On 13/04/2017 08:24, Jeff Layman wrote:
As I long-time EDF customer, I reckoned it's time I had a look at other
suppliers. I'd read somewhere that uSwitch and similar sites weren't
quite as independent as they seemed (is that right or wrong?), so went
to MoneySuperMarket to have a look, although I'm not sure that's much
better.

I eventually found myself at
http://www.moneysupermarket.com/utilities/gas-electricity-prices.aspx
to have a look at available tariffs, and couldn't believe what I was
seeing. Is that what a deregulated market is supposed to be doing? There
are over *2000* tariffs on that page!

How can anyone work their way through this insanity of tariffs? I know
there are apps and webpages designed to help you through the maze, but
should Ofgem be allowing this in the first place?


One of the things the government did was to stop comparison sites having
contracts with energy supplies that ensured their prices were the lowest
available. The idea was to introduce competition between the comparison
sites, thus ensuring that you can not trust them.

I pick a contract with supplier that is shown as cheaper at a number of
comparison sites. I just look at estimated annual cost, ignoring any
estimates of savings.

It is important to select another supplier when the contract expires to
stop being charged some exorbitant standard price.

I can buy a years supply of heating oil and have it delivered the next
day. It can take 3-4 weeks to change electricity supplier, although all
they need is a meter reading.

--
Michael Chare