Should we switch?

mizzbonita

We recently bought a 5 bed house which we currently don’t live in but hope to in a couple of months. 

We are on the octopus energy flexible tariff and I’ve started looking at switching

Eon Next are cheaper and might have us a couple 100 quid for the year but then I was reading their customer service is terrible. 

I find Octopus really easy to use in terms of submitting readings

Has anyone had experience with EON next or even British Gas and what they are like in terms of submitting readings and paying accurate bills as opposed to estimations? We don’t want a smart meter 

mizzbonita

‘Save’ not have! 

EssexHebridean

What are your reasons for not wanting a smart meter? It would open up far more options for tariffs for you - some of which might be cheaper than you are able to access with an old style meter? 

QrizB

I think EON Next use Octopus's Kraken account management software, so it should be similarly easy to use.

A smart meter could let you save more than that £100, every single year.

mizzbonita

For us it’s the data sharing and that if you switch most can’t be transferred to another supplier without installing a new one 

QrizB

mizzbonita said:

. . if you switch most can’t be transferred to another supplier without installing a new one 

That bit is not true, though.

Keep_pedalling

mizzbonita said:

For us it’s the data sharing and that if you switch most can’t be transferred to another supplier without installing a new one 

Well that is a misunderstanding. There were issues with the SMETS 1 meters (which is mainly resolved), but if you opt for one now it will be a SMETS 2 which will be fitted and there will be no issue with switching when you want to. 

Brie

Eon Next will want you to have a smart meter.  As will most suppliers.  And it's a big benefit to you as well.

If a supplier installs one and then you later switch and it doesn't work (been there, done that!!!) then it's not your problem but that of the supplier.  They can't penalise you for the meter not working the way they'd like it to.

FreeBear

Brie said: Eon Next will want you to have a smart meter.  As will most suppliers.  And it's a big benefit to you as well.

Was with Eon.Next for a while, and they replaced my SMETS1 meters with new SMETS2 models. They also supplied & fitted an isolation switch between the meter & consumer unit free of charge - If you are contemplating having an EV charger installed (or any other major work involving a consumer unit), having an isolation switch is essential.

Didn't have any issues with Eon.Next, and they would respond to emails fairly quickly. Now with Octopus, and their AI generated email response can be irksome and doubles the time to get any resolution.

mizzbonita

Thanks everyone, that’s good to know about the smart meters. Could someone please explain how it would save us money so I can explain to my partner who is very anti smart meter 

QrizB

mizzbonita said:

Thanks everyone, that’s good to know about the smart meters. Could someone please explain how it would save us money so I can explain to my partner who is very anti smart meter 

There are a bunch of smart-meter-only tariffs, particularly for electricity. Exactly which one would suit you will depend on how you use your energy.

For a "normal" user there are the various Tomato tariffs that gives discounted prices at certain times of day, or Octopus Agile and Tracker which follow wholesale prices up and down.

If you have an electric vehicle, there are EV tariffs from several suppliers that can be as cheap as <7p/kWh.

If your house has a heat pump or other electric heating, there are tariffs for those too.