I must say I’m surprised! I thought that ‘Look After My Bills’ was a good option, though I have never used them.
I’ve changed my mind now! I’ll continue to use Martin’s Money Tips Cheap Energy Club as I have done for years. It’s perfectly free, BTW.
I prefer to be in control of my decisions. CEC provides what they have found to be the best options regarding price (and can also factor in other preferences if requested), but the final decision to whom to move is left to the customer.
Incidentally, I have just moved to Outfox the Market which is a company little heard of, but was the most competitive. Should such a company fail, your power is not cut off(!); you are simply moved to another supplier. You still have the choice of moving elsewhere, I believe.
I need to switch to a new tariff as my current tariff finishes soon. This afternoon, l rang my supplier of gas and electricity Avro and was shocked to hear that they now want me to pay £118 a month instead of the £83, l am currently paying.
I am in credit with them and don’t owe them anything, so how can they warrant charging me another £35 per month?
Surely energy prices haven’t gone up that much?
I hate having to do this shopping around for the best deal!
Energy prices increased quite a bit at the start of the year, so probably after your existing contract began.
Shop around (USwitch as mentioned in Post # 2 have usually been cheaper in my own experience but YMMV) and with a bit of luck you might find a new deal at or only slightly more than your current supplier, no pun intended.
It’s no use my recommending a particular supplier because choice and price varies by region and consumption.
I absolutely agree with you, and I just don’t understand the need to have to keep chasing a better deal every blinkin’ year just because the greedy beggars put their prices up just like the insurance companies do!
JBR, I did that but it may have been my internet yesterday. I tried again, today and their quotes are dearer than Avro.
I can’t understand that I have paid just under £1,000 for my gas and electric in the last year.
Now they have forecast that it will be £1,400 for the next year.
So, instead of paying Avro, £83 per month, they’ve upped it to £118 per month.
On the comparison sites, the cheapest is £122 per month.
Take back control of your finances Arty and do like I do…Kick direct debit into the long grass for a start…
My total energy bill for the last 12 months was £1326
divide by 48 = £27.60 then times 4 = and put away £110.50 per month…
Obviously my bill was dearer than yours so your figure would be less.
You don’t have to have a box to put the cash in, just partition your current account and keep track of how much you transfer into your energy account. I keep a record of my partitioned account on the computer. To make less hassle, I send in my meter reads every three months (quarter) and pay my bills online by card, also every Quarter.
The first year will be hard until you have a pot to take the money out of. It’s your money Arty, so isn’t it better to control your outgoings yourself than some faceless organisation having complete control of your account…I consider it time well spent…
I think the answer is that they are all putting their prices up.
As things change, if you are on Cheap Energy Club, you will eventually find that competition comes into play and some will be undercutting others. I try to get on to a deal which promises fixed prices for a specified length of time. The other thing to watch out for is early cancellation charges, so if you have signed up for a year and you find a cheaper deal, you should factor in the early cancellation charge.
The company I am with now, like the previous one, had zero cancellation charge!
I have been with SSE ever since they merged with Hydro Electric many years ago. Currently I am paying £19 for gas and £35 for electricity monthly by direct debit. I am perfectly happy.
I’ve been with British Gas ever since my house was built 48 years ago scot, I won’t get dragged into this price war and changing providers. Okay, I might pay a few bob more some years than others, but I think on average I’m doing alright…A saving of a hundred quid a year equates to 50 pence ish’ per week, I can live with that…
Foxy, I think that is easier said than done!! Surely, you pay a lot more by doing it your way?
I will be paying…
Electricity…17.273 (was 13.246)
Gas…3.15. (was 2.84)
Standing charge per day…17.85 (was 15.7)
I have compared prices with other providers and the prices they quote are higher than the energy provider (Avro) l am with currently.
I can’t worry and lose sleep about this any longer, so I rang Avro today and the cheapest tariff they would do was £112 per month, with the option of reducing it after 3 months, or so if l use less gas and electricity.
