Used Uswitch before to move to e-on and got 12 free bottles of vino...ta muchly.

This contract is up so will be moving and uswitch say to move to Scottish Power.

happy to do this but am I best using uswitch (can't see any freebie) or another affiliate site...I want freebies..money or wine at least

Thanks all

Have you checked quidco and topcashback yet.

Use quidco or another cashback website.
I got 130 pounds cashback last summer switching to scottish power(better deals available in summer in my experience).
Make sure you clear out your cookies before going on the site to prevent problems with uswitch cookies conflicting with cashback website cookies.

energyhelpline are one of the most reliable payers for switching

Have a look at Martin Lewis Website

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilit ... lectricity

Quidco are currently offering up to 100 pounds cash back for a dual switch,which seems better than the Lewis plugs(energy helpline etc.)

May as well ask this on an existing thread. For the past couple of years we have been on a tariff with British Gas which is what they call a Pay on Receipt of Bill account - something we have always preferred. We submit the meter reading online, they send us an email, I log-in and pay it. However, we have just finished one of their lower rate deals and next month go onto their Standard tariff.

Looking at various comparison sites, they all want to push for an agreed Direct Debit amount which remains the same all year, but these make me nervous because you can find so many nightmare stories where the companies put the amount up to daft figures without the customer having a say in the matter.

Any stories to tell, companies to avoid, deals to go for? Would still prefer to Pay on Receipt of Bill.

I think your going to have to go the online direct debit route in order to get the best deals.
Scottish power and British Gas have just whacked their prices up by between 10-18 %,Im sure the rest will follow shortly.
Best advice is to go onto a site like energyhelpline,key in your consumption figures and try and find the cheapest fixed price deals before the rest hike their prices up(which they will within the next 30 days imo.)
Boss at wife's company went to an energy conference where they thought prices were going to go up 20% now and another 20% before christmas .

Just fixed my supply with EDF on a 2 1/2 year price fix.

I am with N Power at the moment (Who are one of the suppliers who have yet to increase their prices)

I will be paying 5% more for the price fix than at present. However when N Power put their prices up within the next couple of months, I should then be showing a significant saving. (Well, that's the theory)

I spent all of last night on the switching sites, and it is clear that the best deals are the fixed Direct Debit ones, but it doesn't seem as though any of them will inform you of the fixed DD amount before you sign up. Or am I missing something? I went onto nPower which seem the only ones who give an indication of the amount the DD will be. Maybe it is just that the comparison sites can't do that?

My parents have had scares in recent months with their DDs going up more than they can handle, so it is just a concern.

DDs only go up when energy prices rise or they find you have been underpaying.

I have phoned up before and had them reduced as well as getting cash refunds when I have been consistently overpaying - it is almost a great savings scheme!

The discounts for DD are obviously there to force you onto it to save on their admin but there is no problem with it IMO and if you know what is coming out you won't get a sudden shock. Just go with the flow and occassionally check your bills / readings.

Key in your consumption figures(last 12 months) onto the energyhelpline site,then you will know your exact cost on the fixed price tariff.
Explain to the energy supplier that you have done this and they should be happy to set your monthly DD according to your calculated annual cost.

But what is stop them setting my DD at £120 pm just to be on the safe side, when with British Gas it has averaged £76 pm? Surely before I sign up I can force them to tell me what the DD is going to be? I don't seem to be able to establish what the DD is likely to be for anyone other than nPower.

The problem with that is, most of the comparison sites don't allow me to enter the Pay on Receipt of Bill method we have been on, and so they assume I have been paying a monthly DD. When it comes to the final figures, that could make a difference?

Can you not just enter consumption figures and avoid putting in current tariff?

or just put in any tariff(with correct consumption figures)as the main objective is to find the current best deals.

They require the current tariff to compare against new tariffs, so if my details are incorrect, I can't compre costs accurately.

It might not compare against your current tariff but it will still tell you what is "cheapest" right now (might not be next week/ month though) you don't have to use these sites to switch supplier.

Be careful what you tie yourself in to, you may find that taking a fixed rate that is currently more expensive than a standard rate will not balance out or even save you money over the term of the contract.

Ovo 12 month fixed and Edf fixed until sept 12 looked cheap and comparable to the best variable deals in my region.