Energy Suppliers

IvanDobskey · 11 Jun 2018 at 12:35

First utility upping their tariffs lately. Considering switching to bulb. Will save me around £60 for the year, worth the effort?

It means my smets1 smart meters will no longer send the readings remotely though

chipperhead · 11 Jun 2018 at 12:40

IvanDobskey said:
First utility upping their tariffs lately. Considering switching to bulb. Will save me around £60 for the year, worth the effort?

It means my smets1 smart meters will no longer send the readings remotely though

I'm with bulb, if you decide to switch and are after a referral code (we both get £50), I can send you one

IvanDobskey · 11 Jun 2018 at 12:52

chipperhead said:
I'm with bulb, if you decide to switch and are after a referral code (we both get £50), I can send you one

Excellent, cheers

Is it easy to use? Can I apply it with uSwitch?

chipperhead · 11 Jun 2018 at 12:55

IvanDobskey said:
Excellent, cheers

Is it easy to use? Can I apply it with uSwitch?

I'm not sure I've never done one before.
I'll trust you it over and you can see if it's any use.
Thanks IvanDobskey

Kaka · 11 Jun 2018 at 12:58

Due to savings elsewhere, I'll probably be moving away from First Utility as well as my fixed tariff is ending next month. I've not had any issues with them though.

Just a shame there isn't many suppliers who accept payment on receipt of bill, as that's normally my preferred method.

chipperhead · 11 Jun 2018 at 12:59

chipperhead said:
I'm not sure I've never done one before.
I'll trust you it over and you can see if it's any use.
Thanks IvanDobskey

I think you just click the link and it takes you straight to bulb, no need to enter a code so don't think you can use with uSwitch.

IvanDobskey · 11 Jun 2018 at 13:00

chipperhead said:
I'm not sure I've never done one before.
I'll trust you it over and you can see if it's any use.
Thanks IvanDobskey

You're a star, cheers

Will see if I can use it.

Do bulb not do a 12 month fixed tariff? So it can change at any time?

topgun06 · 11 Jun 2018 at 15:30

IvanDobskey said:
Do bulb not do a 12 month fixed tariff? So it can change at any time?

They do one tariff and it is variable. But, you can leave at any time without penalty.

SMN · 11 Jun 2018 at 16:16

Moved over to Octopus last month, managed to get a referral from someone random I found on their Facebook page (so saved £50) and then referred a family member (so another £50). Have a nosy, very similar to bulb - they just edged out for me but i cant say specifically why. (Again if anyone wants a referral for the £50 free give me a trust).

IvanDobskey · 11 Jun 2018 at 16:29

topgun06 said:
They do one tariff and it is variable. But, you can leave at any time without penalty.

Thought that seemed to be the case.

I do prefer to have a fixed 12 month tariff.

I can see prices going up. But then I guess it catches up with you in 12 months time....

b0rn2sk8 · 11 Jun 2018 at 17:46

Just got the expected email from Bulb, prices are going up on 12th Aug.

New prices for me in the east are:
Elec: 24.56p SC 12.60p/KW (+0.03p)
Gas: 24.56p SC, 2.85p/kw (+0.15p)

Factor that into any choices you make. I think I will hang on until Quidco pays out and then switch again.

rn123 · 12 Jun 2018 at 11:06

b0rn2sk8 said:
Just got the expected email from Bulb, prices are going up on 12th Aug.

New prices for me in the east are:
Elec: 24.56p SC 12.60p/KW (+0.03p)
Gas: 24.56p SC, 2.85p/kw (+0.15p)

Factor that into any choices you make. I think I will hang on until Quidco pays out and then switch again.

Its the one thing that stopped me switching to them - I like price certainty for a while so will always look for fixed if its competitive, and they dont offer it.

Magic_x_uk · 13 Jun 2018 at 18:12

thinking of finally getting my back side in gear and looking at sorting out suppliers.

Presently Eon for Electric and B Gas for Gas.

I do not know nor think that I am on any special tariffs as never sorted these out before. Will I get all the information i need from logging into my accounts?

Then.................Who and what do I look at to find out some better deals etc.

Thank you

Oxide™ · 14 Jun 2018 at 08:44

Oxide™ said:
Thanks for the info

Yeah £30 seems high, was hoping for around half that in summer - I'll check again next statement to be sure as I've definitely turned off the central heating and preheating water function on the thermostat this month

FYI my tariff details are:
Electricity = 10.54 p/kWh inc 5% VAT
Gas = 3.21 p/kWh inc 5% VAT
Membership = £6.99 per month

Just checked my energy statement this month and Gas has cost me £12 - much more like it! Least my meter isn't faulty

Thaifood · 19 Jun 2018 at 22:27

Been using flow. No complaints. And when you actually do have to get hold of them the longest I have waited is 3 minutes while on eon it was 27 minutes

Puzzled · 23 Jun 2018 at 13:44

That time of year again, looking to change from Sainsburys Energy and surprised to see all the TCR figures seem to be missing now. Reading online Ofgem removed the need for suppliers to show them.

Having a bit of a nightmare getting an accurate comparison as all the sites give you a projected figure based on your existing tariff switching to a temporary tariff at the end, even if you put that you are on a fixed price to say March 2019 you still have 3 months on a temporary tariff skewing the annual price and inflating the estimated savings.

Anyway, going by usage figures it looks like Avro energy comes out the cheapest and reviews seem pretty good. Usually stick to the big suppliers but can't see anything bad about them really.

jpaul · 23 Jun 2018 at 14:28

MonkeyMan said:
Having a bit of a nightmare getting an accurate comparison as all the sites give you a projected figure based on your existing tariff switching to a temporary tariff at the end, even if you put that you are on a fixed price to say March 2019 you still have 3 months on a temporary tariff skewing the annual price and inflating the estimated savings.

agree - bunch of idiots who 'design' these sites .. so had to use excel ...
plus lack of historic data, for the likes of bulb, also prevents seeing whether you would have been better off than company you had been using. ...
just switched to bulb, from npower

b0rn2sk8 · 23 Jun 2018 at 15:03

It's irrelevant what the 'savings' are, that's just marketing rubbish. All that matters is the cost going forward.

I just track all my meter readings on an excel so I can reconcile the billing, I have little trust in energy suppliers to get it right. Far too many horror stories.

bremen1874 · 23 Jun 2018 at 16:03

MonkeyMan said:
Having a bit of a nightmare getting an accurate comparison as all the sites give you a projected figure based on your existing tariff switching to a temporary tariff at the end, even if you put that you are on a fixed price to say March 2019 you still have 3 months on a temporary tariff skewing the annual price and inflating the estimated savings.

I believe the personal projection calculation method was designed by OFGEM and forced on the comparison sites.

It is completely useless. I last changed my tariff back in April and the sites are already telling me I can save by switching. In reality all of the current tariffs would cost me more.

Puzzled · 23 Jun 2018 at 16:53

b0rn2sk8 said:
It's irrelevant what the 'savings' are, that's just marketing rubbish. All that matters is the cost going forward.

I just track all my meter readings on an excel so I can reconcile the billing, I have little trust in energy suppliers to get it right. Far too many horror stories.

While I agree its the cost going forward that matters I wouldn't say the savings figure is irrelevant as some of the comparison sites will only show the savings rather than the monthly cost (unless you go digging).

I'm just a bit annoyed at how the whole process is purposefully convoluted for no reason other than to catch people out. It may not affect those who look at things thoroughly but it is easy to see why so many (especially the vulnerable) end up paying more for a life essential service than they really should be.