Comparing the comparison services discussion

Marraboy

Has anyone heard of the above? They're on the net as a provider of all sorts of utilities - broadband,gas,elec etc. Seem cheap but how dependable? :rolleyes:

digital

james_erskine wrote:

My interest is that I work for Energylinx.
[snip]
Our advice is use a few price comparison services

I have, including EnergyLinx's, and get the same answer on all sites - London Energy is cheapest. However, if I go to London Energy's site the savings come down from ~£98 to 92p!

As an aside, Energylinx's site is by far the fastest and easiest to use.

dickdasdedly

Ive just tryed the energyhelpline comparison site. They said i could save £92.80 by switching from telecom +( by the way im just a custemer) to london energy online but when i checked their price p/kwh against my current bill which i beleive has the currant price increase on it T+ was cheeper even when i took into account standing charges dual fuel discounts from both i still get T+ as cheeper. On this months bill kwh for kwh T+ was £24 cheeper i coudnt see how i could save £0.01 let alone £92.80 unless im way off base their sums dont add up or am i wrong. HOPE NOT.

Axeman_2

Marraboy wrote:

Has anyone heard of the above? They're on the net as a provider of all sorts of utilities - broadband,gas,elec etc. Seem cheap but how dependable? :rolleyes:

This is off topic but in answer to your question

I'm a distributor for The Utility Warehouse ( Telecomplus ) and also a customer.

I've used the telephone, gas, electric and mobile phone service for over a year now.

I know I'm biased, but I've never had any problem with the services.

What I do like is the fact I can update my energy readings on a website, so if estimates are too high or low, I can correct them with ease.

COUPONKEV

Just to warn people that if they switch Gas and Electric to Powergen through EnergyHelpline they'll get £10 cashback for switching.

If however you switch both ELEC & GAS to Powergen you'll currently get £30 cashback through the Powergen website - see the banner on the Powergen site.

Worth using EnergyHelpline to get yourself a quote then check if the cheapest provider offers a better cashback than £10 before clicking Apply!

NigeWick

COUPONKEV wrote:

Worth using EnergyHelpline to get yourself a quote then check if the cheapest provider offers a better cashback than £10 before clicking Apply!

I am a distributor & customer with Utility Warehouse Discount Club (Telecom Plus) and they've just announced landline phone rental at £10 per month, which I am told is an £18 per year saving over BT. T+ give £10 per year cash back for services taken above the original. That means that if a person takes the landline (instead of having a BT line, I know that some people on cable etc may be paying less already), the £1.76 per month membership is mostly paid for. Then there's the electricity & gas which is often cheaper than other suppliers. Broadband is good value too at just under £20 for 1 meg with no download limits. For some people, the mobiles are also worth it. I also have a freephone number, so I get the maximum £50 cashback per year.

Because of where I live, I find I get the best overall deal with T+. Others may not, and I advise doing all the sums before making a decision.

If you want to know the unit price for your part of the Country, I can let you know, or, you can go to the T+ web site and look it up.

Nigel.

lisyloo

"they've just announced landline phone rental at £10 per month, which I am told is an £18 per year saving over BT"

Hi Nigel,

Just wanted to correct this.
BT is £10.50 if you pay by direct debit so I calculate that as a £6 saving per year.

BT is £11.50 if you don't pay by direct debit.
Not sure whether you can pay by other methods with TPlus but obviously you'd have to compare like with like.

Obviously you have to take call costs, membership costs and cashback into the equation as well, but that's not straightforward as some people may already be members and not have membership costs etc.

NigeWick

lisyloo wrote:

"they've just announced landline phone rental at £10 per month, which I am told is an £18 per year saving over BT"

Not sure whether you can pay by other methods with TPlus but obviously you'd have to compare like with like.

Obviously you have to take call costs, membership costs and cashback into the equation as well, but that's not straightforward as some people may already be members and not have membership costs etc.

One can pay T+ by other methods, but the prices reflect the extra hassle for the company. I suspect that the £18 saving is T+ diect debit against BT's dearest. You're absolutely right about making sure that you have all parts of the equation before making the final decision.

Nigel.

lisyloo

"I suspect that the £18 saving is T+ diect debit against BT's dearest"

This is not therefore a fair comparison.

You have to compare TPlus Direct debit with BT direct debit and not use whichever figures show TPLus in the best possible light and BT in the worst.

Quite clearly a case of someone (not necessarily you) using the figures to mislead.

I appreciate that TPlus may still be cheaper and other things like cashback come into the equation but I do not agree at all with this comparison although I appreciate you may be quoting from elsewhere.

Smartasss

I'm sure the T+ rep knows the score! (He has spammed this forum with this misleading £18/annum saving)

T+ surcharge anyone not paying by DD. The surcharge is 10% of the value of each bill.

So if they were comparing like with like (Non DD prices), then T+ would have to charge £9.10 per month for DD, and £10/month via other payment means.

This would of course impact on the £1.76 membership fee (which is £1.94 if you don't pay by DD)!