Luddite wants to become energy supersaver, ...Help and Advice needed!

SydSnott

For years I have ignored Martin whispering in my ear about "Ditch and Switch", and my main reason for resisting has, was and ever shall be the constant tail chasing that will ensue if I ever do weaken and board the roundabout! 
I have remained with each of the original suppliers; British Gas and, having been "herded" against my will by EON to their "Down wit da kids" entity "e.on Next", this was the straw that broke this Camel's back.
Not to mention that they now address mail to me using just my first and middle names! Grrr!
I used to pay quarterly for both my utilities, but this forced change by EON, demands that I pay monthly bills instead which also adds to my annoyance with them.

I also have an aversion to the other form of monthly payment where the company decide the the likely usage and amortise it across the year.
Back in the 70's a friend got into severe debt due to the klutzes in the BG team who set their monthly pull requests too low despite warnings over the years!

I have to admit that I myself just say "Whatever" and accept the bills from United Utilities since moving to a Water meter, mainly because I just can't understand the dratted statements, I just have to remember how much more I paid under the "Rates" scheme!

I have now reached a point where, with guidance, I may be persuaded to bite the bullet and go for a combined fuel deal with D/D payment...(who would have thought it!)
Is it possible to know exactly at a given point just what you have paid for and what is owing, and importantly be able to reconcile that with the meters to understand if you are in a "+ or -" situation?

Oh yes! another thing, I have an innate dislike no, loathing for smart meters and in order to have one such foisted upon me, I would need to be mollified by evidence of copious savings, real savings not just something that sits there nagging you with "Oh, do you realise how much that's costing you?".
That is not a saving, that's an electronic Mother in Law!!

The "Cheap Energy Club", I notice has the facility to take away the pain of continually chasing deals, my main worry, and that is very tempting but how does the payment side of that work?
Are the Direct Debit payees automatically updated?

Gerry1

The only way to do it properly is to do it yourself.  Always avoid any scheme that does it all for you because they will choose what's best for them (suppliers that pay them commission), not what's best for you.

Start comparing credit tariffs with Citizens Advice and 'Which? Switch' because they show all suppliers by default, not just the expensive ones that pay them commission. Enter your annual kWh usage derived from actual meter readings a year apart.  Just compare annual costs, always ignore all projections and savings claims because they're often unrealistic.  Citizens Advice gives full details about DDs and whether smart meters are required: click 'Next steps' > 'Tariff information' > 'Additional information'.

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: Symbio are cheap but might not necessarily be the best choice for an easy life !  Always send monthly readings (set a reminder on your PC or phone), 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, firstly to reflect your higher usage and secondly to reclaim your arrears.

The easiest way to see where you are at each bill is to opt for Monthly Variable Direct Debit, but not all suppliers offer this.  If not, just add up the daily charges, add on the kWh costs from the latest meter readings and subtract all the DD payments shown on your bank statements.  For gas, just add up the kWh figures shown on the bills, or use this tool (scroll down) to convert the difference between your opening meter reading and today's value (cubic metres or hundreds of cubic feet) into kWh.

lohr500

I was also a luddite when it came to smart meters, but recently I have changed my opinion on them.

There are a number of attractive "Time of Use" (TOU) electricity tariffs out there now which require a smart meter to operate. For years we had a dumb Economy 7 meter, but I could see there were significant savings to be had if I had a smart meter installed.

The frustration was that it took over a year to get a working one fitted. The 1st attempt had to be aborted because there wasn't a strong enough radio signal for it to operate. Just over a year later the 2nd attempt was a success thanks to a new radio mast that had been installed nearby.

Since installation I have been able to switch onto EDF's GoElectrc 96 tariff which gives off peak rates from 10pm to 7am through the week and all day weekends. There are even cheaper TOU tariffs out there if you need a shorter period of off peak electricity for say charging an electric car. It depends on your usage profile and how much of that usage you can move into the off peak window/s.

You don't have to have the in house display part of the smart meter flashing away at you in full line of sight. I switched ours off shortly after the novelty value wore off and now I just keep a periodic check on our consumption by reading the meter numbers or viewing the online reports. I also like the fact that the actual meter readings are picked by the supplier, so no more estimated usage figures if you forget to submit a reading.

The fixed D/D with a quarterly or six month review also annoys me, but by checking the usage it is easy to see if the fixed amount is running ahead or falling behind. I haven't need to, but in the case of EDF, there is a way to request an increase or decrease in the fixed D/D value if you feel it is not aligned to the reality of your consumption. 

greenguppie

SydSnott said:

For years I have ignored Martin whispering in my ear about "Ditch and Switch", and my main reason for resisting has, was and ever shall be the constant tail chasing that will ensue if I ever do weaken and board the roundabout! 
I have remained with each of the original suppliers; British Gas and, having been "herded" against my will by EON to their "Down wit da kids" entity "e.on Next", this was the straw that broke this Camel's back.
Not to mention that they now address mail to me using just my first and middle names! Grrr!
I used to pay quarterly for both my utilities, but this forced change by EON, demands that I pay monthly bills instead which also adds to my annoyance with them.

I also have an aversion to the other form of monthly payment where the company decide the the likely usage and amortise it across the year.
Back in the 70's a friend got into severe debt due to the klutzes in the BG team who set their monthly pull requests too low despite warnings over the years!

I have to admit that I myself just say "Whatever" and accept the bills from United Utilities since moving to a Water meter, mainly because I just can't understand the dratted statements, I just have to remember how much more I paid under the "Rates" scheme!

I have now reached a point where, with guidance, I may be persuaded to bite the bullet and go for a combined fuel deal with D/D payment...(who would have thought it!)
Is it possible to know exactly at a given point just what you have paid for and what is owing, and importantly be able to reconcile that with the meters to understand if you are in a "+ or -" situation?

Oh yes! another thing, I have an innate dislike no, loathing for smart meters and in order to have one such foisted upon me, I would need to be mollified by evidence of copious savings, real savings not just something that sits there nagging you with "Oh, do you realise how much that's costing you?".
That is not a saving, that's an electronic Mother in Law!!

The "Cheap Energy Club", I notice has the facility to take away the pain of continually chasing deals, my main worry, and that is very tempting but how does the payment side of that work?
Are the Direct Debit payees automatically updated?

Depends.

When you sign up for the Cheap Energy Club Autoswitch / One click Switch option, you have the option for MSE to save your bank details.
If you don't allow this, you cannot autoswitch in the future (but you can still use the rest of the functionality of the Cheap Energy Club)

Then when it comes time for you to switch again, you will be presented with the whole of market data. It will also prominently suggest the best tariff for you based on your own stated  preferences and a tariff that you can be autoswitched to.
Not all tariffs can be autoswitched to; you will be shown the full list and you can choose.
Providing you the full list shows you where your pre-selected autoswitch tariff lies compared to the whole of market.

So assuming:
1. You agreed to MSE holding your bank details
and
2. The tariff you select is the autoswitch one selected for you

then your bank details will be sent to that supplier after your one click acceptance.
That will set up a new DDI with your new supplier.
You'll also get £25 cashback (£12.50 if a single fuel) from MSE.

As for the supplier you leave, that will depend on that supplier how they handle your DDI.
Some will actually cancel it for you with the final collection/refund
Most will just leave it, and either you cancel it with your bank or the bank will cancel it after it falls dormant (after 13 months on non-activity)
Some will instruct you to cancel it, else you risk further payments be collected

All DD payments are fully covered by the terms of the DD Guarantee.

spot1034

When using comparison sites beware that they are sometimes not updated very quickly. I see that Citizens Advice, for example, are still showing Zog's Mercury 12 v48 whilst in the real world, v49 has been and gone and they're now on to v50 which is, to no none's surprise, rather more expensive!

SydSnott

Wow! thanks everyone for such comprehensive help.

Having been loathe to do anything for so long, the Cheap Energy Club seems to take away most of my reasons for procrastination, so is my preferred route.
Although I'm a bit "Rabbit In The Headlights" at the moment, since I'm going away for the month of October (cause of delay in reply) and this impending upheaval of the entire energy market has me wondering if I should start this process immediately, with only a couple of weeks "here present" to give "Final Readings" etc, or wait until I return, ...if indeed there will then be any suppliers left standing!!

JJ_Egan

Can you wait for the time travel machine to boot up .

Gerry1

SydSnott said:

Having been loathe to do anything for so long, the Cheap Energy Club seems to take away most of my reasons for procrastination, so is my preferred route.

Make sure you ignore all the elephant traps and diversions, just keep ignoring them until you finally reach the DIY option showing all suppliers big and small, good and bad.  Then also check a few other price comparison websites, taking great care to opt for the 'Show All Tariffs' option whch is often well hidden.

Note that many PCWs are now seriously out of date because they can't keep up with the massive explosion in tariff changes, especially now that many suppliers won't want to take on new customers because they'll lose money and/or aren't paying commission. If you switch via a PCW, make sure that the rates are what you expected.

Unusually the Standard Variable Tariff may be the best option because the fixed rates are now often much higher; the SVT is effectively a fixed rate, at least until after the worst of the winter is over.  Remember that the variable rates will probably increase in October (and again in April) in line when the price cap goes up.

Unfortunately there aren't any right or wrong answers at the moment, things are changing from hour to hour and you need a good crystal ball.

SydSnott

Thanks for all your responses, they have convinced me that after many years of resisting Martin Lewis's advice, now is perhaps not the time to follow it!  
Maybe in the new year.
...if I live that long! 😞