Why is my quote over £100 higher than the estimate on the MSE website?

dmarcel

Hi,

I want to switch my energy provider, as my contract ends on 29th August. So I checked the comparison results on the Cheap Energy Club page.

I selected the top two deals and went to their websites, where I entered my details to get a quote, and both were over £100 higher than the estimate shown on the MSE site.

1. Home Energy quoted me £1,195/year instead of £1,045/year, which is £150 more.

2. Outfox Energy quoted me £1,268/year instead of £1,086/year, which is £182 more.

Does anyone know why there’s such a difference?

Thanks in advance!

Bendo

Did you enter your usage the same?

dmarcel

Bendo said:

Did you enter your usage the same?

Yes, I entered the same usage on all three websites, and MSE gives me the same figures as my Excel spreadsheet. 

dmarcel

I tested the third option (which happens to be my current provider), and their website shows a £23 difference compared to MSE.

spot1034

It's easy enough to do the sums manually with a calculator. 

dmarcel

spot1034 said:

It's easy enough to do the sums manually with a calculator. 

Yes, I worked it out in a spreadsheet, and the results match what MSE shows. But when Home and Outfox emailed me their quotes, the prices were much higher...

QrizB

dmarcel said:

spot1034 said:

It's easy enough to do the sums manually with a calculator. 

Yes, I worked it out in a spreadsheet, and the results match what MSE shows. But when Home and Outfox emailed me their quotes, the prices were much higher...

Were the prices higher?

Or were the prices the same but the monthly DD higher?

Peter999_2

The only thing that actually matters is the unit rate for electricity and, if applicable, Gas.

Check them (probably in the small print) and see if the price per kWh is the same or different.   To be honest, I wouldn't put much faith in the MSE checker apart from it giving you a rough idea - when I checked mine with it the prices were months out of date.

hareng

Just tried the MSE Energy finder.

It knew my supplier and estimated usage to figure in i would save a pultry £13 per year going with Home Energy, apparently the cheapest. 
Going direct to Home Energy and inputting Actual usage it comes in £116.40 dearer than current OFTM.

Wouldnt bother with MSE

dmarcel

QrizB said:

Were the prices higher?

Or were the prices the same but the monthly DD higher?

Both the direct debit and the yearly estimate were higher. Please see the figures below:

Provider (Plan)	MSE Prices (£/mth → £/yr)	Email Quote (£/mth → £/yr)
Home (Fair Variable Elec)	£87 → £1,045	£99.54 → £1,194.45
Outfox (Fix'd Elec Jul25 12M v5.0)	£90 → £1,086	£105.64 → £1,267.72
Fuse (July 2025 Fixed (15m) V2)	£93 → £1,118	£95.11 → £1,141.32

The yearly quotes were higher by £150, £182, and £23 respectively.

dmarcel

Peter999_2 said:

The only thing that actually matters is the unit rate for electricity and, if applicable, Gas.

Check them (probably in the small print) and see if the price per kWh is the same or different.

The unit rates and the standing charge are identical on MSE and respective providers' sites. (Electricity only) And MSE has similar figures as Uswitch and my own calculations.