Cashback Price Comparison Services Discussion

System

question , Are any deals available on dualfuels i.e.not just gas+electricity, but as an oil user, with oil+electricity.

System

Hi Martin

It would be good to know how much exactly you earn for each cashback switch - care to share?

Lisa

System

ive been following this thread for a bit and reading the site a while. lisa are you the same one who wrote the note earlier about misleading headlines, must say its a bit rich to ask how mcuh is earnt. not another one of those telecom plus distributors are you?

MSE_Martin

Lisa, I’m not quite sure what your agenda is.  However when I couple your current question – with your two past comments here and here it is not difficult for me to feel that there is some animosity here.  I must admit I have no idea why.

Thus as I am being ‘accused’ let me make a few wee points before answering your question.

I never recommend based on affiliations:
First I NEVER recommend based on affiliations - this is my career, my impartiality is the most valuable thing i've got.  I feel when i take your questions together that this is the insinuation and frankly I resent it.

The biggest ever switching due to this site paid nothing
The largest ever number of people switching on my recommendation was the first cashback deal, i pushed Simply Energy into doing.  That was via the phone, there was NO AFFILIATION payement.  Thousands switched.  At that time the net sites already had affiliated links here, if the people who had switched there had done it via the links the payment would be substantial.  However that was NOT the best deal so i didnt recommend it, regardless of the site’s finances.

The sites finances are described in detail on ABOUT US
I make no secret about the site's finances.  I'm proud it is ad free, sponsorship free adn free to use.  That's very important.  Yet this is a big site with expenses and i do thousands of hours work on it a year.  There is nothing wrong with it paying.  I set up high ethical standards about how money can be made and they are all printed in the About Us section.  And every time there is an affiliated link there is a link to that section too.

If this’d been any other site you wouldn’t have known to ask the question or been able to do it publicly
Usually any site that links to switching services usually has an exclusive arrangement with just one of them.  I refuse this and have an affiliated arrangement with them all - after all if someone is going to switch after a link from this site, it may as well help the resources of the site to enable this site to be better.

The fact the links are affiliated are explicitly stated EVERY time.
Unlike virtually every other site that links to switching services (all the papers, aol etc) who have affiliated links and don't mention it.  I believe it is VERY important to do so.  

The affiliation in NO WAY adds to or impacts the person switching
The fact an affiliation is paid in NO way impacts the person doing it.  It's the same service and pricing either way.

With price comparisons, the unaffiliated link equivalent is always listed
Whereever there is an affiliated link there is also a note of the equivalent unaffiliated link
in case people feel they don't want to switch that way.  Again I challenge you to find any equivalent site doing anything even close to this

With that all said, i will answer your question, I can't tell you site for site as that is commerically confidential (there's not mine).   However i have absolutely nothing to hide - the links pay from £1 to £7 when someone actually switches and the sites themselves are paid.  It should of course be noted this is ONLY when the direct link is from this site, using the affiliate code and that is flagged up.  Anyone who goes direct to those sites on my recommendations elsewhere means no affiliation is paid.  

I hope that assuages your fears Lisa

markedgar

ive been following this thread for a bit and reading the site a while.  lisa are you the same one who wrote the note earlier about misleading headlines, must say its a bit rich to ask how mcuh is earnt.  not another one of those telecom plus distributors are you?

Why haven't you registered Paul?

Mark E

System

I find it interesting that people get fed up with Telecom Plus agents "ranting"....The company has the Cheapest gas and electricity in the Uk. They continually make this claim and having tested them against every supplier I have come across this is the case for my medium sized house usage.

Surely if they are not the cheapest the ASA and the Regulators would stop them making the Cheapest claim?

System

There's no animosity Martin - I think you are lovely but I also think you have a huge responsibility to get things right. Promoting a cashback incentive is pretty pointless when 90% of the time the two main participants are not showing or offering it on the cheapest tariffs. Instead of shifting people off their bottoms it only serves to confuse an already confused market place. At least when Simply Energy were doing the cashback they included the Atlantic tariff which was and remains consistently one of the cheapest suppliers (by the way thank you - I switched and got £30).

You encourage people to be cautious and check things out carefully and that is exactly what I'm doing. I want to feel confident that you are not screwing your audience for profit hence my question.

Lisa :-*

AND... please be nice to other MoneySavers. There's no such thing as a stupid question on here.

MSE_Martin

OK Lisa

I would never screw my audience over - hope we've resolved that.  Yes Simply Energy was a nice deal - but it was only short term.  My hope is cashback will be available in perpituity.   My other hope is bothe SOYB and EH will soon include Atlantic Direct and TP tariffs so you get the best of bost worlds.  As for misleading - i hope the article isn't so.  As I explained in a much earlier email - i do include both Staywarm and TP in the article - the only reason I didnt really break out Atlantic Direct (which i have suspicions according to industry rumours that the price may be rising soon, unfortunately as Im on that tariff too!)  was it wasnt as issue when I wrote.

However all in all - fair enough - i don't mind the questioning - it is the 'misleading' accusation that hurt.

martin

MSE_Martin

Simon,

TP does soemtimes have the cheapest G & E prices - but NOT always. It also charges an additional fee which means it is NOT cheapest everytime. As for the ASA they do not adjudicate over TP - as they told me when i made a complaint about TP (i wanted to clear up this - 'the ASA would stop it claim'). It says it's claims are not in its jurisdiction

Also please note the top of the page Simon - you are a TP distributor and that should be noted in this discussion. Also the 4 links to your own TP site you placed elsewhere on the site have been deleted. No offense is meant, but the site rules are spelled out clearly, referrals only in the referrals board. There are MANY TP distributors on this site - and it is only fair that people get to choose from whomever they want to go for via the referrals board.

Cheers

Martin

lisyloo

simon,

I am one of the people that doesn't like the continual claims of the TP distributors to be the cheapest.
The reason is that I don't believe this is the case and I belive the claim is false.
I have personally found servista to be cheaper (and so have other people on this board).

Please have a look at my comparion figures for MY comsuption (average house) for servista and TP plus.
If you can find a mistake then please let me know, but so far no-one has over the last 4 months.
The TP distributors just seem to go quiet wen I present my figures.

It is on this thread
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Utility;action=display;num=1065035890;start=43#43
at 24/12/2003 9:17
(sorry not sure how to post the exact link so you'll have to go by date but I'm sure people don't want to see the figures for a 3rd time).

Note that Servista quote prices VAT inclusive and TPlus quote prices VAT exclusive.

If you can find a mistake and tell me you can provide me with cheaper gas and electricity then I will be absolutely delighted but so far all the evidence is that TPlus claims about ALWAYS being the cheapest seem to be false.

There are also other members of this boards who have had letter from TPlus stating that they cannot provide them with a better deal. So Tplus have put in writing that they are not ALWAYS the cheapest (this is a standard letter which you should have access to as a distributor).

Because I believe the claims are false (and none of the distributors have so far done anything to contradict me) I am therefore dead against people repeated coming on these boards and making claims which are not true.

By the way - I have nothing against people making mobey out of providing a service, it's the repeated false claims that I've had a problem with.

I too, like Marting have run up against a brick wall trying to make an official complaint.

Regards
Lisa