Was it really worth switching?

jimjames

wakeupalarm said:

I know how much we are paying more and it wipes out the £300-350 savings we have made by switching to non-big 6 suppliers over the last 5 years.  Could have, would have, should have is not the point, we didn't so for us It has not been worth it.

But £300 saving per year compared to an increase for a few months or year is still a big saving.

Back to the original question, for a consumer that has switched to the best rate every year it has definitely been a worthwhile process. For the market as a whole and people who've never switched definitely less so as everyone is now picking up the costs.

Admiral_Barbarossa

I see Bulb has now been turned off!

alsa1

I think for heavy users it has really made a difference in switching rather than staying with a Big 6 supply for all the time.

We were paying £2000 pa on a fixed tariff with Eon in 2015, then in every year subsequent it has varied between £1400- £1600. 

However since this year’s crisis, and falling onto a capped tariff we are back to £2200. If the cap goes up as projected in April the annual bill could go as high as £2700. So in 2 years most of the savings will be wiped out, unless the market changes by next winter.

jrawle

alsa1 said:

I think for heavy users it has really made a difference in switching rather than staying with a Big 6 supply for all the time.

We were paying £2000 pa on a fixed tariff with Eon in 2015, then in every year subsequent it has varied between £1400- £1600. 

However since this year’s crisis, and falling onto a capped tariff we are back to £2200. If the cap goes up as projected in April the annual bill could go as high as £2700. So in 2 years most of the savings will be wiped out, unless the market changes by next winter.

How does that "wipe out" the savings, though? If you hadn't switched at all over the years, you would still be on a £2700/year tariff from April. The savings you made in previous years still stand.

alsa1

jrawle said:

alsa1 said:

I think for heavy users it has really made a difference in switching rather than staying with a Big 6 supply for all the time.

We were paying £2000 pa on a fixed tariff with Eon in 2015, then in every year subsequent it has varied between £1400- £1600. 

However since this year’s crisis, and falling onto a capped tariff we are back to £2200. If the cap goes up as projected in April the annual bill could go as high as £2700. So in 2 years most of the savings will be wiped out, unless the market changes by next winter.

How does that "wipe out" the savings, though? If you hadn't switched at all over the years, you would still be on a £2700/year tariff from April. The savings you made in previous years still stand.

To rephrase, I was just highlighting that the scale of the price rises for our household’s usage means that in just two years it will use most of the savings I had accrued from switching these past few years. Of course switching saved us quite a bit through the years, it was more an observation on how significant the price increase has already been without the cap changing.

Admiral_Barbarossa

Another one bites the dust!

Zog is no more! They will be landed with the SVR, though my current fix again is cheaper!

Again, was it really worth the price of a steak over the years?

jrawle

Admiral_Barbarossa said:

Another one bites the dust!

Zog is no more! They will be landed with the SVR, though my current fix again is cheaper!

Again, was it really worth the price of a steak over the years?

Again, I still completely fail to see the connection between the suppliers recently going out of business and whether it was worth switching over the years.

Your initial post mentions the hassle of switching. There is certainly a view that it might not have been worth the inconvenience of going through a switch of supplier for a small financial saving. However, that has nothing to do with suppliers going out of business this year.

The only people who may lose out in this one exceptional year are those who recently left their "big six" supplier, turning down a fix with that big supplier, and taking up a fixed deal with one of the small suppliers who subsequently went bust. Those people missed out on a fixed deal below the price cap for this year only, although even now the price will be capped throughout the winter. However, that makes no difference to the potentially £100s people who switched every year will have saved. Come this time next year, everyone will be in the same boat, having to rely on the cap and perhaps a few fixed deals from the big six. The difference is, some people saved £100s over the years, and some did not. The question is whether they saved enough to justify the hassle of switching each year. But again that has nothing to do with the suppliers currently going bust, and is actually a strange question to ask members of a money saving forum.

Admiral_Barbarossa

jrawle said:

Admiral_Barbarossa said:

Another one bites the dust!

Zog is no more! They will be landed with the SVR, though my current fix again is cheaper!

Again, was it really worth the price of a steak over the years?

Again, I still completely fail to see the connection between the suppliers recently going out of business and whether it was worth switching over the years.

Your initial post mentions the hassle of switching. There is certainly a view that it might not have been worth the inconvenience of going through a switch of supplier for a small financial saving. However, that has nothing to do with suppliers going out of business this year.

The only people who may lose out in this one exceptional year are those who recently left their "big six" supplier, turning down a fix with that big supplier, and taking up a fixed deal with one of the small suppliers who subsequently went bust. Those people missed out on a fixed deal below the price cap for this year only, although even now the price will be capped throughout the winter. However, that makes no difference to the potentially £100s people who switched every year will have saved. Come this time next year, everyone will be in the same boat, having to rely on the cap and perhaps a few fixed deals from the big six. The difference is, some people saved £100s over the years, and some did not. The question is whether they saved enough to justify the hassle of switching each year. But again that has nothing to do with the suppliers currently going bust, and is actually a strange question to ask members of a money saving forum.

I have used uswitch for the last ten years to get very competitive in contract deals with my big six supplier that are within £20 a year of moving to a fly by night one! In recent years, my deal has not been beaten by any offering on the uswitch site with a month of contracting. No hassle, and when i have a credit balance in September of each year, it automatically is refunded to by bank, I have no need to request it!

That is hassle free, unlike the latest on to go bust!

Today on your stitched there is a deal that is £63.43 cheaper, but with the £60 exit it is not! This is the first deal since September that has been cheaper!!!

[Deleted User]

@Admiral_Barbarossa What do you want, a medal or something? Your posts just seem to reflect a rather pathetic point scoring attitude that impresses nobody. Well done, you. 👏👏 

molerat

I have used uswitch for the last ten years to get very competitive in contract deals with my big six supplier that are within £20 a year of moving to a fly by night one!

Just keep telling yourself that if it makes you happy.  If you have been using USwitch you have not been getting the best deals, you have been getting the best deal they are offering which only includes suppliers that give them a hefty finders fee.  It is like comparing a FA with an IFA, an IFA will give you access to the whole of the market and not just the ones they are tied to with financial incentives.  I have saved £Ks over the years.