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Choosing a low-cost Energy Supplier

Making your money go further
paradigm
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Choosing a low-cost Energy Supplier

#201189

Postby paradigm » February 13th, 2019, 9:14 pm

The time has come to review my choice of Gas & Electricity supplier. I am conscious of the issues and potential pitfalls of price comparison sites. However last time I did find the Voltz Energy Comparison App to be useful and finally settled on SO Energy which have been excellent but are probably no longer the most competitive for my requirements. On checking, I find that the Voltz facility has unfortunately not been available since last October, the last best buy recommendation I had from Voltz suggested Pure Planet Energy.

My questions are:
Apart from looking at suppliers in turn and assessing likely cost for each is there a good way of at least drawing up a short-list?
Is there any recommended price comparison facility?
Is anyone here using Pure Planet Energy and can comment on their experience? They are fairly new (from 2017) and appear to be well founded and 'green' but operate exclusively via a smartphone App to keep costs down.

supremetwo
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Re: Choosing a low-cost Energy Supplier

#201191

Postby supremetwo » February 13th, 2019, 9:17 pm


EssDeeAitch
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Re: Choosing a low-cost Energy Supplier

#201204

Postby EssDeeAitch » February 13th, 2019, 10:26 pm

paradigm wrote:Is anyone here using Pure Planet Energy and can comment on their experience? They are fairly new (from 2017) and appear to be well founded and 'green' but operate exclusively via a smartphone App to keep costs down.


I have just switched to Pure Planet - too early to tell if I have made the correct choice but they are the lowest cost supplier that I could find and there is no term contract so can be dumped if needed. Two days after I switched they reduced the day rate by a few pence per day which is always welcome. However, they reserve the right to increase prices with one months notice but again, there is no penalty for switching out. I went onto Trustpilot for reviews; the big majority were good and a few negative (just as you would expect).

The switch process was no problem at all and the app seems fine.

I use a cost comparison website and the savings they project are nowhere close to the truth however, I am then able to drill into the actual tariff costs and day rates from one source. I plug the results into a spreadsheet using my actual gas and electric usages and from this I found that Igloo were the cheapest electricity supplier, SoEnergy the cheapest gas and PurePlanet the cheapest dual fuel.

So can I recommend PP? Too early to tell but so far so good.

bungeejumper
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Re: Choosing a low-cost Energy Supplier

#201246

Postby bungeejumper » February 14th, 2019, 9:14 am

I didn't do so well with Pure Planet, which made it pretty clear that it wanted to do everything via my smartphone, but which still wasn't able to get its apps working properly on my Android phone. :( So, after talking to their helpline, I abandoned the experiment before it had properly started and chose Octopus instead. viewtopic.php?f=14&t=15315

One thing you need to be prepared for is that a switch may hit your cashflow for a month or two. It's becoming common for providers to request a month's direct debit instalment upfront, as a kind of returnable deposit, which I personally think is naughty. And when I switched away from Green Energy Network, they carried on drawing my direct debit for two months after they'd closed the account!

I sent GNE a sharp complaint about that, and they refunded my money promptly. But it's notable how many of these new, small energy suppliers are going bust these days. They're tight for cash, and it seems there are some proper sharks swimming about in the waters. You have good consumer rights, but it helps if you can stay absolutely on top of what you're paying, and to whom, and when.

BJ

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Re: Choosing a low-cost Energy Supplier

#201365

Postby mutantpoodle » February 14th, 2019, 3:37 pm

I was with SO energy until last May and also had nothing but good vibes and replies to questions etc
however as wit you, they slightly lost advantages
so I left and went to AVRO

I hope SO get back in the game by May!...but as at present have nothing but good to say about AVRO

granretire
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Re: Choosing a low-cost Energy Supplier

#202151

Postby granretire » February 18th, 2019, 4:48 pm

I have been with Tonik for just over a year - no complaints and they give interest on any extra money in one's a/c. Which? have recently done a report on energy companys and ToniK came 4th equal - beaten by Octopus energy, Robin Hood energy and equal to So energy. Tonik also give you an Amazon voucher if you recomend them and one to the person who takes up the recommendation.

BusyBumbleBee
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Re: Choosing a low-cost Energy Supplier

#202710

Postby BusyBumbleBee » February 20th, 2019, 6:45 pm

Juat looked at Tonik prices for night/day rates. Seem very expensive so not for me I fear.


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