Changing electricity suppliers.

[endymion]

I need some experiences here. I had a couple of earlier threads people may recall and you were all very helpful.

I am all electric as of necessity ( no mains gas and even on a septic tank here). I am using economy 7 and storage heaters. I have now sorted out the issue of massive electric usage . Turns out there was a duel problem - both a dicey meter ( now changed) and one of my storage heaters was lamping the electric ( now changed). My electric consumption has reduced radically.

So much for the pre amble. British Gas - thats my supplier are impossible to work out, are charging me probably more than all others now and added to that want to hike my direct debit to £180 a month even though they have no basis for it ( they had wanted to make it £240 a month and I made them accept £120 a month two months ago and now they want to put it up to £180 a month , just 55 days later).

The meter readings are showing I am using £154 a quarter now and my direct debit puts me £80 in credit at the moment ( despite this British Gas want to hike my debit).

They are charging me night rate 5.589 per kwh and the day rate ( which I am struggling to understand 16.013 - except they are not, they seem to be charging me every month 30.897 for the first 75 kw of electric before dropping to the lower rate and that is ridiculous quite honestly since my day usage never seems to get to the lower rate at atll.

I need a new supplier but I am a bit scared to change over. Who is good and hassle free in your experience and likely to charge me less and have easy to read bills? U switch suggest nearly everyone is cheaper than British Gas but suggest Scottish Power ( I am in the SW of England) for their first four options, then E On and even EDC ahead of British Gas.

I dont want paperless billing by the way. I can never read online bills, its a hassle to get to the site etc. and I just cant "see" them. Just me I suppose.

I would be grateful for experiences and details of making changes here. TIA for all help.

[The Wanderer]

That's almost certainly coz you're on an account with no quarterly charge. Pretty much all the suppliers have moved away from accounts with quarterly charges in favour of these split prices for day-rate units. Th'only good thing, if you rarely hit the lower rate units, you're not paying as much as if you were on an account that did still have quarterly charges.

[Andy Cap]

The simplest way I think, is to create a small spreadsheet with cells for annual day and night usage and then a further couples of cells for the day and night rates. Enter the formulas to work out an annual total, then divided by 12 to indicate what your monthly DD should be. If my supplier insists on something much greater than that, I would move, allowing a bit of leeway of course.

Then go to the various supplier sites and enter their rates. I think now is not a bad time as most have added the latest round of increases.

FWIW I found Southern's Customer service outstanding - a person answers the phone quite quickly. They also let you set the DD, even reduce it if that's what is predicted. Ebico CS is run by Southern too.

[endymion]

I have heard of Ebico before but it doesnt come up on any of the listings with comparisons ( ie u switch etc) although it seems looking at their site they could easily be cheaper. That said, how do I find out how much their higher day rate tariff is and for many Kwh? The dont seem to have a higher day rate but their day rate for economy 7 is more than in keeping with other companies ( as is the night rate.).

Otherwise I am looking at Scottish power which claims to save me over a 100 quid for the year and will cap their price until 2009 ( December)

[Bob Eager]

I'd echo that. Ebico also don't have an overt standing charge, or even a covert (more expensive for first so many units) either, so that might suit the OP.

[Bob Eager]

You have to select a 'social tariff' or some such. Uswitch like to hide it as it gets them no commission.

Seems pretty clear to me. Go to

click on the electricity tab. Click on your region on the map, and it gives the general rate, then a box with the high/low rates. The day rate is the same no matter how many units you use...

[Alan]

In message , endymion wrote

Are you sure that there isn't a cheaper BG package? BG change their deals on a regular basis but don't necessarily tell you as a customer.

The problem is that no two suppliers use the same method of calculating the charges. Some suppliers may have a very easy to understand chargeable regime but these are not necessarily the cheapest. If you pay by direct debit going to an ''ethical' supplier is usually a lot more expensive.

The ONLY way of establishing if one supplier is cheaper than another is to have an accurate record of your total consumption for the year and enter that in the comparison sites. For instance, for my usage I found British gas to be cheapest (dual fuel, direct debit, paper less billing etc.). If I entered a usage amount 20% above or below my actual usage then BG were no longer the cheapest. BG were still within £20/year for a lower consumption.

Don't believe all the figures on the comparison sites for the savings. I found I got a different overall price if I went to the energy suppliers own site

You will probably find that if you don't supply on-line meter readings on a monthly basis your new supplier will always overestimate your bill until you have the meter reader around for three or four years. in order to build up a usage history on which to base the monthly charges.

[Andy Cap]

That's what I'm doing with BG and my electricity. Then they absolutely have no excuse to make you save with them.

[Dave Liquorice]

That is beacuse they don't have one. The rate you see is the rate you pay for all units used. EBICO do not have either a daily standing charge or one hidden by hiking the price of the first X units used/qtr.

I'd be a little wary of a capped tarrif just at the moment. Oil prices have dropped dramatically, I don't know what the wholesale gas price has done but it's gone quiet so that may well have fallen as well. Check the small print to ensure that you also benefit from any price falls rather than just having a cap.

[Michael Chare]

Estimate your usage then use the the comparison websites to compare suppliers e.g..

google for 'compare electicity prices'

I moved to Scotish Power as for me they are the cheapest. I don't much like their monthly direct debits - but that was the cheapest solution. They accepted my estimated usage and direct debit payment. I get paper bills and refuse to accept electronic ones. (My house is heated by oil.)

Moving took 2-3 weeks (IIRC) and was hasle free, as I moved just after a price increase I rather think my old supplier had to bill me at the old rate until I moved.

[endymion]

Thank you for that . I was wondering. I like the look of ebico because they claim simple and straightforward billing. I am finding British Gas bills a nightmare to read since they altered it a few months ago. If I cannot read it I cannot work out if they are right or not.

They have just sent me a " quarterly " bill which is 55 days - how come? Is this because I refused to pay their debit of £240 when they had me running on an old meter that was misreading?

The new meter says I am not using anywhere near the electric I was using. £120 should cover it easily but they still want to hike it up to £180 ..... rather than argue with them I thought I would move suppliers. I dont feel like arguing. I have a credit on my bill of £80 at the moment ( on a read meter , not an estimate). I have had British Gas for electric for more than 10 years but they are now taking the proverbial.

[endymion]

I have tried most of the above sites - thanks for the link. They all seem to bring Scottish Power out on top. I have done it using my only accurate bill ) because the meter was changed and I only have one bill with a correct and not estimated reading on it).

I have extrapolated the figures from 55 days to a 90 day estimate , which is the best I can do.

The nearest British Gas come in is with an paperless billing option. I don't want that. All the rest say Scottish power - regardless of site , although their "savings" estimates vary from about 130 to 240 quid annually. Ebico claim they can save me about 120 quid on my given figures. I cant believe Scottish power can be cheaper when their tariff charges are about the same as Ebico ( and they make a higher rate day charge) . It doesn't quite fit so I don't see how the estimates have been made. They have all been given the same figures from me.

[Tim]

Google for Ebico. They use Southern Electric and although the company lied and was in breach of contract for raising prices when they kept stating they wouldn't - they have remained the cheapest by far. British Gas were amazed when I told them I was leaving because of a 180% increase in

18months, they couldn't understand me not wanting to pay more than other companies were charging.

Don't even touch British Gas. They are THE most expensive supplier around and only thik people stay with them and pay more by choice. You need to ask the cost per unit for payment by direct debit.

*DO NOT* enter a finance agreement to pay the bill over say 10months from a value they claim you will use. Pay by variable direct debit. All you need to do is ask each supplier how much per unit for electric on a tarrif that will also give economy 7, both day and night unit costs. Look at your old bill and see how many units you used in the day and night, then multiply that by the cost each supplier is advertising. You will soon see that some are double the price of others.

***AVOID BRITISH GAS*** they are the most expensive around. They even conned people in to paying an extra premium in return for not increasing their prices for a year - which was mad as those people DID pay more than the increases, but were cleverly fooled by BG and their sales people - and don't forget a sales person will lie to make money.

That is because they are a failing company, thousands leaving and they want as much money out of people as possible. Don't go near them.

That is why you need to move from BG immediately, you're being fleeced.

All you need to do is (not be scared!) contact your new chosen supplier and give them the details, they will need your details and a meter reading and an idea of which tariff you want to be on. Remind them of economy 7, a proper printed bill and Variable direct debit, none of this finance agreement stuff. They will contact BG and you should be changed over within a few months.

One word of warning! British Gas do not like losing customers and will constantly pester you by phone to stay. They did that to me and I had to report them to BT for nuisance phone calls, they also delayed the transfer to a new company so were reported for this and risked being fined. I filled in a complaint with OFGAS who sorted them out. Both the new company and OFGAS wrote to me and kept me fully updated. I got a final bill from British Gas after the complaint to OFGAS and then the new company wrote and told me they had taken over. British Gas have a standard practice it would appear of blocking transfers until a complaint is made. They even told me that I "couldn't transfer" unless I spoke to them on the phone so I refused and sent some complaints by email, then left it to OFGAS. They have a retentions department that will RECORD you and make every effort to lock you in to a new contract, so you either need to watch what you say or better still don't say anything.

I know what you mean, a proper bill on paper in your hand is best. I changed ISP and forgot to change some of the details once and it was so much trouble getting it sorted out.

Go for cheapest prices per unit, whichever method (monthly/quarterly) by variable direct debit is cheapest and that's it. NEVER buy any other products such as insurance cover from utility companies, it is not required and too expensive when compared with one off costs of any repairs.

If British Gas start being funny report them to OFGAS.

[Dave Liquorice]

It is simple and straight forward in theory. Use N units at X rate and get charged N * X. The actual billing can be confusing if you pay by Direct Debit. Southerns billing system (that EBICO use) can't cope with payments by direct debit that do not have a direct debit discount. EBICO do not do a DD discount or any other discount(s).

This means that the unit charge shown on the bill is above that quoted by EBICO so that the amount charged is higher *but* you then have the DD discount that Southerns billing system has to apply removed from that charge bringing everything correct.

[Steve]

Don't know about prices, but if you are changing its worth looking at places like quidco to get the cash back(instead of the comparison sites getting it)

Seems to be £62 for sp at the moment.

Steve

[David Hansen]

On Sun, 2 Nov 2008 13:57:38 -0000 someone who may be "endymion" wrote this:-

It may take a while to sort out, particularly if there is a dispute. There was supposed to be a better way of dealing with disputes agreed with government, but the big six companies have tried to avoid this.

I would deal with British Gas by letter, recorded delivery, in a curt but polite fashion. They will undoubtedly try and screw you for as long as possible and do everything they can to prevent you changing supplier. The dispute is a godsend for them, they will use this as much as possible. Don't let them walk all over you.

Personally I always pay bills on meter readings. The idea of allowing some company to take any amount of money they feel like, whenever they feel like, from my bank account has never appealed. To my way of thinking only fools or those with too much money allow this legalised form of theft. That is particularly so with utility companies, which seem to regard customers as people willing to make the company loans at a zero rate of interest.

If you don't owe British Gas anything at the moment, better if they owe you money, then now is the time to change to Ebico. Get hold of them and ask them to switch you to them. The whole process should be easy, but may not be due to the dispute. I wouldn't even bother to inform British Gas directly, they will find out in due course. I would send them a final meter reading on changeover day, the same reading as you send Ebico.

How you wish to run your new account is up to you, but I would just get Ebico to send a bill once a quarter and pay that.

[Michael Chare]

You can use your current meter reading in conjunction with the first actual meter reading on your bill which would perhaps give your a longer period to establish your usage.

Ebico look to be expensive to me at 16.65p/kWh day and 6.56p/kWh night

I am paying 10.92p/kWh day 5.26.56p/kWh + 15.12p per day connection charge with Scotish Power.

Any usage much above 3kWh per day at the day rate will cover the connection and work out cheaper.

[Simon Finnigan]

I`m also with Ebico because I find that while they are never the cheapest supplier, they are normally one of the cheaper options for me. To avoid the agravation of swapping constantly, and to keep the good service i`ve had from them in the past (like them answering telephones, calling me back when they promise to) I`d rather pay a little bit more. But how do people find them generally for economy - same as me, or are they really nice and cheap? :-)

[Simon Finnigan]

Why aerw you so keen on making a payment that varies over the course of a year? Some people find that having a fixed payment each month is better - you can budget more effectively. I have a fixed monthly DD that is set at a rate above what I need to pay at the moment, but I`d rather set the payment at a level I know and can afford and then get a rebate from my supplier than set it at a level according to last years use and find that things have changed.

Many people, especially when they can predict their use more accurately than I am able to do, set a fixed monthly payment such that they go into debt over winter, then end up in credit over summer, due to the varying use.

[Alan]

In message , Tim wrote

They are NOT the most expensive for some people. It depends on the energy usage and method of billing or payment. In my experience once you have gone done the dual fuel, direct debit, on-line meter readings and paper-less billing many of the main companies come out very close to each other.

And every company will quote in a different way. Often there isn't a single figure per unit. It depends on your overall consumption with light users being effectively charged more per unit.

Bad advice. I'm not a fan of BG but is it sensible to change when they could be the cheapest supplier.

Many companies are offering similar deals but with a premium for price capping. At least British Gas have deals where you can change without penalty if the price goes down.

Just print out your on-line bill and save yourself another £10 a year. The on-line bills are no different to the ones you get sent in the post.

Paperless billing has nothing what so ever to do with the ISP that you use. You will have a username and password with the energy suppler that is completely independent from your ISP.

Make sure that you get a bill with your new company. One complaint with some companies is that they don't provide a bill for a couple of years and the previous direct debits haven't covered the cost of previously used energy resulting in a demand for a large payment.