Energy Suppliers

bloodiedathame said:
I've been with Tonik for a few years and there's been no catch. I'm dubious of Bulb though, they've had a huge increase in customers recently, wonder if the model they're on is sustainable or if they'll start upping prices once they hit a customer threshold.
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Bulb does things differently than a lot of the providers and buys their energy 3 months in advance. They are just about to increase prices for the second time this year at the begining of August. Although the price increases are not as big as the big six they do mount up over time and this one was the final nail in the coffin for me so I moved to Utility point on a 1 year fixed deal. I never had any problems with Bulb though, it was just down to the price increases that I moved.
 
The recent bulb price increase bumped me up by 9p per month! I can probably cover that.

Being able to refer friends and acquaintances for sign up/referral bonuses for both parties helps bring the cost down too.
 
I signed me and colleague up to bulb 2 months ago, wish I knew about the referals, it expected almost a £400 saving a year for him! We will see in time.
 
Iresa gone bust today. I'm one of the 100,000 remaining customers and am about £250 in credit by the looks of it.
Advice is to sit tight and await the appointed new supplier to contact us. DD went out last week and unable to log in to check balance any more.
 
ron3003 said:
Iresa gone bust today. I'm one of the 100,000 remaining customers and am about £250 in credit by the looks of it.
Advice is to sit tight and await the appointed new supplier to contact us. DD went out last week and unable to log in to check balance any more.
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Damn. Are you still receiving gas and electric?
 
dl8860 said:
Damn. Are you still receiving gas and electric?
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I'm electric only, Iresa are only resellers, actual supply network is maintained by Western Power in this area. Same as if you have internet via a reseller like Vodafone, PlusNet or whoever else, the infrastructure is handled by BT (Openreach).
Nobody's being cut off over this, a new supplier will be appointed by Ofgem. There's a contingency fund to reimburse in credit users of any supplier that fails and you'll be free to either accept the newly appointed suppliers terms or switch away in the normal manner.
 
dl8860 said:
Damn. Are you still receiving gas and electric?
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Is that a serious question. You do know even if you stopped paying you still receive until someone physically comes to your house and disconnects you.
Interesting fact, water companies can't disconnect you without a court order.
 
... If anyone is with iresa I've just managed to log on to my account and download my latest bills as it wasn't working earlier in the day. Readings logged and saved. Just need to wait and see about who I'm going to next...

FluffySheep
 
Just moved house and need a new energy supplier. Was on Ovo at old house, we were able to submit meter readings online monthly etc.

Bulb seems to be fairly popular here recently. Can we do the same with them?
 
Iresa credit is worse than I thought, managed to login and supply readings yesterday and upon checking today my account has been updated to show I'm now £300 in credit :eek:
 
So will the credit be carried over to the new supplier?

It's one of the main reasons why I prefer to pay for actual usage and in arrears rather than upfront. I find that it is a bit more flexible this way.
 
It was when GBEnergy went bust and the Co-Op took over the accounts. They even honoured everyones deals that they were on until the end of the contracts. At the end of the day everyone should be protected, just don't cancel your direct debits as it could confuse things later on.
 
Was considering Bulb, but in the end went with the Easy Online Exclusive Aug19 v3 tariff with EDF via the MSE Cheap Energy Club (pays back £25 cashback after 3 months).

Bulb suggested tariff on their website was this:

Vari-Fair - Electric / 24.56p per day / 13.350p per kWh
Vari-Fair - Gas / 24.56p per day / 3.332p per kWh

EDF one I am going to is this:

Easy Online Exclusive Aug19v3 - Electric / 18.90p per day / 13.850p per kWh
Easy Online Exclusive Aug19v3 - Gas / 18.90p per day / 3.206p per kWh

So unit prices aren't too different, and there is a lower standing charge. The EDF one is fixed for 12 months too, where the Bulb one is variable, and Energy is not getting cheaper over recent years. EDF does have exit fees but I am not intending to leave within 12 months so that's fine.

I am on the lower end of the usage spectrum as my average monthly cost is usually £50-£60, although it's creeping up as energy is becoming more expensive.
 
jpaul said:
that's a good deal - could you get any cheaper with them with a smart meter ?
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I actually have a smart meter (not my choice it was added when the house was built). Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your viewpoint, it seems to be a victim of the generation of smart meters that don't work between different providers and fall back into dumb meter mode. They may have fixed that now, not sure, but last time I checked the SMETS1 meters weren't cross provider compatible.

I'd probably rather have a dumb meter than a smart one, especially as it can't tap into my internet and instead requires it's own mobile network signal to operate. Tad annoying as my router is a few feet away from the smart meter as it's installed indoors in a utility cupboard.
 
I'm dues to change I believe. Currently on British gas fixed until July 2018 tariff and they emailed ages ago saying it would end on the 31st and roll me in to the standard one. I assume now is the time to change?

I've had no problems with British gas but if there's better deals out there is be silly not to switch I guess? Are there any downsides to switching? Hidden fees etc? I guess not as I'm technically out of contract?

If I use a site like Uswitch, I assume they handle everything.

Only thing is I use the British gas homecare which I think sucks but I like having something like that in place. If I leave British gas that may cost more or go completely
 
You should be able to switch in the last 4-6 weeks without penalty (check your T&C's but I have never hit a standard tariff in years). It takes 2-4 weeks.

Don't switch with Uswitch, they are fine to get an idea of prices but there are usually Quidco cashback or referral codes which get you some money back (often £50+). If you use uswitch then they get the cash and they don't actually do anything except pass your details to the supplier, there is essentially no difference when you engage the supplier yourself.

The rules mean you don't need to notify your current supplier, you just engage a new one and the two suppliers deal with it between them. You just need to take a meter reading when your new supplier tells you to.

There shouldn't be any link between your homecare and your energy supply, the former is essentially an insurance product but you may get a discount if you have both off the homecare but it shouldn't stop entirely, anyone can get it BG customer or not. You will need to check that with homecare but I doubt one will effect the other greatly.

Energy tariffs are very regulated and they can only have a few and all charges must be clear and upfront, there should be nothing hidden. Always base your caparison on your actual usage over the last year. Most on here (me included) advocate for setting up a quick excel to compare rather than relying on a comparison site as there are extras that are often not taken into account like Quidco and if using a comparison site make sure you tick the box that says 'show me the whole market' on a comparison site and not just the ones they can refer you to.
 
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