Misinformation

[Red Lead Ted]

as the World changes to cleaner Gas Oils I wonder what will happen to unusable residuals , maybe we can pour it down disused coal mines

Rob, British Gas will take it off there hands there taking everything else, What happened to the price freeze on fuel bills that where promised.

[robpage]

Decades ago now I changed my electricity supplier to southern Electricity now SSE and I change my gas over do them as well I have had very little problems I'm paying probably not the cheapest but certainly not the most expensive and I've been very happy with the service and their billing British Gas I don't trust as far as I can throw them

[Lewis McColl]

Just for a bit of fun I entered my UK post code , said my utility company was Scottish Power, which it was when I still lived there. I said my tariff was for dual fuel.
I said I was on a standard tariff and was paying £120 a month for gas & electric. So paying £1440 a year. Hit the internet and used a search engine Uswitch.com.
This is what they came back with.
If you switch to this plan, you'll pay:
£1,091.89
per year
£90.99 monthly
This is based on what you told us about your consumption.
Your personal projection:
£1,440.00
per year
This is how much you'll pay over the next 12 months if you don't switch.
Switching to this plan will save you:
£348.11
per year
This is how much we estimate you'll save per year, based on your personal projection. This figure is calculated by subtracting this plan's cost from your personal projection, and so will change if your usage changes.
Calculation in detail
View +
Your current energy plan
ScottishPower - Standard

Gas unit rates and calculations
Standing charge (pro rata exc. VAT)
365 days at 26.09p per day
+ £95.23
Your consumption (exc. VAT)
From the information you've given us we have estimated you'll use 15,897 kWh in 365 days which will be charged at 3.746p per kWh.
+ £595.49
Discounts (pro rata exc. VAT)
Annual discount per fuel for dual fuel customers
365 days at 1.37p per day
- £5.00
Taxes
5% VAT on energy products
+ £34.29
Your current gas personal projection =
£720.00

Electricity unit rates and calculations
Standing charge (pro rata exc. VAT)
365 days at 26.09p per day
+ £95.23
Your consumption (exc. VAT)
From the information you've given us we have estimated you'll use 3,749 kWh in 365 days which will be charged at 15.884p per kWh.
+ £595.49
Discounts (pro rata exc. VAT)
Annual discount per fuel for dual fuel customers
365 days at 1.37p per day
- £5.00
Taxes
5% VAT on energy products
+ £34.29
Your current electricity personal projection =
£720.00
Your current total personal projection =
£1,440.00
Your chosen energy plan
Bulb - Vari-Fair

Please note: Due to recent changes to Bulb's Vari-Fair prices, the rates on your bill may differ slightly from the latest rates shown here.

Gas unit rates and calculations
Standing charge (pro rata exc. VAT)
365 days at 23.39p per day
+ £85.37
Your consumption (exc. VAT)
From the information you've given us we have estimated you'll use 15,897 kWh in 365 days which will be charged at 2.650p per kWh.
+ £421.23
Discounts (pro rata exc. VAT)
Discount for dual fuel customers
365 days at 3.92p per day
- £14.29
Taxes
5% VAT on energy products
+ £24.62
Your chosen gas personal projection =
£516.93

Electricity unit rates and calculations
Standing charge (pro rata exc. VAT)
365 days at 23.39p per day
+ £85.37
Your consumption (exc. VAT)
From the information you've given us we have estimated you'll use 3,749 kWh in 365 days which will be charged at 12.710p per kWh.
+ £476.49
Discounts (pro rata exc. VAT)
Discount for dual fuel customers
365 days at 3.92p per day
- £14.29
Taxes
5% VAT on energy products
+ £27.38
Your chosen electricity personal projection =
£574.96
Your total personal projection on this plan =
£1,091.89
Switch to Bulb
When I did live over there I used to do fixed term deals but when it expired I always hit the price comparison sites. Usually there was not a lot in it. I would inform my current provider that I was leaving them unless they could price match my best quote or better it. They have always price matched. I do the same for insurance be it Home insurance or Auto/bike insurance. I am as loyal to any service provider as they are to me. Recently here I got myself a new motor cycle so I asked my insurance company for a new quote (motorcycle insurance in France is REALLY expensive They quoted me €785.00 for the year fully comp. I hit the internet and got a better deal with exactly the same cover for €482.00, all they said they wanted was confirmation of the details I had provided and a letter showing my NCB entitlement. I called into my local insurance office the letter. They asked me who I was going with AXA so they said can we requite you again, well why not. They said they could do it for €480.00.asI already had the NCB letter in my hand I declined. The agent could not understand why I would not stay with them as they now were €2 cheaper. I asked him why they had tried to stiff me for €785.00, he tried to pass it off as a clerical error, yeah like hello!!!
I think it is always worth while to shop around or try and haggle a deal. Let's face it as seamen we should be well ahead of the game when it comes to haggling over a price. Be it two bars of soap or two bars of Camay or Lux and a bar of carbolic (Lifebouy) thrown in for the full works.

[happy daze john in oz]

Lewis, it is going on all over.

Here we have the various gas and electric companies all after your business, they will promise just about anything to get you.
One problem is that they all source their power or gas from the one place.
So they offer discounts, up to 50% if you believe them.
But only off your usage, not supply charge.

My brother is a sparkie and did the tests. Found out that the higher the discount offered the higher the supply charge.
Something about no such thing as a free lunch comes to mind.

[vic mcclymont]

All of the comparison sites quote an estimated amount based on what you are paying now, none of them actually give you the price in units , whether it is gas or electric.
A fairer comparison in my opinion would-be to show the charge per unit.
Vic

[vic mcclymont]

Last year I changed from SSE to Npower, Mower were cheaper.
Within A month I got an email inviting me to attend an Npower advertising meeting where it could be possible to get better rates.
The young guy looked up my account and said yes we can beat that rate, but you will have o extend contract by another six months, no problem.
After about 3 months got a bill discoverd rates had gone up, spent half an hour on the phone trying to convince them that they had woken agreement, eventually they agreed to reinstate original contract,be aware when making changes.
Vic

[Lewis McColl]

The main problem is a lot of people are confused because there are that many different tariffs. I believe though the utility companies have been told they need to be more up front and put there different tariffs in simpler form. Let's face it be the time you read through the small print you are losing the will to live.

[John Arton]

Lewis, it is going on all over.

Here we have the various gas and electric companies all after your business, they will promise just about anything to get you.
One problem is that they all source their power or gas from the one place.
So they offer discounts, up to 50% if you believe them.
But only off your usage, not supply charge.

My brother is a sparkie and did the tests. Found out that the higher the discount offered the higher the supply charge.
Something about no such thing as a free lunch comes to mind.

Recently changed our energy supply using a comparison web site to OVO energy, using the last 12 months actual usage and saved£20 per month bringing our annual energy bill down to £680. Also did the same with our car insurance getting a quote of £265 from Hastings as opposed to over £500 from our previous insurer, AXA. This year's renewal has gone up by £60, so it was back to the internet and found an exactly the same cover from Halifax for the same amount as last year's premium,so they will get my business.before I retired i hardly ever bothered changing insurers but since retiring I have realized it is much better to annually shop around as many insurers do not reward your loyalty.
Rgds
J.A.

[Keith Tindell]

i,ve been with OVO some years John, and have found them very good, i also saved when switching to them, as an aside, if you pay with direct debit, as i do all my bills, any excess money in the OVO account, they pay an interest rate of 5%, which is better than i get on some of savings accounts, kt

[Red Lead Ted]

Kieth, You should check out Santander Bank 123 account i pay everything through direct debit with them i get roughly between £10+£15 savings a month.