Special Energy Deals

IOWJJBTM2025

I had a random phone call this morning from a salesperson.
When I get unknown calls I usually just say "no thankyou" and immediately hang up, but this morning I did listen for a few seconds longer.
The chap quoted Martin Lewis and news that energy prices are rising and most people are paying too much for their energy.
I told him that I was a member of the Money Saving Expert 'Cheap Energy Club' and and so am not in need of any help.
He then jumped in and said said if I gave him 30 seconds of my time he could save me up to 20% per year because he had access to special deals including half price weekend rates that the cheap energy club do not have access to.

I told him that I did not have time to talk to him and and wished him a good day. I could hear him asking for my current Supplier in mid sentence as I ended the call.

It did make me think afterwards - are there really special deals out there that are not available to the cheap energy club?

WiserMiser

I believe comparison sites are allowed to offer exclusive deals, so in theory you'd have to use them all !

However, a much bigger problem is that cold callers may not be who they claim to be.  They may be scammers trying to obtain your bank details, DoB etc.  Or, more subtly, having found out who your supplier is, they may even call you a month or two later saying that your DD didn't go through and that you need to make a top-up payment immediately.

Much better to register with the Telephone Preference Service and then you'll know that any unsolicited call is not legitimate.  Even if they're genuine and don't call people on the TPS list, cold callers seldom offer the best deals.

Peter999_2

I don't think I've ever spoken to a salesperson who didn't tell me they could save me x% on my car insurance/home insurance/energy bills.   It's all complete balony for people like me who are very careful what they spend on bills.

The google nest thermostat that I got my parents in 2014 has finally died so I had to get them a new Tado thermostat that were offering a 50% off deal for Nest customers.    If you clicked through the special link for the discount it said the thermostat was available for £159.99 and when you went to the basket it would take 50% off.  If you manually searched the website instead it takes you to a page where it was £109 for the exact same thing.

After installation, Tado forced a free trial for AI management for 7 days.    3 days in it says it has calculated that AI has saved us 58% so far.

Only I don't set schedules or anything on the Tado, my mother turns it on when cold and turns it off when warm manually.    Therefore AI couldn't possibly save anything as it was all completely manual.   What a con.

As I've always said, never trust a word anyone says who is selling you something.  Always do independent research yourself.

Newbie_John

Certain tarrifs cannot be compared like for like - him mentioning half priced weekends indicates smart meter (probably BG as well) but how could you compare Good Energy Heat Pump tarrif (no heat pump required) with half price mornings, half price afternoons everyday to standard rate?
If you only use electricity during these periods - it will cost you 50% of what you pay now, but if you use only outside these hours you'll pay more.
Not mentioning Octopus Agile, EDF FreePhase..

There is much more out there but they can be riskier - MSE can't simply say you will definitely save because it's up to you how you use it - so a lot of comparison sites just compare flat rates tarriffs only.
Call people can say whatever they wish..

IOWJJBTM2025

I just did some searching for half price weekend energy deals.
I found that Scottish Power offer this.
Scottish Power is available on cheap energy club but they do not include in the figures any possible savings for the half price weekend offer.

I went directly onto Scottish Power website to get a quote - for some reason they already had my exact usage. (Unsure where they got it from)
The best tariff worked out £400 more per year than Ecotricity which is the cheapest available fix for me according to MSE cheap energy club.

Finding the information for the half price weekend was not easy and was hidden in smallprint.

Every Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 4pm you can get 50% Electric rate. This saving is capped to 50 kWh per day.
If it was possible to use 50 kWh in the 5 hour period every Sat and Sun I could reduce my bill by £71 per year.
Unfortunately paying £400 more with a possibility of reducing by up to £71 does not give any saving.

Had a look and am still yet to find a comparison site that has any special deals better than what MSE cheap energy club offer.

My wife told me that she gets fed up using our local ASDA as she is always confronted by a group of people trying to sell her cheap energy deals. Even after a firm "No Thankyou" they follow her through the entrance hall area until she enters the main store doors. I thought about challenging them to see if they really can offer any savings but am very skeptical if they really have any special deals.

tlcgrantham

EDF Freephase Dynamic is probably the cheapest deal for most people right now but check it out first and make sure you understand the risks.

luci

I very, very rarely answer the phone if it is a number I don't recognise. Occasionally I do answer, as I just get a feeling that the number may be legitimate. I have been right to answer, as they have been legitimate. I have the NHS Incoming number saved to my phone, so I know to answer it

I do answer Withheld or Private numbers, as they have always been legitimate for me. I haven't had a scam call from these numbers for many years.

I had a cold caller at the door a couple of years ago, telling me they could save me money. I asked them how much I was paying and who I was with for energy. Of course, they couldn't answer.

I asked to take a photo of their "identification" on a lanyard, which she was happy for me to do. The most concerning thing to me was the name of the company - Money Expert. I know a legitimate consumer saving website with a very similar name.

I would hazard a guess that some people didn't notice that it wasn't this site or Martin Lewis who was "trying to save them money".

(The OH's phone has just rung yet again from a number in Dubai. I have no idea where they got his number from, as I do all the online admin and phone calls in this house. He only uses his phone to call me.)

Newbie_John

tlcgrantham said:

EDF Freephase Dynamic is probably the cheapest deal for most people right now but check it out first and make sure you understand the risks.

It's very very dynamic, so I think it's too complex for OP
But if they're excited about half priced Sundays - then why not Good Energy Heat Pump with every day being half priced and no peak-penalty?