Changes To StayWarm

NJW69

My parents have staywarm and pay £144 per month. They don't get bills so I can't do a comparison. Will the renewal letter that others have talked about give figures about consumption so I can check. They live in Lancashire and have a two bedroom house if that is of any use.

martint123

NJW69 wrote: »

My parents have staywarm and pay £144 per month. They don't get bills so I can't do a comparison. Will the renewal letter that others have talked about give figures about consumption so I can check. They live in Lancashire and have a two bedroom house if that is of any use.

The renewal letter will show annual gas+electricity usage.

NJW69

The usage for my parents is 7106kwh electricity and 33848kwh for gas. This may go down a bit in the next letter of renewal in January as they have had cavity wall insulation and loft insulation installed over the summer. Could anyone estimate if they are better staying on Staywarm or not? Two bed house, two people in Lancashire.

Thanks,

Nicola

Alan_Vickers

At our 2007 renewal StayWarm said that we had used 24,468 kWh for Gas and 4,617 kWh for Electricity and part way through the year, when I contacted them and gave them our current readings they said that at the next renewal due in May 2008 we should expect our payment to increase quite a lot because we were using more electricity than what they expected us to use. We are 2 people in a 4 bedroomed house on the North East coast.

As I was far from happy with their explanation I therefore arranged to transfer to British Gas and during 2008 we paid about £200 less than we would have paid StayWarm, after having absorbed the huge increases in energy cost during that year and at the present time we again expect to make a similar saving with our 2009 charges for more-or-less similar usage.

It will be a good idea for you to try and monitor your parents usage by taking regular meter readings.


Alan Vickers.

factoryworker

The usage for my parents is 7106kwh electricity and 33848kwh for gas. This may go down a bit in the next letter of renewal in January as they have had cavity wall insulation and loft insulation installed over the summer.

Nicola: a few thoughts....your renewal letter will be generated now; the first thing i would do is ring with upto date meter readings to ensure its accurately reflecting reduced (gas) usage as a result of cavity and loft insulation (or submit online at [EMAIL="staywarm@eonenergy.com"]staywarm@eonenergy.com[/EMAIL] quoting account number). I would also not panic about the letter price when received as it is likely to be higher than more recent efficient usage would warrant, but just call up, again with meter readings on that day, and ask to reassess Staywarm price, and compare against other (E.on) tarifs. There customer charter requires they offer the best tarif for your needs (note not neccassirily the cheapest), although invariably the cheapest, but YOU must ask to include online tarifs.

Whilst i am liely to get my head blown off for this, my concern is not potential savings by changing suppliers/tarifs but savings by reducing usage which would dwarf such savings. The industry suggest 3300 kwh as the UK average, realistically for retired citizens, in the home more, i would expect around 4000 elec (sugesting there is a lot of wasted/poor usage) whilst the insulation will probably bring down gas usage to around 25,000 kwh it would have no affect on your parents electral usage; as elec costs 3 to 4 times gas, this has a large impact on their fuel cost; you need to look at the following to reduce this: use of electric heaters in conservatory, extra old fridges/freezers, underfloor heating, immersion water tanks, non energy bulbs, towel rails, halogen lighting, PC use and items on standby generally.

In summary, if your parents elec usage is going to reduce (and it needs to), it is unlikely Staywarm will suit you - consider E.ons fixonline for fixed unit prices that will reflect failling usage with a seemless switch; if you parents elec usage isn't going to fall, Staywarm may suit with its fixed cost, particularly if parents are going to stay in home same or more time than previously and/or there are detoriating health issues which may increase usage. 3 other things to consider: if you switch from Staywarm with current high electric, you will not be able to rejoin the tarif, the current price on Staywarm could be subsidised so an icrease woul be inevitable (they should currently be paying around £165 a month for your stated usage), and finally any comparison gives the average price through the year, so considerably understates the true winter cost (i.e Staywarm maybe dearer but would work out cheaper over winter, then switch).

NJW69

Thanks factory worker. They don't health issues and are only in their 60's so still fit. It is quite a large house and they do have a lot of appliances, such a flat screen tv, two fridges, two freezers, drinks cooler, PC, sky, electric pond pump etc etc. I have talked to my mum about reducing their consumption and turning things off standby etc. I did an online comparison and got it down by about £300 pa plus a cashback for switching so they are going to wait for the renewal letter and then see who is the cheapest. They have been very careful in saving for their retirement and still have more income than expenditure without having to dip into their savings so the fixed amount things isn't particularly an issue but if they can save money they should (and also be more energy efficient).

factoryworker

NJW69 wrote: »

It is quite a large house and they do have a lot of appliances, such a flat screen tv, two fridges, two freezers, drinks cooler, PC, sky, electric pond pump etc etc. I have talked to my mum about reducing their consumption and turning things off standby etc.

good health and retiremt provision are always a good starting point! This suggest Staywarm mihght not suit..an an internet fixed ubit deal (with a fixed price no more than 10% above standard unit prices) probably best

The appliances explain the electric; i would presume the extra fridge and extra freezer are older models (say 10 y.o) so would use about 1000kwh alone or about £130; you need to be extremely careful of the pond pump-people frequently by the cheapest at B&Q but don't consider the correct power rating-wouldn't surprise me, if this is on all day, that its using a minimum of 500kwh and could be considerably more; if it is on all day try installing a cheap £2 timer from Argos so that its not on constantly (i.e. though the nnight when they are not actually enjoying it); do consult though if they have valuable fish. Also watch security lights-they are often 500W and come on frequently thru the night with passing cats etc; Energy Savings Trust say a PC can use a kwh every 3 hours...hence importance of turning off.

Good luck with getting best deal for your folks

valeriej43

I have just receieved my new yearly price from staywarm, which is more than double what i am paying now,
I now have to pay £164 a month
If we had regular statements say quarterly, i would have been able to compare one with another, and maybe cut down accordingly, but but to spring it on you after a year is a shock
Also why is is everyone told that they are using too much electricity, not gas,
In the summer months i dont use heating, or the tumble dryer, unless we have continuos rain , so this amount sounds a lot for mainly winter months

KimYeovil

valeriej43 wrote: »

If we had regular statements say quarterly, i would have been able to compare one with another, and maybe cut down accordingly, but but to spring it on you after a year is a shock

You have a couple of instruments in your home that will readily allow you to easily take yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily or hourly readings and thus estimates as and when you wish.

gatita

Valerie, I know exactly what you mean, ours also has more than doubled, so much for the "Scheme for helping the elderly"!!! nothing but a total rip off. It maybe fine if you live in one room, rarely take a shower, or cook more than a tin of beans. STAYWARM!! its a JOKE

Needless to say I have found another company