“You can save a fortune if you switch gas and electricity providers.”
I tried to be pleasant in my reaction.
“Don’t be daft,” I told him.
“They’re all the same.”
And that was the end of the conversation.
But curiosity got the better of me.
So I popped over to the Money Saving Expert’s Cheap Energy Club to do a quick comparison.
And guess what…
He was right!
“Ah, but…”
(We can always find an “Ah But” if we look carefully)
“Ah, but we’ve stayed with our current energy company all these years because of the great customer service.”
As I said that, I realised two things:
- There was a terrible pun in the sentence.
- How could I know other companies didn’t offer good customer service?
I’M NOT PAYING THAT MUCH FOR GAS!
You see…
Years ago we’d switched energy providers for one reason:
Every 6 months, the previous company doubled their standing-order charge.
So every 6 months, I picked up the telephone, rang them, waited in a queue, and asked them how they could justify the price increase…
Especially as our account was in credit.
Every time I heard the same answer.
“But on your next review, we’ll lower it if it’s necessary.”
NO MORE BEGGING
I didn’t like to keep begging every 6 months.
So eventually we decided it was time to move.
We found a quality company with a competitive price.
It ticked all the boxes. So we signed up.
YOU’VE MADE A BAD MOVE!
Of course, the previous company didn’t want to lose a customer.
So they rang us. And asked why.
“How can you move from us when we’re the cheapest?” asked the customer service representative.
If we hadn’t already made up our minds, that question would have sealed the deal.
“Price is important to us,” I told the lady.
“But good customer service is just as important.
“If your company hadn’t doubled the price every 6 months, we’d still be getting our energy from yourselves.”
Hopefully, she would have fed that into the customer-services-ideas-tank – or whatever gobbledygook word they have for it.
HAPPY CUSTOMERS
We were now happy customers of our new gas and electricity supply company.
And for many years we paid them – via a regular and steady monthly direct debit.
No messing about.
No silly price increases.
And occasionally a nice price-reduction.
Picture the happy family, and you won’t be far wrong.
“I BET WE CAN’T SAVE MONEY ON GAS AND ELECTRICITY”
Anyway…
Back to a few weeks ago.
After my surprise at how much money we could save…
And we’re talking, like, a 25 percent cost reduction…
I did some a bit of research on the top-rated companies for price.
Then I picked the one with the best reviews.
We joined via the Money Saving Expert’s Cheap Energy Club
That was a win-win situation…
‘Cos they would get some commission for the referral (after all, they’d done the hard work).
And we would get £30 cashback.
Happy days!
DOUBTING THOMAS
Doubter that I was, though, I decided to ring the new company during the “cooling-off” period.
I wanted to see what the customer experience was like.
Would I have to listen to long announcements?
Would I have to press 1, then 4, then 2, then 1 again…?
Would I be in a queue for ages?
But I was pleasantly surprised.
Just a few buttons to press before I spoke to a helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable lady who answered my question.
“Hmm… Looks like they’re OK after all,” I concluded, with a sigh of relief at the end of the call.
THEY CAN’T CHANGE US ON THAT DATE!
But when we received news of the changeover date, my heart sank.
“We’ll be away on holiday on changeover day,” I said to Christine.
“Let’s hope they don’t need any meter readings from us on the exact day.”
Well, my fears were unfounded.
Meter readings when we arrived home would be sufficient.
The changeover itself was near-perfection.
Apart from the email updates, we didn’t know it had happened.
The new energy company sorted everything out, including all the arrangements with the previous supplier.
They told us how much the direct debit would be, and when.
And that’s gone to plan.
After the former energy company had taken their final payment, we were around £75 in credit.
But within a couple of weeks, they sent us a final bill and refunded our overpayment.
Happy days!
BIG ENERGY SAVINGS
So now we’re paying about 25 percent less for our gas and electricity.
Both the unit costs and the daily standing charges are cheaper.
And as far as customer-service goes: so far, so good.
So if you’ve been with the same provider for many years, let me encourage you to compare prices.
Surely a 25 percent reduction in your energy costs is worth a couple of evenings spent comparing, researching, and filling in an online form.
Oh… and a tempting £30 cashback!
Have you made a similar decision recently? Please leave a comment in the box below. I’d love to know how you got on.
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