Argh! Why is this so hard? Energy switching nonsense!

[Energystitchup]

Moved in here over a year ago. Been stuck with utilita prepay smart meter, just cos that's what was here when I moved in.

I've just sat and tried to work out my expenditure to do switching calculator - £200 a MONTH on gas! That's insane!!

Leccy a more sensible £36

Last place I was at I was £50 a month for gas and £31 for electric. It was a slightly smaller property but COME ON!

I've had numerous problems with the smart meter itself AND they're a nightmare to deal with from a customer service perspective, to the point I've a complaint in with ombudsman service (that reminds me I need to see what's happening with that).

My problem? I want to switch but I'm very anxious, not technically or accountancy minded and feel COMPLETELY confused!

I asked utilita for my kWh from last winter and they seem very high. So for the switching sites I used my payments instead which I checked on my bank statement (can top up by text). I have a weird little system I use whereby I use even top up amounts for one and odd for the other so I know which is which on the bank statement (hope that makes sense).

Trouble is NONE of the switching calculator thingies will compare across from prepay to monthly pay WHY?!!

Also (and this may well be an age thing I'm nearing 50 and finding I'm like this more with various things) SO MANY of the companies "recommended" I've never bloody heard of them! Which really puts me off cos I don't have a sense of who they are, if they're considered reliable, I also wonder if they're ACTUALLY subsidiaries of larger companies (which seems so difficult to find out!) some of whom I want to avoid because of previous bad experiences - well mainly sse/scottish hydro who I was with at last place but they tried to hit me with a massive bill incurred AFTER I left (which eventually they accepted!).

I have OK credit but not great (working on rebuilding after a tricky few years) but I've always been a credit customer before.

Any energy switching experts out there? Or people willing to advise?

I'd also like to know your experiences with the various energy companies.

I use an app called Voltz. Put in your details, including your meter serial numbers, and it'll pop out a list of deals. I'm currently with a firm called Octopus.

Downloading app now. But no idea how to find out my meter serial numbers?

The kwh should be accurate. If not then there is a problem with your meter. So get that checked.

The best way to compare is with the kwh.

To be honest it doesn't really matter which company you switch to. You have to keep on switching every 12-18 months to make sure you're on the cheapest deal anyway. Can you set up a monthly direct debit? That is usually the cheapest option.

Go to money saving expert. They have a cheap energy club. You sign up and switch through them. They have special group deals at specific times of the year which are very good value. I've done it the last 2 times I switched. Recommended.

You might have an issue with the meter though. I don't think it's possible to have a standard meter put back in after a smart meter has been installed. But you can find out by ringing a different company I guess. You can definitely get away from the pre payment aspect though, think money saving expert has info on that and how to do it.

I’m really impressed with bulb. Get them to give you a quote

Not great -

A disclaimer re not all suppliers can use my current equipment - this is an issue I know and I am finding it VERY difficult to know who definitely CAN.

B again - long list of suppliers I've NEVER heard of with no decent length of operation imo.

Octopus is one of them, never heard of them which makes me very reluctant to switch to them!

Another recommendation for bulb here, I switched to them from utilita and saved a fortune. PM me if you want a referral code - if you sign up with that we both get £50 credit on our accounts

Red - utilita are a remote operating company. They don't have meter readers or anything it's ALL done online - another reason I don't like them, there's no checks and balances with these people.

I've previously always just lazily stayed with whoever supplied the property I moved into which until now was always monthly direct debit set ups which I've never defaulted on.

I'm already a member of mse energy club - same problems - no comparison from prepay to credit, no info on the smart meter issue, companies I've never heard of! The "advice" on mse Re getting away from prepayment with a smart meter would involve AT LEAST 2 switches and a total pita. And some of the info I've checked elsewhere regarding my particular issues and the mse info simply isn't accurate. No idea when it was last updated.

Bulb & octopus I've just checked, neither appropriate to switch to with the smart meter, they simply don't support it. It's either pay to have their equipment installed ££££ or convoluted ways of getting meter readings which I'd have to take myself which is a terrible idea as o have poor eyesight.

Don't worry about moving away from 2 or 3 big names. I switch every year and have never had an issue with any of the companies I use.
You need to put in your KWHs though, not the amount you have paid. You can do this through any comparison site.

Read up on MoneySaving Expert

I also understand that the Smart Meters can make it hard to change though the main reason I wont have one.

Utilita are a nightmare to get away from, if you Google them you will find lots of horror stories, they have been fined by ofgem lots of times! They gave me the runaround but it went through in the end - they can switch your prepay meter over to a credit one as long as you don't owe them money and then you can switch to another supplier.

Foxfoxsierra (clever name)

Yes they have an appalling record, have been fined and censured numerous times including blocking customers from leaving them.

My heart and stomach sank when I first looked into moving away from them. Personally I'm amazed they're still allowed to operate.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34529749

www.yourmoney.com/household-bills/e-npower-utilita-wrapped-regulator-failings/

They overcharged me quite a lot - still trying to get it resolved fully, already had over £100 refund which is not all they owe me imo. I've topped up, it's shown on the smart meter and MINUTES later the amounts disappeared - no way it could have been used!

Latest complaints to ofgem figures they get the most complaints about utilita.

I just want AWAY from them but hopefully still use the smart meter or be able to use new suppliers smart meter with current "in the cupboard" meters ie not needing HUGE amounts of disruptive work done at my £££ expense!

I have to say that I think ofgem and govt have MASSIVELY let customers down here by not legislating that equipment needs to be compatible across providers.

This I'm sure will be a major factor in people NOT wanting to switch to smart meters!

Totally agree Energystitchup but it can be done! I contacted bulb and initiated the switch through them and utilita blocked it as they said I owed them money (untrue and I could prove it) so I made a complaint which they never responded to. I contacted bulb and got them to prod them and the next thing both meters had been switched over to credit meters and bulb emailed with the date they would be taking over! I can't use the smart meter anymore but they switched the main meters remotely so no engineer visit or anything like that - they will tell you that's not possible but they lie! I think utilita rely on people giving up and just sticking with them to avoid having to jump through all their bullshit hoops