Each of the Big 6 energy companies are raising their prices this month. According to our Survey Draw, over 50% of you will be affected. Why now? Why at the same time? Is it fair? And what can you do about it?
The “Big 6” are British Gas, E.on, npower, SSE, Scottish Power, and EDF. 54% of you are supplied by one of these for electricity, and 48% for gas. Why have they announced price rises now? It’s boiling outside, and frankly, we’re not thinking about energy bills. Not to mention, price caps come into force in December. This is their last chance to dip into your pockets without a limit on how much they can take.
They claim they are doing this because the wholesale prices have gone up but energy regulator Ofgem’s own data shows their costs are actually lower now than they were at the back end of 2016! It’s (umm…) a shame, that they are all raising prices at the same time. If they do it alone, they risk losing you. If they raise prices at the same time, you have nowhere to go. Or do you?
Back in freezing March we introduced you to Look After My Bills, a free service that automatically switches you to a better deal (not necessarily the cheapest, since they take service levels into account) when your initial energy contract expires.
Sure, you can remember to keep an eye on your contract term and use a comparison website to change manually, but why bother? The beauty of Look After My Bills is that you enter your details once, and then that’s you sorted, each year. No more fattening you up with an introductory offer and slaughtering you a year later. You’re off. No need for you to contact your existing supplier or even your new one. No canceling of direct debits. Nothing.
They, of course, report back to you and let you know when things are going to change, and always give you the full details with an option to stick. Joining takes just two minutes, you don’t need a bill to hand and you can sign up even if your current deal hasn’t ended. There’s no obligation, and if you’re unhappy with the deal for whatever reason you can opt out.
The average Look After My Bills member is saving £253 every year. Over 50% of you should too.
Enjoy the warm weather while it lasts!
Chris 🙂