Comparison sites - not entire market

TickersPlaysPop · 9 August 2018 at 10:05PM

Finding the cheapest supplier is not quick. Each comparison site I have tried found a different supplier.

MoneySavingEnergy Club
TheEnergyShop
SwitchGasandElectic.com

They are all OfGem approved, so why are they finding different suppliers as my cheapest? Not that I always go with the cheapest.

Now, there are 11 accredited OfGem comparison sites, do I really have to go though each one? Then write down the rates into a spread sheet, then check companies house, then check this forum for feedback, then check trust pilot.... by which time the deal might not be available any more?!

Is this really a step fwd in the free market of energy supply?

Also, I found errors... stating variable when it is fixed... and also calculation errors on yearly cost... and errors on unit prices. So can we trust the comparison sites?

Oh and one of the suggested cheap ones is PowerShop... a subsidiary of NPower who I said I'd never go near again.

Neil_Jones · 9 August 2018 at 10:31PM

What do you need to check Companies House for?
It's been proved at least twice now that if an energy company goes belly up you will not lose supply, you will not lose your credit and there's a 50/50 chance you keep your old tariff. If the company goes under its Ofgem's problem, not yours (not directly anyway). And some companies are unique to some comparison sites and a lot of them now anyway tend to filter out those that don't pay the site a commission bonus.

That aside, some energy sites don't calculate the savings using the previous year's spend, ie they'll just do it the Ofgem way, which is widely misleading and exaggerates the saving or generates one that doesn't actually exist.

re: feedback, well we've already said if you take all the feedback from TrustPilot and web forums like this nobody would ever do any business with any company ever again and so there would be no need to switch utilities.

And its documented Powershop's model is different from the rest of the pack, same goes for Outfox as well. They work for some people, if you've had a major bust up with NPower that's tragic but subsidiary companies are typically run by an entirely different team from their owner that may result in a better experience.

TickersPlaysPop · 10 August 2018 at 6:45AM

Thank you Neil.

I'll respond quickly to each point, so pls excuse if it comes across abrupt.

Companies house reveals Avro is directed by a 24 yr old law graduate. It also show how old, big each company is and how many other companies the directors are involved in.

Protection via OfGem is not a huge comfort, they wont jump autonomously to fight my case in the event of a company folding. Ensuring all account info is correct would be down to me to prove, that is not a minor job and also without without stress to ensure I wont be out of pocket.

Errors on comparison sites were not limited to savings calculations. The raw data was wrong, with unit prices and deal details wrong.

Is it OfGem that think it is ok for some companies to limit what compariosn sites they appear on? With 11 accredited comparison sites it is ridiculous, the car insurance market is not so onerous on the customer. Surely accreditied sites should use consistent calculations, and be held legally to the prices they display? Is it not mis-selling, or illegal advertising? I have a screen shot if that helps?

Feedback... now... i have used the internet for review sites since they began... i have a wise experienced approach... i believe it is prudent to see if there are any out of trend or extreme examples. NPower a few years back was one... Iresa is recent. OfGem also publish data on companies, mainly the big 6 which is not helpful, they should do more... but it highlighted objectively the failings of NPower 5 years ago.

On principle i would never knowingly do any business with NPower. That is a proper free market working, a transparent free market... where competition works and there is no underhanded smoke and mirrors to hide who you are.

t0rt0ise · 10 August 2018 at 7:12AM

Try the citizens advice one. It has all companies there.

https://energycompare.citizensadvice.org.uk/

Mister_G · 10 August 2018 at 11:13AM

t0rt0ise wrote: »

Try the citizens advice one. It has all companies there.

https://energycompare.citizensadvice.org.uk/

Yes, I'll second that. Many of the others do not have all the companies on them.

Being an ex Iresa/now Octopus customer, I'm shopping around for a better deal and the Citizens Advice one is by far the most comprehensive.

lewisa · 10 August 2018 at 12:03PM

TickersPlaysPop wrote: »

Also, I found errors... stating variable when it is fixed... and also calculation errors on yearly cost... and errors on unit prices.

No no no those aren't 'errors'.

It's called 'marketing'.

molerat · 10 August 2018 at 1:15PM

TickersPlaysPop wrote: »

Is this really a step fwd in the free market of energy supply?

According to OFGEM it is

TickersPlaysPop wrote: »

Also, I found errors... stating variable when it is fixed... and also calculation errors on yearly cost... and errors on unit prices. So can we trust the comparison sites?

I can't say I have noticed that on any of the several I use, maybe a small amount due to the rounding of the 4 decimal places some suppliers use.

TickersPlaysPop wrote: »

Oh and one of the suggested cheap ones is PowerShop... a subsidiary of NPower who I said I'd never go near again.

Is that really relevant, there are quite a few out there who are subsidiaries of a larger parent who many would not like.

Comparison sites - not entire market

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