BBC News Online: Business

Electricity switching: Your comments

Many complaints about salesman in your e-mails

We asked you for your views about these issues and here are some of your responses:

On one occasion an electricity salesman "forced" his way into the house. I felt intimidated, signed, then cancelled the next day. That is no sales pitch!!
Rachel Barrie, Scotland

I found it easy to switch suppliers for both gas and electricity, but extremely difficult to persuade my new supplier for both to give my final gas reading to the old supplier. Hence, I was being charged for an estimated reading which was much higher than what I had used. After numerous calls and letters to both companies, I was still being sent letters by a debt collection agency and finally resorted to threatening the new supplier with contacting Ofgem. This seemed to do the trick.
Olga M, UK

I switched suppliers to a dual fuel deal about a year ago. It went through with no problems at all. In my view it did take longer than it needed to, about three months, but I have not had any problems so far with my new supplier. Ofgem have concentrated on prices, not service. That is where the problem lies and why so many people have not switched and why many have switched back. What is the point of getting prices lower if you ain't getting the service?! Ofgem should be doing a lot more. There is no reason why the max. time limit for switching should be one month and any delay should be compensated for. This should just be the beginning towards improving customer service.
S Lavender, England

I was cold-called last night (16 January), along with several neighbours. I was asked if I would be interested in taking part in a survey regarding the supply of electricity and that I would be approached in approximately two weeks. He then went on to complete a "change of supply agreement" without telling me that was what he was doing and then asked me to sign the form! I didn't of course. He wouldn't have it that he had not made it clear to me what I was expected to sign!
Steven Slade, UK

If you lift the cap then all the companies will get together and slowly rise the price.
Mr Vonhaartman, UK

I have found that the pressure put on you by companies canvassing can be huge and you end up signing up with them to get away. The savings that are sometimes offered are misleading! In the small print they state "if you take both gas and electricity from us". This should be stated more clearly before you sign. I don't even have gas in my home!
Kelly, England

Completely disagree that its difficult to switch. I've done it twice and its no problem. Completely agree over high pressure selling. Top tip is never to believe what you are told in the street/supermarket/on your doorstep and absolutely refuse to sign up there and then but to take their literature and check the prices against your own recent bills. Better still, use one of the online sites which compares prices for you and recommends the best deal - even then check prices yourself.
Ian, England

I tried to switch last year for both my gas and electricity. Everything was going through and then at the last minute I was told my meter was not compatible with the way the company charged. To the layman the meter looks like any other meter, it has standard numbers, not dials. It is not an off-peak meter or anything else obvious. I just wonder if the excuse was because taking my electric account over would not have been profitable. And needless to say I am still with the same company as I can't be bothered to approach another supplier and get the same response about the meter or maybe next time I will have "wrong type of light bulbs" as the excuse.
Paul Banham, UK

The big companies are abusing the system to their own advantage.
Antony, UK

I was erroneously transferred from one supplier to another without my knowledge. I suspect that it was the result of an incorrect address supplied by my one of next door neighbours living in a block of flats which happens to share the same postcode. An Incorrectly supplied address is probably one of the reasons why several million letters in the postal system go missing each year.
Damian Johnson, England

I switched suppliers for gas and electricity at the end of August, and it took until December to sort out the mess. I won't be changing suppliers again in a hurry.
Colin Pickett, UK

If you think this is bad, try living in Northern Ireland, where electricity is the most expensive in Europe and there is no choice of supply.
Peter Hawkins, N. Ireland

Very easy to switch supplier, although process took some weeks. New supplier very slow to respond to meter and billing difficulties although these overall benefited me!
Martin Hayward, England

Switching supplier was the most frustrating process I have ever had to deal with. From start to finish took four months. I was blocked twice for debt, which I could not understand as I pay by direct debit and there was nothing outstanding. I finally spoke to the regulator who were very little help although they did contact my supplier and eventually the transfer took place after costs in excess of £20 for the time and phone calls I had to make. It is not surprising people don't switch.
Stuart Carey, England

I believe that I currently have a good deal in place with the supply of both electric and gas to my property. Getting to this stage, however, proved to be a nightmare experience. At one point I was misled into signing a supply contract. The word "contract" was covered by papers, the sales person made no mention of a 'contract' and told me that providing address details would simply allow information regarding tariffs and charges to be forwarded to me. Over a year later I was being threatened with court action. The events were pretty stressful, time-consuming and impacted on me financially. They eventually apologised following intervention from the regulator, but somehow I think I will be sticking to my current supplier.....!
Paul, England

I switched some years ago to one supplier or both gas and electricity. It was relatively painless. In my experience it is more cost effective to have one supplier for both fuels. From time to time I compare what I'm paying with other suppliers and find the dual-fuel costs are all very similar.
Paul Stevenson, UK

I filled out all the forms and was told it would take six weeks and I wouldn't have to do anything. I then got a letter some 10 weeks later. As I had "Economy 7" heating I was unable to transfer. This I find totally ridiculous as we are in a brand new property on a new housing estate and yet we are being treated as high risk. Absurd!!!
C Masters, England

I took the government's advice and "switched" to a cheaper supplier and this mistake has cost me dearly. The switchover has been a total fiasco with the new supplier completely unable to manage the account transfer process and I have ended up trying to sort things out. The cost to me in administration, phone calls and stress far outweighs any savings I may have made on the supply. At one point I was being threatened with court action to settle a bill that had been settled by a direct debit. My advice to people is the savings aren't worth it and they should stick with a stable supplier that knows the industry and manages their accounts well.
Simon Carter, UK

I am a management consultant who has worked in the energy retail sector for a number of years. We all need to remember that it was the energy companies together with the regulator that designed the processes for changing supplier. It was never in their interest to make it easy to change. They made it long winded and complex so we would all be put off. Only now are they getting their act together to simplify things and the numbers of customers switching are going up. My advice to those wanting to reduce their bills is this: 1) get your utility bills all together 2) go online 3) find the supplier that can sign you up on the spot 4) use direct debit where possible 5) If you don't like what you get there is a cooling off period to exit any contract you sign.
JB, UK

A man came to my door selling a northern suppliers electricity and gas. I signed up immediately for both to receive a "dual fuel" discount. I was not told that my area was not going to be deregulated until 12 months later and in the mean time I would be charged at the premium rate for gas. After much letter writing and many telephone calls I was refunded £150. I then applied to pay by direct debit which took 14 months to set up. I tried to change my supplier last year and it took nine months to change. Apparently, you can not change supplier if your outstanding bill is over £50. I pay quarterly so by the time I get my bill it is already in arrears by almost that amount.
Noel Sibbald, UK

Switching is very easy - I do it every 12 months! There is plenty of information out there to allow consumers to compare prices.

I really don't see how those who leave a debt unpaid should object to not being able to transfer their accounts elsewhere - it seems entirely reasonable for the existing supplier to uses this tactic to ensure repayment of the debt. If they didn't then the cost would have to be passed on to those of us who do pay. I do however agree that it would be better to see the market open up for those people who have to use prepayment meters. Perhaps this could be tied-in, in some way, to the proposal to deregulate price controls.
David Shored, UK

To say you need a "degree in maths" to work out the cheapest option is ridiculous. However giving the public access to one of the www-based calculators, perhaps on the High Street, would certainly help.
Simon Canfer, UK

I work for a major electricity supplier. It is obvious that many people are being changed without their knowledge between suppliers. Sometimes this is in error, but sometimes this is obvious fraud on the part of a very small number of salesman. These errors cost the suppliers money, which is ultimately passed onto the consumer. It is about time that any individual salesman found to have committed fraud is prosecuted. By the way, although I could save money by changing supplier, the cowboy image I have of the various sales techniques has led me to stick with both my original gas and electricity suppliers.
Keith, UK

I believe many customers are put off by complication of changing electricity suppliers and actual real saving involved. Would you have the complication of changing if all there was to gain was £100 off your yearly bill? What load of hassle for little gain for one year. And then what?
Mr Stephen Hollin, ENGLAND

I switched last August and found it very easy. Looking info up on the net for the best supplier and downloading Ofgem fact sheets was extremely easy and I have made a good saving. If I can do it anyone can the main reason for not switching is apathy.
Pat Jacobs, UK

If the market was fully opened up - then people could switch. There are people who still can't switch. I have been refused a contract by at least four major companies and have to stick with my existing supplier.
Chris R, UK

I must contradict the report and say that I found it very easy to compare prices from different energy suppliers by using a couple of web sites who make the comparison and switching procedure very easy. Recommend visiting www.uswitch.com for more info.
Steve Bowdler

I regularly receive two or three bills from different electricity companies, deregulation has just created more confusion and increased admin costs.
Jon Fairs, UK

Privatisation was supposed to introduce competition in order the keep prices for consumers down. But no-one really knows whether one company is cheaper than another without doing a huge amount of research to find out. It's not like comparing brands of soap powder on the supermarket shelf!
Steve Smith, UK

Shortly after swapping, a salesman called from my old supplier encouraging me to change back - stating that I would be giving the old supplier more than them if I did not change back (with no supporting information offered). Needless to say, I ignored the salesman.
Brian Matthews, England

I have heard of a practice whereby if a consumer pays a regular amount each month they quickly find that the account is run in debit. That is, the monthly amount does not cover the total bill for each month. This means that if the consumer wants to switch they still owe the company a substantial amount, sometimes hundreds of pounds. This can often mean that the consumer does not switch because of this one-off payment that is required to pay off the outstanding bill. I would recommend paying slightly more and running the account slightly in credit. That way when you transfer the utility company send you a cheque for the overpayment.
Richard Hanmer, UK

I have changed a couple of time and my tip is - make sure that you take final meter readings at the change of supply date. AND ensure that both suppliers are given these and USE them.
Christopher Syrett, England

I've switched suppliers successfully a couple of times, making savings on both occasions. One of the secrets of a smooth transfer is to take accurate meter readings, on a regular basis. I'd suggest weekly recordings should be made anyway as a matter of good housekeeping, to give the consumer control over what is actually being used.
Ian McKay, UK

To work out a comparison (without the aid of a maths degree) the consumer needs to check and compare the following: standing charge, and price per units - this may be a standard price or a price for the first 1,000 units used per quarter with a reduced price per unit for the remaining units. Another useful tip is to compare - Ofgem's direct selling/customer accounts complaints per 1,000 graph.
Phil Turner

It is a bit rich for Edward Leigh to be advocating non-free market policies when he is a strong believer in free market Thatcherism. I am all in favour of cheaper utility bills but also like the idea of consistent politicians also.
David Lewis, UK

I have never had any trouble switching supplier - am now on my third gas and fourth electricity supplier. But you do need to be aware of how much energy you consumer in order to work out which is the best supplier for you - this is easily done by looking at past bills.
David, UK

I recently moved into a one bedroom flat that has a prepayment electricity key. My friend on the same street owns a much larger two bedroom flat and pays by direct debit to the same electricity company. We have the same heating and number of appliances within these flats which is why I was astonished to find that I was paying double what he was paying per month. Its ridiculous that people who can't afford electricity are the ones who end up paying more. What's wrong with this country? Are we such fools!
Chris Wiltshire, England

Frankly I would prefer to pay more for my electricity on the basis that I knew that the electricity supplier employed enough and well trained staff so that when I ring them they answer the phone and competently deal with my query rather than keep me in a telephone queue for hours when I try and ring in - UK people want efficient service and value for money, not just cheap, cheap, cheap and cut every corner going to achieve it.
G W Parry, UK

We are prepayment customers and switched last year. It was extremely easy to transfer, we also had an outstanding debt of £104. We have experienced no problems. However, I am not entirely sure exactly how much we are saving by the switch.
Fenella Braund, UK