheguru

DO NOT SIGN UP WITH LOOK AFTER MY BILLS. Cancel it immediately. They are rip off merchents that only switch you to providers that give them a commission, and when it fails or you get a complication they just wash their hands of it and you are left on your own with a mess. There are many descriptions of people who have been shafted by LAMB on this board.

Yes they are better than just being on a standard tariff with one of the big 6, but if you have 5 mins to do a search yourself you will save more money and have less hassle.

Do not use the autoswitching tools from LAMB and CEC (but especially LAMB!)

yelias

wild666 said:

I have signed to to look after my bills but always switched providers by doing my own legwork. Every time they said that I was on the cheapest tariff be it with OFTM or Bulb both of which I left in years gone by. 
I signed up with them in 2018 and even though my searches said I could get cheaper deals LAMB always said I was on the cheapest deal, although switching would only save me £20 or £30 per year. I left Bulb because they were increasing their prices too often and my new provider, Avro, was £70 cheaper only around £6 per month but that's £6 in my pocket not theirs.

You will never find cheaper prices on an auto switching site that you cannot find elsewhere if you are prepared to spend time and effort looking. So I am not quite clear what you were hoping to achieve when you signed up for the service.

As switching sites are paid by commission, you will often find cheaper prices when you are prepared to do the legwork yourself (by, for example, finding a supplier that does not pay commission, such as OFTM; LAMB would never switch you to OFTM).

LAMB is owned by the same group that operates the Go Compare comparison service.

Auto switching sites are aimed at the significant part of the market audience that doesn't spend time and effort constantly searching out the lowest possible deal.

If you want the lowest possible electricity currently, you won't beat switching to Symbio (on one of their tariffs for new customers only that does not pay commission); you'll save yourself a huge packet. Check out the massive thread on them first though!

As I said above, auto switching sites are designed as a one off 'set and forget' service. Most customers who adopt this approach to their energy supply are otherwise languishing on their existing supplier's default tariff, which is often the most expensive. An auto switching service such as LAMB would invariably save these customers significant amounts of money.

yelias

niktheguru said:

DO NOT SIGN UP WITH LOOK AFTER MY BILLS. Cancel it immediately. They are rip off merchents that only switch you to providers that give them a commission, and when it fails or you get a complication they just wash their hands of it and you are left on your own with a mess. There are many descriptions of people who have been shafted by LAMB on this board.

Yes they are better than just being on a standard tariff with one of the big 6, but if you have 5 mins to do a search yourself you will save more money and have less hassle.

Do not use the autoswitching tools from LAMB and CEC (but especially LAMB!)

Why do you have a negative approach towards a service that earns itself money?
Yes you can usually get a cheaper deal by spending time & effort looking for and then applying for a better deal.

A service is not a rip off simply because it makes money itself.

I'm not sure of the current figures, but a couple of years back it was often reported about 50% of energy customers were languishing on their supplier's expensive,standard, default tariff as they had not spent the 5 mins you claim (I suggest longer if you then have to go to the suppliers own website and apply).. maybe it's down to 40% or even 35% today, but that is still a heck of a lot of customers paying expensive standard, default tariffs.

As I said, if you do a seach yourself, you will find Symbio are the cheapest electricty supplier by a mile at present for customers switching to them. I'm not sure the concenus of their feedback would leave you with less hassle than any supplier LAMB would switch you to.
(Be aware symbio make switching away very difficult and will charge a small fortune for any follow-on tariff)

 

JJ_Egan

(As I said, if you do a seach yourself, you will find Symbio are the cheapest electricty supplier by a mile at present for customers switching to them)

That is very untrue and reads as someone working for them .