Switch energy supplier with no savings

Alk

Hello,

I am trying to help a friend switch energy providers as they are currently with Scottish Power on their Standard tariff. 

The problem is that my friend doesn't have any spare income or savings, so I am having difficulty in selecting another energy provider for them because it seems that all require an advance direct debit for the energy bill. My friend cannot afford the advance payment.

I believe that the only suppliers that I can find that don't require an advance direct debit are the Big6 providers, but a) they are not the cheapest at the moment and b) my friend doesn't want smart meters.

The other concern that I have is that upon a switch, Scottish Power is allowed up to 6 weeks to provide their final bill, so still my friend could end up having to pay 2 bills in a given month (1 to their current provider and the final bill to Scottish Power), a situation that would be unaffordable for them.

It seems that unless my friend has a reasonable amount of savings available, they are stuck. Do you have any advice please?

Thank you very much indeed.

Reed_Richards

If your friend is liable to squander any spare cash they have so if they don't get a bill one month they will not be able to afford to pay two bills the next then I am afraid they are indeed stuck.

niktheguru

Is there not a cheaper tariff with Scottish Power they can move onto?

Regarding double billing they will only pay for what they owe. So they shouldn't be double paying.

If they are unable to make one direct debit payment in advance and no friend or family is willing to lend them a little bit of money then there is no real alternative. Do they have a interest free overdraft they can use for one month?

Again, if unwilling to have a smart meter, it again restricts their choices considerably.

Alk

niktheguru said:

Is there not a cheaper tariff with Scottish Power they can move onto?

Regarding double billing they will only pay for what they owe. So they shouldn't be double paying.

If they are unable to make one direct debit payment in advance and no friend or family is willing to lend them a little bit of money then there is no real alternative. Do they have a interest free overdraft they can use for one month?

Again, if unwilling to have a smart meter, it again restricts their choices considerably.

Thank you for your replies so far everyone.

According to their latest Scottish Power bill, it states that they are on their cheapest tariff available - which I was surprised to find, with it being their Standard tariff, but there you go.

Thank you for pointing out about the double billing - I hadn't thought deeply enough about that aspect. I will look into the loans - I hadn't thought of that, thank you.

The providers that are coming up on the energy comparisons aren't offering smart meter only tariffs at the moment, so that is somewhat helpful. In the past, my friend was able to afford more and was with Tonik. My friend had a regular direct debit each month and they could therefore budget for it. When Scottish Power took over, Scottish Power put Tonik customers onto a variable tariff which was exclusive for Tonik customers and was competitive. Now Scottish Power have moved Tonik customers onto their Standard tariff and my friend has also subsequently fallen on hard times.
I do think that having smart meters would help in that they won't be billed with estimated readings so I think I will have another bash at convincing them when appropriate. It would be better that they paid off their actual energy usage month by month, rather than being hit with a big bill at some other unexpected time.

Robin9

Smart Meters and DD's won't necessarily solve your friends money problems.  A DD doesn't mean you can use all you can eat.

Do put your friends actual annual consumption through a comparison site and restrict the suppliers to existing supplier and see what SP tariffs come up.

I think suppliers that bill you every month are very rare - perhaps others can advise.

PS The traditional way to pay less is to use less - switch off those lights, reduce the thermostat.

Gerry1

Be a true friend - lend them the money !

Alk

I am concerned that this is not the only problem in which money is required. There are unexpected car breakdowns, boiler breakdowns, house repairs etc. etc. All of which have cropped up in the past.
For this reason, I'm considering whether directing my friend to a credit union might be advisable. I appreciate that the interest rate is not particularly favourable, but for a small loan, it might be worth it and then they can save for the future at the same time. I'm aware that my friend has other loans ongoing, but I don't know the details. I think that my friend could well do with someone reviewing their finances, but I'm not in a position to do that for them, and I know that a credit union would do a review.

niktheguru

Make sure your friend is providing the supplier with monthly meter reads. If he/she can’t be bothered to do that then they should get a smart meter.

octopus can still do monthly bills, they in fact bill any time you give a reading….but unless going on go or go faster smart tariff their usual variable and fixed rate tariffs are not very competitive.

GinCo

"The problem is that my friend doesn't have any spare income or savings..."

There is a dramatic option. They could avoid the double DD in one month scenario by timing the switch to begin when they can cancel the one to the existing supplier.

Not a good idea, because they'll get a 'missed payment' on credit scoring and delay/complicate getting any credit reimbursed. But by switching off the ability of the old supplier to Direct Debit they can control the 'in arrears' payments they make... perhaps even arranging monthly 'repayment' according to the difference between their old and new DDs.

Again, not to be recommended, but it could be a way forward in the circumstances you describe... that might make sense or not according to factors you haven't shared.