Green deal repayments mean only choosing big name suppliers - huge bills. Feel like it was missold!

Beki88

Back in 2014 I had external insulation (solid wall), under the green deal scheme. It's always been a pain with suppliers as generally only the bigger name suppliers have to deal with green deal repayments. Smaller suppliers can opt in to do so but very rarely do.

My tariff is ending soon and so I've been looking at my options. Using the mse energy club I had to scroll through multiple suppliers before finding one that would accept me. The difference in price was huge. I feel trapped, like cheaper prices are literally cut off from me all because of the stupid green deal. It feels incredibly unfair. Trying to save money and be better for the environment is costing me even more extra now! I feel like in some ways the green deal was missold. It was touted as a great way to lower bills but all I've found is them increasing! Especially as we use much less gas than what was used figure wise to work out my "savings". I think around 3 or 4 thousand kWh a year which has made a huge difference to what we are actually saving.

It's been a nightmare and I feel like this winter is only going to make it worse. Sorry for the rant. Does anyone else feel like this with the green deal at all? Or find similar with the tariffs? 

Beki88

Just to explain what I mean, using the figures from my 12 month projection my cost would be £1729 a year (excluding the actual green deal charge of £21 a month). The cheapest result would cost me an extra £92 a year with one of the smaller companies I can't access. The first tariff I could access would cost an extra £819 a year! Totally unfair. 

QrizB

Beki88 said:

My tariff is ending soon and so I've been looking at my options.

...

Does anyone else feel like this with the green deal at all? Or find similar with the tariffs? 

Right now is not a good time to try and switch for anyone, even without the Green Deal. Except for a couple of small suppliers who are expected to go bust, there are no cheaper options than sticking with your existing supplier on their standard variable tariff, at least until April.

If you want to switch you are likely to end up paying a lot more.

Ectophile

There are no cheaper prices any more. All the companies that offered them have gone bust. For the time being, the best thing to do is nothing.

The green deal was scrapped, as it was used by cowboys to sell over priced energy efficiency measures on credit.

jimjames

Beki88 said:

My tariff is ending soon and so I've been looking at my options. Using the mse energy club I had to scroll through multiple suppliers before finding one that would accept me.

Not sure if you've looked at all your options, the option to stay with your current supplier on the capped tariff may well be the best option and probably cheaper than any of the "deals" you've been looking at.

Beki88

I should probably point out that it's always been this way. Even before the energy crisis. Whilever I'm paying the green deal I'm locked to only using the bigger companies. Last year when the prices were really low, I could have - in theory saved hundreds, except I couldn't access those companies. I'm posting now because it's obviously even worse right now. 

MattMattMattUK

Beki88 said:

I should probably point out that it's always been this way. Even before the energy crisis. Whilever I'm paying the green deal I'm locked to only using the bigger companies. Last year when the prices were really low, I could have - in theory saved hundreds, except I couldn't access those companies. I'm posting now because it's obviously even worse right now. 

As others have said, the current issue is that switching now will cost you a lot more, so it would be wise to stay on your current suppliers SVR.

That being said, you took out your Green Deal loan in 2014, seven years ago, how much longer do you have to go? Not that it will make any difference for the next six months, but it might be worth paying the loan off separately if you have the funds to do so (there are no early repayment charges so only the actual balance owed needs to be repaid). 

Beki88

MattMattMattUK said:

Beki88 said:

I should probably point out that it's always been this way. Even before the energy crisis. Whilever I'm paying the green deal I'm locked to only using the bigger companies. Last year when the prices were really low, I could have - in theory saved hundreds, except I couldn't access those companies. I'm posting now because it's obviously even worse right now. 

As others have said, the current issue is that switching now will cost you a lot more, so it would be wise to stay on your current suppliers SVR.

That being said, you took out your Green Deal loan in 2014, seven years ago, how much longer do you have to go? Not that it will make any difference for the next six months, but it might be worth paying the loan off separately if you have the funds to do so (there are no early repayment charges so only the actual balance owed needs to be repaid). 

Yeah I plan on staying on the standard rate. Posting now is probably not the right time to complain about it given how the market is. Even when it settles though nothing changes in the sense I'll still be stuck with using more expensive companies.

It was £21.30 a month but spread over 25 years. So still a hell of a long time to go. It was actually 2015 I think they installed it.
Yearly charges are £259.86. Supposedly saving £263 a year. But that figure is based on average use. Ours is below average so having the measures actually costs us. But I don't think that counts as miss selling. I really wish I had understood it all more clearly at the time. I actually regret getting it! Especially in summer. The upstairs becomes an actual oven and we end up using more electricity trying to cool down! My thermostat registered 36 degrees upstairs during one of the heat waves. It actually made me ill too. Sorry for that rant then!

Beki88

I went through the paperwork and found this. So if understand correctly now, the £195 is what I would save? Does that mean they broke the golden rule? 

[Deleted User]

You are conflating a number of issues in your various posts. Smaller suppliers do not pay green levies to the Government so they tend to be excluded from any Green Schemes. For example, they do not offer the Warm Home Discount do you could argue that the poorest in our Society are also denied the cheapest tariffs. Small suppliers are also the most likely ones to fail in the present marketing conditions.

 Energy prices have risen across the board so it is likely that the £263 annual saving in 2014 (even pro-rated for your actual usage) is now much higher than that assumed whilst, at the same time, your repayments remain fixed.

We all regret some of the choices that we make: that’s life. The good news is that your improved insulation should limit the running cost of the heat pump that the Government is going to make you install.