Switch or stay?

egyptiancotton
egyptiancotton Posts: 516
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edited 27 July 2018 at 1:15PM in Energy
Looking for some advice on switching suppliers. I've been with npower for a while and changed to their standard tariff after my fixed tariff ended, but I've been stuck on their standard tariff for a while because there was a massive balls-up with my electricity meter details on the national database; I was listed as having a prepayment meter instead of a credit meter. The issue has recently been resolved and I'm now looking to switch.

My DD is set to £60 a month because of the standard tariff but npower has a fixed deal which I might consider and it saves me the hassle of switching:
  • Broker Exclusive Fix August 2019
  • Fixed until 31 Aug 2019
  • £60 exit fee
  • £30 a month
Or there's tarfifs from other suppliers:

Ebico (no recent reviews and older reviews aren't encouraging)
  • Zero Green Fixed
  • No exit fee
  • Fixed for 12 months
  • £28 a month
Avro (customer service has apparently slipped)
  • Simple and Glory
  • Fixed for 12 months
  • No exit fee
  • £30 a month
Green Network (no recent reviews and older reviews are somewhat encouraging)
  • GNE 12 Month Tracker
  • Variable
  • No exit fee
  • £31 a month
Tonik (customer service has apparently slipped)
  • 2 Year Renewable Fix
  • Fixed for 24 months
  • No exit fee
  • £31 a month
Bristol Energy
  • Bristol Energy Fixed to July 2019 Issue 9 Paperless billing
  • Fixed until 31 Jul 2019
  • No exit fee
  • £32 a month
Bulb (great customer service but tariff is most expensive)
  • Vari-Fair
  • Variable
  • No exit fee
  • £34 a month
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Comments

  • JJ_Egan
    JJ_Egan Posts: 20,281
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    Those tariffs are only showing estimated monthly DD .
    I would be looking at actual unit costs .
    My inclination at present would be for two year fixes .
  • JJ_Egan wrote: »
    Those tariffs are only showing estimated monthly DD .
    I would be looking at actual unit costs .
    My inclination at present would be for two year fixes .

    I input my usage into the comparison tool and it showed the above tariffs. I thought using the usage figures would be accurate enough?
  • isotonic_uk
    isotonic_uk Posts: 350
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    lloydyyy wrote: »
    I input my usage into the comparison tool and it showed the above tariffs. I thought using the usage figures would be accurate enough?

    Did you fill in your usage or how much you pay a month? If so then it should be ok.
  • isotonic_uk
    isotonic_uk Posts: 350
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    lloydyyy wrote: »
    Looking for some advice on switching suppliers. I've been with npower for a while and changed to their standard tariff after my fixed tariff ended, but I've been stuck on their standard tariff for a while because there was a massive balls-up with my electricity meter details on the national database; I was listed as having a prepayment meter instead of a credit meter. The issue has recently been resolved and I'm now looking to switch.

    My DD is set to £60 a month because of the standard tariff but npower has a fixed deal which I might consider and it saves me the hassle of switching:


    Avro (customer service has apparently slipped)
    • Simple and Glory
    • Fixed for 12 months
    • No exit fee
    • £30 a month

    I just done a transfer from First Utility to Avro. At the end of the day its cheaper and its not like anyones going to cut you off. Its just who you pay the bill too.

    Looking at Avro's reviews on TrustPilot I am quite confident they should deliver but we'll see. Tbh I dont trust any of them but at the end of the day whoever can do it the cheapest wins for me.

    Slightly gutted that there isnt a phone app to record my readings but I can just login to the website and do it that way. i have to say the app was handy but then at the same time there is a premium for these small benefits. So you got to decide what your happy to go with.

    Use review centre and trustpilot to look at the reviews of the all the companies your looking at, that will assist you in your decision making.

    Thanks
  • Outfox The Market came out the cheapest at £24 a month, but their website doesn't fill me with confidence and their reviews seems sketchy, otherwise I would've gone with them.
  • worried_jim
    worried_jim Posts: 11,631
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    lloydyyy wrote: »
    Outfox The Market came out the cheapest at £24 a month, but their website doesn't fill me with confidence and their reviews seems sketchy, otherwise I would've gone with them.

    Joined them in June. No issues.
  • egyptiancotton
    egyptiancotton Posts: 516
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    edited 28 July 2018 at 8:10PM
    Joined them in June. No issues.


    I think their prices are due go up within the next few days. I might hang fire and see what my estimated monthly price will be after the prices are increased.


    Edit: Saying that, if the increase is 6.5% then that should only increase my DD from about £24 to about £25.50.
  • egyptiancotton
    egyptiancotton Posts: 516
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    edited 29 July 2018 at 7:43PM
    I've just realised I've made a massive balls-up with my figures; I didn't convert the gas units to kWh :rotfl: I thought the comparison prices seemed too cheap! School boy error :T

    I have my gas meter readings dating back to 2015, so I can take an actual usage figure over the past 12 months or use npower's estimated annual usage for 12 months. Which would be better to use? I think Outfox The Market still comes out as the cheapest - do they base their membership fees on the electricity usage or both fuels?
  • egyptiancotton
    egyptiancotton Posts: 516
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    edited 30 July 2018 at 8:51PM
    Running some calculations on my figures. npower's annual estimates (July 2017 - July 2018) for gas and electric are 8000kWh and 1420kWh, respectively.


    However, my figures for July 2017 - July 2018 (based on actual meter readings) vary some more:


    22nd July 2017 - 28th July 2018
    Gas - 9390 kWh
    Electricity - 1400 kWh


    22nd July 2017 - 5th July 2018
    Gas - 8570 kWh
    Electricity - 1400 kWh


    I'm not sure which figures to use. They vary a bit but obviously I want to be as accurate as possible.
  • jcontest
    jcontest Posts: 222
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    9390 / 371 days = 25.31 kWh/Day *365 = 9,238 (+/-2)
    8570 / 248 days = 24.63 kWh/Day *365 = 8,990 (+/-2)
    (9,238+8,990)/2 = 9,114 kWh
    -Or-
    22 July 17 - 5 July 18 - 8570 kWh
    5 July 18 - 28 July 18
    820 kWh / 23 days = 35.65 kWh/Day
    Assume.
    5 July 18 - 22 July 18
    17 days * 35.65 kWh/day = 606 kWh

    22 July 17 - 22 July 18
    8570 kWh + 606 kWh = 9,176 kWh


    So I would say somewhere between 9,114 and 9,176.
    I honestly doubt the results on any of the quotes will be different :P.
    I would go with 9,176. Must be bored to be up this late doing this.....
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