Meter maids.

Energy prices are going up - possibly they want as early a reading as possible to get all your Christmas consumption charged at a new higher rate?

Owain

Never was the case for mechanical meters. I worked on a meter reading project for GEC around 1990, which read the existing mechanical meters. Their design life was 40 years, and they often got refurbed/recalibrated and used for even longer.

Something that delayed the introduction of electronic meters was that the industry was insisting on the same 40 year design life, and that simply wasn't possible for an electronic meter (there was no electronic display technolgy at the time which could get anywhere near 40 year lifetime).

If I've read the paperwork correctly (Flipper set up this deal for me) I'm on a fixed rate for a year. And not even 3 months into it.

Obviously, I want the monthly payment calculated as accurately as possible, and expect that to be trimmed when they get the second readings after changing to them - the first being at changeover time.

Being retired, my gas consumption isn't influenced by public holidays, etc. It may even be lower at Xmas since I've got a housefull. ;-)

Flipper is 25 quid a year! I am surprised that anyone pays when others pay you for using them. The very best deals can only be found by doing your own research.

This is the top recommendation story from their website, seems they rely on those too lazy to look and switch ...

"In a bid to bring down sky-high bills while expending minimal effort he joined Flipper after hearing about it on the radio. Since joining three months ago he has been ?flipped? from London Electricity and British Gas to a dual- fuel deal with Eon. This has chopped his bill in half, cutting £400 a month from a typical monthly bill of nearly £800."

His house may have 2x the bedrooms of mine, but his original bill was

But only if they save you at least 50 quid a year. So would do no harm to check.

They also check you're on the best deal 4 times a year once you've joined them.

Really? Maybe if you can research as well as a pro. Not everyone can - or can be bothered. If you use the comparison sites, they get a hidden commission if you change. Flipper can negotiate a better deal for you by not taking that commission.

If you are confident you've found the best possible deal yourself, would be interesting to see what Flipper said. They won't charge a penny if they can't save you at least 50 quid a year. But I do realise some may be wary about giving them their details.

I found that all the sites use confusing tactics to calculate your bill for the next year. The only way to compare different tariffs is to put in figures that actually apply to your usage. I use 12000kwh gas, and

There are some slightly cheaper gas deals around, but then the electric is vastly more.

There is no way I would give my credit card details to a site like that, and especially not to someone called Talal Fathallah in any circumstances.

I'm on a fixed eon tariff until March that is no longer available, the cheapest alternative I can see out there at the moment is £43/year more than I'm paying. Unfortunately eon haven't played the customer-grabbing game for a while, so sticking with them would likely cost about £200/year extra, for that much I'd reluctantly lose the smart meter functionality.

Presumably against the EnergyCo's Ts&Cs anyway, but no I wouldn't like that.

MSE check more frequently than that and you get cash back if you switch on most tariffs. They also tell you about cheaper tariffs that they can't switch you on and hence get nothing. And they negotiate big switches where they persuade a supplier to offer a good deal when you switch, although they failed to get any good fixed term deals last month as a result of falling pounds and rising costs.

Sainsburys was cheapest last time even though its really BG.

For second year and onwards, what do they base the savings against?

I didn't give them credit card details.

Up to you if you continue with them. Of course if you don't - and don't take over what they do for you youself, I've no doubt the deal you're on will cease to be the best value.

That is now a requirement to register on the site.

Ok. However if you're worried about giving them your credit card details, they're definitely not for you. They can only do what they offer to do for you if you trust them. You have to give them your login details for your existing suppliers. And your bank details so they can set up your monthly standing order.

Same process here - and I ended up with BGAS via Sainsburys. Gas cheaper. elec more expensive which suits my usage.

Not so bothered about that...

Maybe...

Eh? You have to give them login rights for your bank account?

No Bloody Way.

Andy

No. Just bank and account number. That's all they need to set up a direct debit. Same as any company.