How I*cut €500 off my bills… with a call
*no switch required! And you can easily do it too – by threatening to change supplier
Big savings from switching your energy provider are back. New player Yuno, which cut its electricity rates again this week, has finally sparked some REAL competition in the energy market. And it’s easier to switch than you think.
It’s not too late to knock hundreds off your bill – EVEN if you are locked into a contract with another supplier.
You don’t even have to switch – just ask to move plan.
All you have to do is say you want to leave and they will probably offer you another deal, as I found out this week.
Yuno was already the cheapest electricity supplier after cutting twice late last year to earn our plaudits as the cheapest provider.
But it went again this week to set the cat among the pigeons.
A couple of years ago nobody knew a kiloWatt hour from a kilo of flour.
Now, after energy prices soared, our financial well-being through the winter depends upon it.
Yuno’s new unit rate is 28.93c (see table, right). That just undercuts SSE Airtricity’s 29.62c rate that was due to kick in at the start of February (which we factored into our table).
Other suppliers are no doubt set to follow, but there’s no reason not to take action now.
Just contact your supplier, even if you’re under contract and ask for a better deal.
Here’s how I got on when I did just that.
Should I stay or should I go?
That’s the dilemma I faced as I discovered I could easily switch to Yuno’s new offer – but my existing supplier Flogas came up with a deal that was almost as good.
I am just four months into a fixedrate contract with Flogas.
Misled by the words ‘fixed’ and ‘contract’, I thought that there was nothing I could do until my deal runs out in August. But when I went through the terms and conditions – and checked with Flogas’s helpful customer service team – I found that the penalty for breaking my contract was €50.
And with such big savings now on offer, that isn’t such a big deal any more. (Most suppliers now have a €50 break fee.) I rang Flogas to see if they could do anything. And unlike most banks and telecoms companies, I got through to a friendly, helpful, real-life person after a few minutes.
She confirmed that I could move to Yuno for a break-out fee of just €50. (If I had received discounts, I may have had to repay them). This is pretty standard – among our five best rates on our table, left.
She offered me an alternative option of staying with Flogas on a lower rate than I’m on, plus a €100 cash incentive – for both electricity and gas.
Here’s how my options worked out:
So moving to Yuno is still cheaper – but with caveats.
With Yuno I would have to pay in advance, which is like nearly €100 out of your pocket upfront.
I’d also like to keep my dual-fuel account, combining gas and electricity. This means I can switch both in one go when I need to. Yuno only does electricity.
And I know we always bang on
about how easy it is to switch, but there is a little bit of hassle involved!
Between the jigs and the reels, I think Flogas pitched its offer just right to make me stay.
For renewing both gas and electricity together, it also gave me a better gas deal with a lower