Cheap Energy Club

westv

Has something changed with CEC? I have used the switching service for several years but this year I see that hardly any of the energy companies can be switched via the service. I'm sure the last time I looked 12 months ago there were loads. I ended up doing my switch manually.

Gerry1

Sadly, there are now umpteen elephant traps en route to seeing the full market with the CEC; it's usually the last and least prominent option each time, and it often hides results from your existing supplier.  Note that it's unlikely that you'll be able to switch via any Price Comparison Website because the cheapest suppliers seldom pay them commission.  Similarly, some tariffs are exclusive to certain PCWs.

With so many tariffs available, some PCWs may not always be up to date.  Try several starting with Citizens Advice and 'Which? Switch', and check whether separate suppliers are cheaper than dual fuel.

greenguppie

westv said:

Has something changed with CEC? I have used the switching service for several years but this year I see that hardly any of the energy companies can be switched via the service. I'm sure the last time I looked 12 months ago there were loads. I ended up doing my switch manually.

I guess it may be a combination of a number of factors:
1. There are fewer suppliers out there as many have failed
2. Very small/new suppliers may not appear by request (and usually don't pay commission anyway at startup)
3. As money is getting tight, suppliers will no longer pay for new customers (all marketing budgets seem to have been cut, not many adverts apart from Octopus)
4. Some suppliers seem to be notably absent completely from the CEC today
e.g.
BG (only BG evolve)
Eon (only Eon Next)
SSE (now part of Ovo family, but still able to quote independantly)
Ovo
Utility Point
Symbio (admittedly a small, electric only supplier and they are currently missing from a number of comparison sites today)

But I have found the following suppliers you can switch to via the CEC (not necessarily on all tariffs):
Green
EDF
goto Energy
Octopus
So Energy
Shell
Outfox The Market
Scottish Power
British Gas Evolve

If you were to add in BG, Eon, SSE and Ovo, any other supplier you remember that once got you cashback, but don't any more (and are still in business).?

greenguppie

Gerry1 said:

.. Try several starting with Citizens Advice and 'Which? Switch', and check whether separate suppliers are cheaper than dual fuel.

No better, I'm afraid.
I'm not the first to discover this, or reply to you with the same opinion.
e.g. 10/09 @spot1034
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78598867/#Comment_78598867

@ 02/09 @dunstonh
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78580219/#Comment_78580219


e.g. Citizens advice is littered with numerous low priced tariffs (so cluttering the top of the list) that are actually no longer available. Also out of date on many other tariffs.
e.g (for gas only) Zog Mercury v48, they seem to have got got to v49 yet, let alone v50 that Zog are actually on (actually, just checked, Zog missing completely today except for their Juniper SVT,)

(for dual fuel) So many Avro tariffs not available anywhere. Do they actually show the current one?

(for electric only) Utilita - they've not been taking on new customers with credit meters for about 18 months!

I could go on, but you all get the gist.

... and of course, no possibilty at all of any cashback with either Citizens Advice or Which?
(which is what this thread was fundamentally about)

westv

greenguppie said:

... and of course, no possibilty at all of any cashback with either Citizens Advice or Which?
(which is what this thread was fundamentally about)

I didn't actually refer to cash back. I was purely referring to the much reduced ability to use CEC to do the switch.

greenguppie

westv said:

greenguppie said:

... and of course, no possibilty at all of any cashback with either Citizens Advice or Which?
(which is what this thread was fundamentally about)

I didn't actually refer to cash back. I was purely referring to the much reduced ability to use CEC to do the switch.

Agreed, you never specifically mentioned cashback, but any switch carried out through MSE comes with cashback, which I am sure you were aware of.

JJ_Egan

Any ??? MSE switch has cashback ???

Dont think that's remotely true .

greenguppie

JJ_Egan said:

Any ??? MSE switch has cashback ???

Dont think that's remotely true .

Who said that? And what does it mean?
What I said was

greenguppie said:

westv said:

greenguppie said:

... and of course, no possibilty at all of any cashback with either Citizens Advice or Which?
(which is what this thread was fundamentally about)

I didn't actually refer to cash back. I was purely referring to the much reduced ability to use CEC to do the switch.

Agreed, you never specifically mentioned cashback, but any switch carried out through MSE comes with cashback, which I am sure you were aware of.

Hope there is no confusion over that comment.

westv

Not all switches via CEC have cash back. I've done several switches over time and, as far as I remember, only one involved cash back.

greenguppie

westv said:

Not all switches via CEC have cash back. I've done several switches over time and, as far as I remember, only one involved cash back.

Really?

Every switch I've ever seen that is made via the CEC comes with cashback as it clearly states on the list.

It has always been the case since the CEC was started.

https://help.cheapenergyclub.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000350908-I-haven-t-received-my-cashback-what-should-I-do-

westv

Is that new? When I used it last year and prior my results included cash back and non cash back rates. Almost all could be transferred via CEC.