Look after my bills (1 Viewer)

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Anyone given this a go? An automated comparison website where you are switched to cheaper energy tariffs.

 

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[shmmeee]

I was looking at that, there’s a few. They all seem to work with a different pool of companies. I was wondering with gas and electric do you need to keep giving meter readings so it knows or does it go off estimated usage?

I’d love a law that said companies had to open up to these services. Then you’d see the much heralded “competitive market” maybe.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

I was looking at that, there’s a few. They all seem to work with a different pool of companies. I was wondering with gas and electric do you need to keep giving meter readings so it knows or does it go off estimated usage?

I’d love a law that said companies had to open up to these services. Then you’d see the much heralded “competitive market” maybe.

They were on Dragons’ Den a while ago. Apparently they take equal commission from all the companies. I’m on a smart meter with British Gas right now but know I’m being charged a small fortune

 

[shmmeee]

Let us know how you get on if you go for it. Did look good when I was looking. But as I’m about to move I stuck it in the “sort after the move” pile.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Let us know how you get on if you go for it. Did look good when I was looking. But as I’m about to move I stuck it in the “sort after the move” pile.

Not giving us a quote as we're on a fixed tariff until October.

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

Done in for 3 years really good model

 

[stay_up_skyblues]

Not entirely related but we’ve switched from BG to Octopus energy this week and it’s gone down £40 odd a month. Granted this is based on an estimate but we do feel BG have been taking the piss. So we will see.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Not entirely related but we’ve switched from BG to Octopus energy this week and it’s gone down £40 odd a month. Granted this is based on an estimate but we do feel BG have been taking the piss. So we will see.

Let me know how you find them. Just seemed like BG were plucking numbers out of the air.

 

[stay_up_skyblues]

Let me know how you find them. Just seemed like BG were plucking numbers out of the air.

Literally how we felt. They recommended £120 a month when we moved in. Then said we owed them £700 so it went up to £160. Then said the debt hasn’t shifted and now we’re paying £270. Cannot be right, ours is a semi with 3 beds, albeit I work from home so extra leccy. And the kids maul the energy for Xbox/IPad etc. But £270 looked outrageous. Hence the change. Will let you know mate.

 

[Ian1779]

Not entirely related but we’ve switched from BG to Octopus energy this week and it’s gone down £40 odd a month. Granted this is based on an estimate but we do feel BG have been taking the piss. So we will see.

We moved from BG to Shell Energy and dropped a similar amount. 100% renewable as well. There are loads of smaller companies coming through now offering good service and excellent pricing.

 

[Deleted member 4439]

After rubbish experience with the majors over the years I've been with two different indie's over the last 5 years, being now into my third year with Octopus. There have been issues with indies in recent years of course but I've just gone with Which's top recommendations. The proof of these things is in how they deal with any major complications, which I haven't had; but I have found on that on the couple of occasions that I needed to contact their customer services I got through to speak to someone straight away and received an efficient and effective response. Unless a major's offer is significantly cheaper, I couldn't be persuaded to go back - I'd rather pay an average price and avoid the pain.

 

[Si80]

I was looking at that, there’s a few. They all seem to work with a different pool of companies. I was wondering with gas and electric do you need to keep giving meter readings so it knows or does it go off estimated usage?

I’d love a law that said companies had to open up to these services. Then you’d see the much heralded “competitive market” maybe.

It already is a competitive market. The only utility that isn’t is water at household level (it is at non-household). The margins in water are ridiculously small though on non-household so I don’t think it’ll come to the household sector personally.

 

[skybluesam66]

We are 4 adults using lots of elec and gas albeit a modern home and its only 100 a month. I use avro energy currently

 

[thekidfromstrettoncamp]

We are 4 adults using lots of elec and gas albeit a modern home and its only 100 a month. I use avro energy currently

Use Avro myself local company very compeditive if they bring out a new cheaper tariff e mail them and they will switch to it.Only drawback is first month upfront someone cashstrapped will have a problem.The which situation with Octopus if you want a recommendation from them you only have to play them £10 told that by someone who sporke to them about a company they recommended.

 

[shmmeee]

It already is a competitive market. The only utility that isn’t is water at household level (it is at non-household). The margins in water are ridiculously small though on non-household so I don’t think it’ll come to the household sector personally.

I mean it’s clearly not as shown in this thread with BG getting away with murder. Most people don’t switch and let’s be honest everyone’s selling the exact same product so hardly a normal competitive market even if everyone was switching. Which is why it should be nationalised but that’s another thread.

The idea of markets in the normal sense in utilities makes no sense at all. No one is moving to Octopus because their electricity works better.

 

[Sky_Blue_Dreamer]

Literally how we felt. They recommended £120 a month when we moved in. Then said we owed them £700 so it went up to £160. Then said the debt hasn’t shifted and now we’re paying £270. Cannot be right, ours is a semi with 3 beds, albeit I work from home so extra leccy. And the kids maul the energy for Xbox/IPad etc. But £270 looked outrageous. Hence the change. Will let you know mate.

Many years ago my nan had a DD with one of the suppliers which more than covered her usage but the supplier kept on saying the payment needed to increase and just increased it regardless. My nan ended up being hundreds of pounds in the black on her account so we informed them we were cancelling the DD and set up a SO instead so we controlled the payment level. Company ended up sending her a letter demanding about £500 in back payments even though her actual account would probably have covered the next two bills. Obv this had a really bad effect on her thinking she was going to be cut off and she was in debt even though she wasn't.

Cancelled the account and threatened them with legal action for the unnecessary suffering they'd caused my nan. So they lost a customer and had to give my nan all the money in the account back. After that we just went with quarterly bills and my mum (who worked in a bank) set up a regular payment each month and then pay any difference if there was any when the bill came through..

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Many years ago my nan had a DD with one of the suppliers which more than covered her usage but the supplier kept on saying the payment needed to increase and just increased it regardless. My nan ended up being hundreds of pounds in the black on her account so we informed them we were cancelling the DD and set up a SO instead so we controlled the payment level. Company ended up sending her a letter demanding about £500 in back payments even though her actual account would probably have covered the next two bills. Obv this had a really bad effect on her thinking she was going to be cut off and she was in debt even though she wasn't.

Cancelled the account and threatened them with legal action for the unnecessary suffering they'd caused my nan. So they lost a customer and had to give my nan all the money in the account back. After that we just went with quarterly bills and my mum (who worked in a bank) set up a regular payment each month and then pay any difference if there was any when the bill came through..

That's horrendous, good you could sort it. We changed to a DD just so we wouldn't keep getting random requests for large sums of money, sometimes twice in the space of a month.

 

[xcraigx]

I've just had a bill from EDF. £527 in credit and they are lowering my monthly direct debits to use it up. Only problem is the original direct debit is too high despite my telling them and the new amount is around what I usually use so the credit is never going to be used up. To be fair if I ring up I will be able to get them to refund me but it's a needless hassle. They know what I use, they know what I pay so I shouldn't have to chase it up, it should be an automatic refund. As soon as i do claim that refund the direct debit amount will no doubt go straight back up again and 6 months later I'll be in the same situation.

 

[Deleted member 4439]

I've just had a bill from EDF. £527 in credit and they are lowering my monthly direct debits to use it up. Only problem is the original direct debit is too high despite my telling them and the new amount is around what I usually use so the credit is never going to be used up. To be fair if I ring up I will be able to get them to refund me but it's a needless hassle. They know what I use, they know what I pay so I shouldn't have to chase it up, it should be an automatic refund. As soon as i do claim that refund the direct debit amount will no doubt go straight back up again and 6 months later I'll be in the same situation.

Just to mention, the two indies I've been with have allowed you to use an online portal to set any size of DD you want so long as you're not in debit, and they'll only automatically raise the DD after a certain level of indebtedness. Once you are square you're left to set your own level of DD again.