Switch to different electricy supplier

snowmen

Currently with SSE for electricity only and have renewed the last few years for their 1 year 6% rate.

This year I have had lots of problems with them - very hard to get hold of, calls back that were promised and did not happen. The worst was when they put up my monthly direct debit by £80 even though I was in credit, using less electricity than the previous year, and their prices were announced to be going down the following month. After a week of trying to get hold of them they said there was nothing they could do and couldn't override the new direct debit amount.

I am coming up to the end of my present contract and going by the  consumer council website budget, click energy and to a lesser extent power NI are the options to save me money for the next year.

Does anyone have any opinions or experience of these companies?
TIA

Ticked

We went to SSE some years ago and had nothing but hassle, wrong bills, wouldn’t answer the phone, changing direct debit, it was appalling ‘service’. Went back to Power NI, have had zero problems. Hopping around different companies may (or in the long run, may not) save a few pence but not enough to make the hassle worthwhile. My opinion, others may disagree. I like a quiet life. 

MikeJXE

I was with SSE 2 years ago but didn't have a problem until they switched me to OVO 

I am on dual fuel and OVO doubled my DD no matter how much i complained I was stuck with it however,  I was moving home and Octopus were the suppliers of my next home.

I emailed them and set up a DD of my choosing, more than I knew I would owe but that was last February and I didn't want to get into debit.

 I have requested a refund since then and received it, I will be requesting another in May and I'm confident I will receive that too. 

I would advise everyone to read their meters once a month and check their bills 

I also run a spreadsheet that calculates my costs so I know what my bill will be before I get it

Mnoee

There was a recent thread about click energy - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6488317/click-energy-any-reviews

I've still had no problems with them! 

ballyblack

I went with click energy recently, good website & their web-chat works well. No problems

sunshine

Ticked said:

We went to SSE some years ago and had nothing but hassle, wrong bills, wouldn’t answer the phone, changing direct debit, it was appalling ‘service’. Went back to Power NI, have had zero problems. Hopping around different companies may (or in the long run, may not) save a few pence but not enough to make the hassle worthwhile. My opinion, others may disagree. I like a quiet life. 

Totally agree with this.  The hassle isn't worth it.

snowmen

Thanks for the replies.

Thinking of swopping from SSE to Click Energy due to the comments above and the consumer council comparison tool.

One other question - I see SSE have just  announced a 6.3% decrease from the 1st March.
If I swop to Click Energy super saver tariff and then they follow suit and reduce their unit cost, will the current 21.21% discount they offer be applied to this new value when it comes into effect or am I agreeing to a fixed unit cost now which won't change for the next year regardless of what happens to prices?

IvanOpinion

I have recently renewed with SSE and, even as an existing customer, they offered me their 31% discount rate.
Seems to be the cheapest rate going.

They made a mistake with the first bill, since the new tariff, and charged me the old rate. I had no problems getting through, they offered several solutions for sorting out the problem.

snowmen

IvanOpinion said:

I have recently renewed with SSE and, even as an existing customer, they offered me their 31% discount rate.
Seems to be the cheapest rate going.

They made a mistake with the first bill, since the new tariff, and charged me the old rate. I had no problems getting through, they offered several solutions for sorting out the problem.

No problems getting through? You must have had far more luck than me then. I must have just have hit a bad week to try!

Also how did you get the 31% new customer deal? The most I got offered was the 10% existing customer renewal offer.

IvanOpinion

Good questions Snowman. I know I phoned just after the call centre opened, so it would have been early. The hold time was less than 5 minutes. Due to the bill issue I phoned mid-morning and got through again after a short hold.

I renewed in early January. I had all my facts and figures
(from https://www.consumercouncil.org.uk/consumers/help-consumers/electricity-oil-and-gas/switching-electricity-or-gas-supplier/electricity-price-comparison-table).
I had got myself psyched up for a good 'argument' about prices, and why I was about to leave for one of their competitors. I was as surprised as anyone when the agent immediately offered me the 31% discount rate - I almost felt disappointed because I was so geared up to be 'assertive' and negotiate hard.

I mentioned to a friend a few days later and she also managed to get the 31% discount rate. Maybe it was a limited time offer?