What you'd really have to compare is a state owned company up against a private one - ie, in competition. Sadly, in the days of nationalisation, it was also commonly a monopoly. And private companies who have a monopoly aren't generally the most efficient either.
But then many are nationalised because they've failed as a private company.
MSE check and email you when your savings pass the amount you set. They also give you a portion of the commission they get if you switch using them. There is no money to you or to them if you switch to a company that they don't do the switches for, however they do tell you about them so you can DIY.
Basically they do what flipper does for less. Maybe we need a comparison site comparison site?
True, because they don't have to be.
They should be allowed to fail. I was half asleep at the time but I thought I heard on the news this morning that the coop bank is to be allowed to fail in some structured way by the BofE.
Yep, the co-op bank and the associated britania building society are basket cases and they cannot find a buyer for them. For a time they were run by some buffoon without banking experience.
Am I the only one that is concerned at the amount of information I need to submit to get a price?
Why can't I just get indicative prices for different regions to start with. I really don't like giving out all my details to a load of organisations many of which don't have a very good reputation.
I might start a separate thread so folk can post their current deals.
What? The supply address, and the amount of each fuel you use? I don't remember it needing any more than that (can you get away without telling it your current supplier/tariff? Dunno) hardly seems excessive ...
It's a PITA but I don't have a problem with it though all they really need is full postcode. They don't need consumption if all you want is the prices of their various tariffs in your particular supply area.
You don't have to tell the truth...
What really pees me off this how deep they bury the real tariff information. I gave up this morning on nPower's site, couldn't even find TIL's or TCR's. Lots of fluffy puffy meaningless marketing bollocks and pretty graphics but SFA useful information.
Combine that with supplier sites that you have an account with and are logged in and it tells you who your DNO is, what tariff you are on and consumption etc but if you follow links to find the actual tariff figures you end up on a page requiring you to manually enter all the information that it just showed you on previous page. Obviously their "web designers" missed the chapter on "Usability"...
You need to know how much you use in each tariff band if there are multiple prices per unit.
4 clicks but you need to put your post code in which is to be expected as they charge different rates in different areas.
But most 'consumers' probably just want a monthly/quarterly/annual amount, not a pence per kWh figure
Are there any tariffs like that left? I thought they had all gone back to standing charge + unit rate, rather than x for the first y units then z for units above y.
They use the consumption figures to find the best supplier. As the bill is both a daily standing charge plus consumption supplier A may be best for low energy user whereas supplier B may be better for a high energy user.
What a rubbish concept. You mean "consumers" don't know that their monthly/quarterly/annual amount will vary depending on their consumption?
I can do those sums. Daily standing charge x 365 is total for year. They don't readily publish rates because they want more names addresses etc for marketing data, why otherwise hide them?
area.
Read what I wrote. I'm not looking for best supplier just the prices that a given company will charge on their tariffs.
I've not seen the "Tier 1, Tier 2" tarrifs available for quite a while. I guess the great unwashed eventually cottened on that the "no standing charge" claim was not strictly true, or perhaps the regulator did.
My monthly DD payments don't vary month by month. They get reviewed every 6 months or so and it's fairly evenly divided as to the payment going up, down or remaining the same.
I suspect most people either believe the comparison sites which are only as good as the information given them. Feeding it the monthly DD amount, that may end up with a big credit or debit will produce poor results. Feed it an accurate annual consumption figure and they are pretty damn good. The great unwashed probably have trouble finding out what their monthly DD is, no chance on an annual consumption figure.
Or they just look at the TCRs and go for the smallest, which is only any good if your consumption is pretty close to 3100 kWHr/year.
I thought they all disappeared when ofgem limited each supplier to four tariffs per fuel, but the competition and markets authority seems to be saying that rule should be dropped to encourage more competition.
Still varying though, aren't they.
monthly/quarterly/annual
their
reviewed
payment
But not month by month based the previous months consumption. Our consumption trebles in the winter and if the weather is cold and windy can be rather "peaky". I much prefer a 6 monthly review and few quid change rather than a power bill that could be anything from £100 to £200+
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