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Anyone considering switching energy suppliers this winter? I switched to Bulb at home earlier this year and they're really good value. They've also sent me a £100 referral voucher (which means we both get £100). It's here if any if you want it:
www.bulb.co.uk/refer/jared2546 if
Them and Robin Hood Energy (which we use for the office) are the only ones worth considering ATM.
I had Robin Hood last year and their prices shot up so I switched.Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveSmithRules
Bulb don't seem too bad but their daily charges are high so the best savings are for those with high usage. As I read it:
Electricity: 12.35p/kw plus 24.56p/day
Gas: 2.50p/kw plus 24.56p/day
Dual fuel discount and of course £100 if using your referal. I've not done all the sums but £100 isn't to be sniffed at but my electricity usage from June to now is just cheaper with my current supplier.
For electricity I went with Powershop who have a reasonable rates but then a unique idea - they have regular offers for power, so for instance you can buy £10 of power for December with a 23% saving and I've just seen this weeks offer of £14.05 worth of electric for £8.82 - 37% discount. I've just about bought enough advance power at better than 20% savings to last till next summer! Switching referral isn't as generous - £25 each offer ends end of the year. They don't do gas for which I'm paying 2.62p/kw plus 20p/day with another supplier.
The main message however is that there are deals out there. I'd never switched* in 30+ years prior to two years ago and am sure I've saved quite a lot.
* well I had coal as well over that time and did switch merchants and ended up internet purchasing, for a while in 1 tonne pallets - big savings!
Anyone who doesn't regularly switch their utility suppliers now is losing out. Took me a while to persuade my parents of this, but they're now saving about £40 a month on gas and leccy. It's a bit of a sad state of affairs really. All so based around the web that old people are particularly vulnerable to excessive charges because it's bleddy hard for them to understand.
Depending on your parents age, with some suppliers they will qualify for a (I believe it's called cold weather relief) payment of about £150 a year, but not all suppliers are signed up for some reason. I know from experience that British Gas pay this but Robin Hood don't so please take this into account when shopping around.Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveSmithRules
The quickest and easiest way to ensure you are in the best tariff is to call your current supplier and ask them to check that you are on their best tariff based on your usage history. All suppliers have pretty well the same tariffs and if one is marginally cheaper then it won't be for long. Repeat annually. I have done this dozens, maybe hundreds, of times for people as part of a national campaign to get people onto the best tariffs and have never had an issue with any customer service staff.
Regarding bulb, the big attraction for me was that their electricity is 100% from renewable sources and their gas is as ethical as any. Maybe not the cheapest but still very competitive.
Edit - if you have elderly or vulnerable friends or relatives, let the energy suppliers know; same for water. In the event of problems paying or loss of supply due to power cuts, water mains issues etc, the companies can be very helpful
I changed to Ovo a couple of years ago and it as saved me hundreds of pounds compared to the robbers at NPower.