Gas & Electricity Money Saving Discussion Area

Big_Bry

 Being very out of touch with all this I don't know if it will mean having to have people in changing meters etc etc I don't want a load of rubble up and down my hall  :-[    

Just to set your mind at rest on this Tabunny,

Don't worry - the pipes, cables, meters, etc won't need to be replaced.  The only thing that changes is the company that takes your money.  You'll probably find that even the people who come to read your meters will be the same.

If you're nervous about switching, energyhelpline gives each supplier a "service rating" which should help you choose a company with a good track record (although Powergen come out on top but they still used to thingy-up my bills occasionally when I was with them :P)

jodrellcat

:'(I have made three attempts in the past year to switch suppliers (two were to Atlantic). Although I have received a dd form each time and returned it nothing more happens. Anyone had a similar experience or knows the reason?

Jodrellcat

tandop

Hi all first time user on site - apologies in advance for anything i might need to apologise for.

I called my dual fuel supplier yesterday and they confirmed both my direct debit amounts and my KWh usage for both gas and electricity over the last 12 months.

Initially i put the Kwh readings into the recommended site and it suggested that I am paying £444 ish p/a for gas and electricity and there were (I think some small savings to be made)

Next I put in the actual monthly direct debit figures for both gas and electricity which total £990 ish p/a and there are some savings to be made (approx £190 p/a) by mocing to another dual fuel supplier.

My question is - if you haven't already guessed - am i being well ripped-off based on the estimate having submitted my KWh usage or is the rate I am currently paying the starting point I should be using?

loon_2

your Kw/h is better. always base calculations on consumption.

from your post, it appears that your supplier is charging you twice as much.

do you get annual refunds?

GLXTURBODIESEL

Hi folks,

I hope this info is of some use

I worked for Scottish and Southern and then Scottish Power / Manweb for 3 years, initially as a sales advisor (one of these annoying people who knock on your door) before being promoted to sales manager.
Although i have been away from this job for some 2 years now, the principals of changing supplier havent changed much.
Ive put together some general advice on changing supplier as follows...

1) What the government calls changing your gas/elec supplier isnt really changing supplier - what youre essentially changing is the company who provide your bills. If you change supplier, your gas will still be the same gas, piped to your home by the same company (usually Transco, a department of BG plc), and in the same way your electricity will still arrive at your home courtesy of your local electricity company. The difference is your meter readings will be sent to your new supplier and your bill calculated as per their tarriffs.

2) Dont be tempted to change supplier by 'gimmicks' - for example a free £10 argos voucher or something. Always make your decision based on the rate per kw/h.
Look on a previous bill for a date that an actual meter reading was taken (dont use an estimate) and calculate the number of kw/h used from that date until todays date (by taking a meter reading today), next calculate the number of days from that date to todays date. then calculate the number of kw/h your using per day or per week. Try to find a reading from as far back as possible
as it will provide a more accurate calculation. (bear in mind that your cosumption, particularly gas will be higher in the winter than in the summer), so a reading from more than 1 year ago will provide the most accurate results.

3) Signing up to a 'dual fuel' offer is very unlikely to be the cheapest option available for you, although it may well be cheaper than what you are paying at the moment. Treat both your gas and electricty seperately and find the best company for yourself.

4) Getting electricity from your local electricity company and gas from British Gas is never the cheapest option for you. The government stipulated that to promote fair competiton, a local electricity company cannot lower their electricity prices within their own area until their share of the market within that area falls below 50%. The same rule applis for gas, however Britsh Gas's area is the whole of the UK, meaning they will never be the cheapest company for gas (not at the moment anyway), this is compensated for by offering one of the most competitive electricity tarriffs on the market.

5) Dont be fooled by companys promoting 'no standing charge' - this is not a saving.
Im gonna use British Gas as an example - before the introduction of the 'no standing charge', you paid a daily standing charge and any gas used was charged at one set rate. Nowadays on the 'no standing charge' option, as the name suggest, you dont pay a fixed daily rate, but pay for your gas usage on a 2-tier pricing structure, the initial gas used is charged at a higher rate. If you calculate the difference between this higher rate and the lower rate that it used to be charged at, you will find that this difference equates to exactly the same amount per day as you used to pay for the standing charge. - coincidence that eh!

6) British Gas is not the same company it used to be before deregulation was introduced. Your gas is piped to your home by Transco, but if your gas bill says British Gas at the top then your billing is actually handled by a company called Centrica. You can find details of this on any letter from BG (except abill for some reason?)
If your gas bill says Scottish Gas at the top, the same applies. Scottish Gas is in fact just a trading name belonging to Centrica and is registered in England.

7) Research your tariffs thoroughly, there are genuine savings to be made, for example a customer currently paying for their gas via British Gas and using a prepayment quantam meter, changes to their local electricity company and pays via direct debit (a meter change would be needed of course) can save as much as 30%

8) Finally as a general 'rule of thumb' - there are 2 ways to save on your energy bills (i) use the right supplier for you (ii) use the right payment method.
Gas from British Gas - NO
Electricity from local electricity company - NO
Payment via prepayment meter - NO

GLXTURBODIESEL

one more thing i forgot...

companys offering a fixed monthly charge, allowing to use as much as you like....
you should still calculate your annual consumption as again this may not be the right option for you, for 2 reasons.
i) there may be a limit to the amount you can use
ii) although this option may sound a good deal in the winter, remember your still gonna be paying that same monthly amount in the summer, when in actual fact your only consumption is likely to be from a gas cooker or something and considerably less than youre paying for.

If youve got any questions, im happy to help, drop me a email at joesmail@blueyonder.co.uk

nationwide_3

I hear that powergen are putting up there prices again in the middle of Nov 04 and according to the news this is the 3rd time this year. I did the provider test and was told that powergen were cheaper than BG. Is this still the case? I have not signed the mandate yet, do I go with powergen or remain with BG. Help?

chateau42

Does anybody remain with BG. ??? ??? Get your own actual annual consumption, get cost per kw (st. ch. if needed) from other suppliers, work it out. Not mathematics, simple 10 year old arithmetic. If BG is cheaper, let us all know!! ::) ::)

Wonderwoman_2

I live in Suffolk and have just had gas installed to the house - major operation involving all of Brit Gas companies - total nightmare. I now need to know where to get gas from as I have no previous 'form' to compare.Any ideas anyone?

Crow_Woman

Hi Martin and Team

British Gas are trying to get their customers to sign up for fixed energy prices for the next two and a half years. Their literature is so confusing:-

"All you have to do to remove uncertainty is to fix your energy prices for the next two and a half years, by paying a small additional premium on your gas and electricity charges of about 3% on average*. Then you can be sure that no matter how much energy prices go up, you won't pay a peny extra."
They also talk about a cancellation fee.

The small print says:- "*Fixed Price applies until April 2005 at our current standard prices, and at the premium rates of 2.25% above our current standard price for domestic electricity customers, and 3.5% for domestic gas customers, from April 2005 until 1st April 2007. The 3% premium is an average dual fuel premium based on gas representing 66% of total fuel bills and single rate electricity representing 33%. You will be notified of the exact starting date of the premium rate in writing a minimum of 14 days before its application......excludes any changes in VAT........
"If you cancel the contract, either by moving to another gas or electricity supplier or requesting to change to our standard prices at any time between 1st April 2005 and 1st April 2007, we may add a charge of £20 including VAT) to your next electricity bill and £30 (including VAT) to you next gas bill".

Now are we being thick? We cannot work out exactly what the difference would be and whether we would be making any worthwhile savings over the next two and a half years. Just how much would it cost us? My husband is interested, but I am concerned about tying us into a contract of this sort for such a long time, particularly if we change our minds when we will be charged £50!

Can you help clarify this?
Many thanks
Mrs. Elly Yule
Wales, UK