Sainsbury Energy (and OVO)

KEV145 said:
Thanks for that Stewart, they get very good reports from the Which Magazine, will ring tomorrow, ;)
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Is that Which? magazine who have written to Mrs Nod asking her to pony up for them to consider listing her business if she then coughs up more on a regular basis if they think she deserves to pay them?
 
HuntingMartians said:
Saying that he will say £18 as he is in credit by £254. So that means he is not using as much as he thinks. Then the saving isn't real unless he did a very accurate comparison. And used actual kWh in comparison.
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Al1944 said:
"Then the saving isn't real unless he did a very accurate comparison. And used actual kWh in comparison."

Yes, one must use actual consumption to get a true comparison.

AL
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Yes, I quoted the actual consumption of both Gas and Electricity.
The 'saving' is £272 (so they say), the £254 credit is separate.
 
Mag1cp2x said:
Yes, I quoted the actual consumption of both Gas and Electricity.
The 'saving' is £272 (so they say), the £254 credit is separate.
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Surely you're only in credit though because you were paying too much.
Therefore if the new company Base your payments on actual usage, you will pay less, but won't build up a credit.
So you won't be actually saving as much as you think.
In other words, the actual cost with your existing provider was what you'd payed, less your credit.
No?
 
In my case - and probably the same with Graeme - I was indeed paying too much. I was paying £144 per month (which BG told me I needed to do) and ending up last year with nearly £200 credit at the end of the year which BG refunded me automatically. The same will happen this year. So, in real terms I only needed to pay £128 per month to meet my bills.

I have had a quote from OVO - based on actual consumption - of £97.00 (including full customer service (or £92 web only - no email or phone contact). I've gone with the full package for £97 per month, which is £31 less than I was actually paying for my BG energy. And I can still save the £16 extra I was paying BG.

BG must be getting millions in interest by people paying more than they need to. OVO, by the way, pay 3% interest if you are in credit.

By the way what started me thinking about switching was when I read my December statement from BG. In the bottom corner of the statement it had the audacity to say something along the lines of "You can save £300 if you switch to our partner, Sainsbury Energy"! WTF!!!

AL
 
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Bobsyeruncle said:
Surely you're only in credit though because you were paying too much.
Therefore if the new company Base your payments on actual usage, you will pay less, but won't build up a credit.
So you won't be actually saving as much as you think.
In other words, the actual cost with your existing provider was what you'd payed, less your credit.
No?
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No, I was paying too much and built up the credit - BUT the 'saving' of £272 is the difference between what (they estimate) E-on and SSE would charge in the coming year.
On the uSwitch site I entered the units of gas and electricity used and the results showed how much each company would be charging for the coming year.
 
Al1944 said:
Emailed British Gas this morning asking for a refund of £200 out of my credit. Just received a reply saying it will be in my account within five days.

AL
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Refund in my account today, three days after I requested it. No complaints there.
 
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Just to finish this off - the 'official' changeover took place on 29 December. A week earlier I had provided Ovo with my current meter reading (which they share with BG). I had a final bill from BG about a week later. All in all a very simple and straightforward affair, taking approximately a month from start to finish. In my case BG insisted on a monthly DD of £144 which I knew was too much. The correct monthly DD should have been about £130. My monthly DD with Ovo is £97! So I'm saving £33 per month by switching.

AL
 
From those that have swapped to Ovo, have you gone for the pure internet based account saving £5 per month or gone with the phone support for the extra £5 ???

Cheers
 
I went with the extra £5.00. Have been wondering since if it is necessary to be honest.

AL
 
andyred said:
From those that have swapped to Ovo, have you gone for the pure internet based account saving £5 per month or gone with the phone support for the extra £5 ???

Cheers
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Cant remember, doh! But probably should have gone for the extra £5 option if I didnt, so there's someone to moan at when they inevitably decide to put the monthly DD up for no reason whatsoever. </cynic>
So far, my readings are below what they are estimating for me so there really should be no need for a rise. And I gave them my exact KWh consumptions for the year before I moved and this winter has been exceptionally mild so far.
 
DorsetDude said:
Cant remember, doh! But probably should have gone for the extra £5 option if I didnt, so there's someone to moan at when they inevitably decide to put the monthly DD up for no reason whatsoever. </cynic>
So far, my readings are below what they are estimating for me so there really should be no need for a rise. And I gave them my exact KWh consumptions for the year before I moved and this winter has been exceptionally mild so far.
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That is good to hear :)
 
When we switched to The co-op a couple of years ago, we were saving about £20 per month.
We are £237 in credit atm, but still decided to go onto their site to see if there were any cheaper tariffs/plans.
Our last 12 months annual usage was Gas 22,606 KWh & Leccy 5,941 KWh

There is, so decided to sign up & saved around another £20. Now £122 per month :cool:
Always good to check, even with your present supplier.
 
OldCarlos said:
When we switched to The co-op a couple of years ago, we were saving about £20 per month.
We are £237 in credit atm, but still decided to go onto their site to see if there were any cheaper tariffs/plans.
Our last 12 months annual usage was Gas 22,606 KWh & Leccy 5,941 KWh

There is, so decided to sign up & saved around another £20. Now £122 per month :cool:
Always good to check, even with your present supplier.
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Were you at the end of your plan or have you swapped early ?

Can't make out from the web site of they charge you to change plans, before the end of your plan, if you are staying with them (rather than swapping suppliers) ?
 
andyred said:
Were you at the end of your plan or have you swapped early ?

Can't make out from the web site of they charge you to change plans, before the end of your plan, if you are staying with them (rather than swapping suppliers) ?
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Andy, ours was fixed until March, but there was no penalty to leave that one. (btw, anyone can actually leave any plan once you're down to within 49 days, without incurring a penalty)
The one we've just signed up for is until Feb 2017, which has a small penalty, but we won't be changing again within the next 12 months anyway.

There was also a `Fair deal` plan advertised.

We actually rang first to see if they could tell us what the cheapest plan was, but the guy said they aren't allowed to do it over the phone, it had to be done online to get the best deals.

We also did the usual comparisons online too to see which suppliers had good deals & actually wanted to see Ovo (as recommended by others) near the top of the list, but it wasn't even in the top 10 for us. :(
There were actually a couple of providers slightly cheaper than The co-op, but the difference was minimal + they were providers I hadn't even heard of & had penalties of up to £25 per gas AND leccy, to leave early.
 
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OldCarlos said:
Andy, ours was fixed until March, but there was no penalty to leave that one. (btw, anyone can actually leave any plan once you're down to within 49 days, without incurring a penalty)
The one we've just signed up for is until Feb 2017, which has a small penalty, but we won't be changing again within the next 12 months anyway.

There was also a `Fair deal` plan advertised.

We actually rang first to see if they could tell us what the cheapest plan was, but the guy said they aren't allowed to do it over the phone, it had to be done online to get the best deals.

We also did the usual comparisons online too to see which suppliers had good deals & actually wanted to see Ovo (as recommended by others) near the top of the list, but it wasn't even in the top 10 for us. :(
There were actually a couple of providers slightly cheaper than The co-op, but the difference was minimal + they were providers I hadn't even heard of & had penalties of up to £25 per gas AND leccy, to leave early.
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Thanks Carl

Going to phone them and ask the question directly - sometimes they let you swap tariffs with no charge, but will charge to move suppliers.

OvoEnergy have dropped the leaving fee, which does make it slightly more appealing, especially if prices drop later in year...especially as co-op are £30 per fuel ...

I presume you can phone and speak with co-op about your account as well as on line account ?
What is the on-line account like - our current one is a bit of a fafe...

Cheers
A
 
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Yep, you can talk to them, but seems you have to go online for the deals. :rolleyes: (the advisor did stay on the phone & talked us through it though ;) )

tbh, once you've got your login & p/word sorted, the online acct is pretty decent (I'm a tech dinosaur) although have nothing to compare it with.
 
OldCarlos said:
Yep, you can talk to them, but seems you have to go online for the deals. :rolleyes: (the advisor did stay on the phone & talked us through it though ;) )

tbh, once you've got your login & p/word sorted, the online acct is pretty decent (I'm a tech dinosaur) although have nothing to compare it with.
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Cheers, thats good to hear - Ovo die you the option of £5 extra if you want the phone support...
 
Well my first month with OVO hasn't got off to a very good start. My quote from them was based on the actual previous year's usage with British Gas. My average daily usage since
switching was within a whisker of the daily average 12 months ago. However, my online account now says that I need to pay an additional £20 per month! Fired off an email to them first thing on Monday. Received an automated reply stating my query would be answered within 48 hours. The time is up - no reply. Have now sent another one, so we'll see what happens!

AL
 
Al1944 said:
Well my first month with OVO hasn't got off to a very good start. My quote from them was based on the actual previous year's usage with British Gas. My average daily usage since
switching was within a whisker of the daily average 12 months ago. However, my online account now says that I need to pay an additional £20 per month! Fired off an email to them first thing on Monday. Received an automated reply stating my query would be answered within 48 hours. The time is up - no reply. Have now sent another one, so we'll see what happens!

AL
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Thats not good, and most out of character for them. Can you go on twitter and whinge about them? Apparently that sometimes gets them moving. Presumably you have to hash tag them in somehow. Ive never used twitter so dont know, but have heard of others getting success with other companies.
 
Just received a phone call from a very pleasant chap from Ovo. Basically, to cut a long story short, their computer tries to assess what payments should be made. Appears that I need not increase the monthly payment as things will average out over the year.

AL
 
Al1944 said:
Just received a phone call from a very pleasant chap from Ovo. Basically, to cut a long story short, their computer tries to assess what payments should be made. Appears that I need not increase the monthly payment as things will average out over the year.

AL
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I don't know if this is connected, but thought i'd mention it here. I am with Southend Energy, which is collobration of the council with Ovo. I've not been impressed by the way they've done customer service (not directly Ovo) which i think has tarnished Ovo's name. Had a lot of trouble with them doing estimated reads and i have to submit meter readings every month, where i did before. their online system is continually telling me i am using way more energy than i 'should' despite my quote when i switched to them being based on actual kwh consumption and me having changed nothing about my annual consumption, as well as being what i would consider a below average user. their customer service people consistently confuse things in their email replies and it gets very frustrating. if my usage levels out over the year, then i'd be saving £12-15 a month on what i was spending with Southern, but if not, i'll be quite p***ed off as its been a MASSIVE hassle in the switch for various reasons (only one of which was my fault). I'm going to try and get an appointment for a smart meter so i dont have trudge round the side of my house once a month to submit readings. i only hope their 'computer' doesn't try and think it knows better! I think it's all to do with the Southend Energy side of things and teething problems, but it's certainly narked me off a great deal! :)

oh and they dont have a twitter account so its hard to try and poke them for a quick response!
 
I feel your pain ;) Will have to see how they deal with things over the next few months. I won't hesitate to move again if there are problems though.

They do have a Facebook page BTW.

AL
 
dan_yell said:
oh and they dont have a twitter account so its hard to try and poke them for a quick response!
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https://BANNED/ovoenergy
https://BANNED/SouthendBC
 
StewartR said:
https://BANNED/ovoenergy
https://BANNED/SouthendBC
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yeah, but they dont have an account that soley deals with Southend Energy. Ovo dont manage the accounts directly and neither do Southend Council directly. I had to use their twitter to get some attention after several emails were ignored for 2 weeks (problem with their admin system apparently) - SBC had to go off and poke people to get a reply (OVO basically said they weren't responsible for dealing with the issue as it was SE), but its not the same as having a twitter account for Southend Energy with customer service reps replying in the same way they reply to emails.The people manning SBC facebook (& i dont like commenting etc on public FB pages as it just ends up in all my friends feeds and i detest that) and twitter have to deal with other council stuff. I feel they need a dedicated twitter account IMO.

its probably fine for most people who use them, but for the issues i personally had, i think they need this.
 
StewartR said:
You're probably right. Have you "suggested" it to them?
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I can't remember if it was amongst other 'suggestions' I have made to them about their customer service, lol. but yeah i prob should if not!
 
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