Which electricity supplier?

lindascribbler

A doorstep saleswoman gave me a great spiel the other evening about a 14% reduction in my bills immediately if I change to Airtricity.
Anyone out there switch & did it save in the long run?

hillbloom

Do you have to pay a security deposit. I know in rented accommodation with AirTricity, even paying by DD you pay a security deposit. There is very little in the prices. What about a contract! Do you sign up for a year? Dont rush into anything!!

L1011

Use bonkers.ie to check and compare to your existing bill also - the 14% is off the ESB standard rates which there is no reason to be paying and you may not be paying anyway.

dudara

Not a Consumer Issue - moved to Accommodation & Property

dudara

ted1

No absolutely not. You will have nothing but problems with Airtricty and their billing department.

Go to bonkers.ie have your last bill handy so who is the cheapest and go to anyone except Airtricity.

I'm a energy manager for several large companies and speak with experience

MadDog76

lindascribbler wrote: »

A doorstep saleswoman gave me a great spiel the other evening about a 14% reduction in my bills immediately if I change to Airtricity.
Anyone out there switch & did it save in the long run?

I switch suppliers on a yearly basis, they always give you discounts when you switch ........... I was with Airtricity last year getting a discount, this year I'm with Electric Ireland getting a discount .......... next year Airtricity again or whoever depending on the discount they offer me.

Just remember to always submit your own meter readings whoever you're with!!

The_Conductor

The 14% discount isn't unique to Airtricity- most companies offer similar. Check out www.bonkers.ie for more info.

Millem

MadDog76 wrote: »

I switch suppliers on a yearly basis, they always give you discounts when you switch ........... I was with Airtricity last year getting a discount, this year I'm with Electric Ireland getting a discount .......... next year Airtricity again or whoever depending on the discount they offer me.

Just remember to always submit your own meter readings whoever you're with!!

I am the same, was with airtricity for a year (had no problems and always submitted my readings), a few weeks ago I switched to electric ireland as they were the cheapest for me. I am with flogas for gas but will need to switch at the end of June and think the cheapest for me will be engergia. I always check on bonkers.ie

johnnyskeleton

I found airtricity impossible to deal with and by far the worst company in Ireland that I've ever had to deal with. This was several years ago, so I don't know if they've improved.

Basically, after moving into a new place the landlord was going to put the bill into my name, but she couldn't get through to them so asked me to do it. After about a dozen phonecalls and several emails over 2 months, they still hadn't changed the bill into my name. Thinking id be cut off I changed to bord gais who were brilliant to deal with (never bothered me and I never bothered them). I asked air tricity to send me out the useage for the last two months and they didn't, instead sending a threatening letter to the landlord. I sent a cheque in to them and they responded with the first letter addressed to me, threatening to sue for the unpaid debt (I suspect they only saw my name when they got the cheque).

To make matters worse, 2, maybe 3 sales people called to my door asking if I wanted to switch. When I explained that I just wanted to pay my bill they glibly stated ring the (unmanned) customer service line.

I know I'm a fool for putting customer service above price, but this really was an appalling way to deal with customers. You'll have no problem changing to airtricity but good luck if you have a problem or query on a bill and need customer service!

gud

sorry for jumping on this tread so late but can anyone enlighten me on the following

I have moved recently from Electric Ireland, as the rate being offered by SSEairtricity was cheaper. just got my first bill now and it includes some rural charge that was not explained to me before switching. which is something 0.49 cent a day which adds up over the month, which practically cuts the savings being made from the change. in fact you are probably worse off the less electricity you use.... has anyone else found this??

LollipopJimmy

gud wrote: »

sorry for jumping on this tread so late but can anyone enlighten me on the following

I have moved recently from Electric Ireland, as the rate being offered by SSEairtricity was cheaper. just got my first bill now and it includes some rural charge that was not explained to me before switching. which is something 0.49 cent a day which adds up over the month, which practically cuts the savings being made from the change. in fact you are probably worse off the less electricity you use.... has anyone else found this??

Every supplier has this charge though. It comes from ESB, but Airtricity tag on a bit more for themselves.

You need to switch every year imo, even retention deals are ****e so you do need to switch and pay by DD andget bills by email for the best deals. Just stay away from any prepaid option

gud

I was just looking at my last electric Ireland bill and it didn't have any additional charges for rural etc. So I suppose my question should be. is the rate charged by electric Ireland include these charges, and are u really saving anything by switching to sseairtricity lower rate wen this charge actually gets added on

LollipopJimmy

gud wrote: »

I was just looking at my last electric Ireland bill and it didn't have any additional charges for rural etc. So I suppose my question should be. is the rate charged by electric Ireland include these charges, and are u really saving anything by switching to sseairtricity lower rate wen this charge actually gets added on

How much was your standing charge with Electin Ireland?

mel123

whats energia like to deal with? for me on the bonkers.ie site they are coming in the cheapest

mcneil

Looking to change over from esb to another company so wondering whos best to go to for best rates

Citizenpain

take a look at bonkers.ie

tHE vAGGABOND

Never had a single issue with Aertricity and have been with them a few years now - just got a fresh range of [renewed] discounts from them, no bother extending my stay with them for a few years

punisher5112

I looked up bonkers and panda came in at top of list.

I am on dd with e/Ireland but still get bills posted does it make much difference going to email?

Is there any hidden extras and is it worthwile leaving elec ireland

bugsyb4

Hi,

My housemate is moving out end of July and I will be taking over the electricity from him just wondering can people advise what provider is the best value?

We are a middle floor apartment who never use the heating during the year and we dont have gas at all. Usually bills come in around €130-€140 every 2 months which is fairly reasonable IMO.

Any suggestions be appreciated.

Thanks

Black_Knight

http://www.bonkers.ie/

restive

Who is currently the cheapest provider?

dudara

Post split from old thread in Consumer Issues and moved to new thread in Accomodation & Property

dudara

Mezcita

restive wrote: »

Who is currently the cheapest provider?

http://www.bonkers.ie/

kevin306

Hi guys,

Just moved out of home and started renting for the first time. Don't have a clue about who I should sign up with for electricity totally clueless. Living in a small cottage with my girlfriend so just the two of us. Any advice on who is the best out their at the minute and roughly what our monthly bill would be, couple of people saying 120 -> 150 euro every two months. Does that sound about right for us?

Black_Knight

kevin306 wrote: »

Hi guys,

Just moved out of home and started renting for the first time. Don't have a clue about who I should sign up with for electricity totally clueless. Living in a small cottage with my girlfriend so just the two of us. Any advice on who is the best out their at the minute and roughly what our monthly bill would be, couple of people saying 120 -> 150 euro every two months. Does that sound about right for us?

Is the electricity used for heating also? €120-€150 every 2 months in a small cottage sounds a bit high if you have oil/gas etc to heat the house. Myself and my girlfriend have a 2 bed apartment and electric ranges from €90-€120 for 2 months. We're with electric Ireland, but we also get gas off them (so a slight discount).

The_Conductor

Bonkers.ie list the various suppliers, their offers and indeed- how you could choose which best suits you.

My last electricity bill- in a 3 bed townhouse with a good BER- and I have gas heating- was 186 Euro. Note- the immersion heater for baths (I have two young children who love their baths) and showers- plays a big role in the size of the bill for me........

Silver-Tiger

Bonkers also have a deal with Airticity it seems but they don't have it top or anything.
Looks a fantastic website and so handy for moving premises.

MicktheMan

The_Conductor wrote: »

My last electricity bill- in a 3 bed townhouse with a good BER- and I have gas heating- was 186 Euro. Note- the immersion heater for baths (I have two young children who love their baths) and showers- plays a big role in the size of the bill for me........

Why not use your gas to heat your hot water? It is a lot cheaper than electricity.

Spirit of 67

How do people find them , are they cheaper than Electric Ireland ?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Spirit of 67 wrote: »

How do people find them , are they cheaper than Electric Ireland ?

It depends on your tariff. Personally Electric Ireland were cheaper for me.

Find out the unit charges and standing charges for each supplier and compare them with your particular usage.

dudara

Posts split out from older thread and moved to Accommodation & Property forum

dudara

Dardania

bonkers.ie is a great website to compare costs for you

Spirit of 67

Bonkers is brilliant , Broadband and other price comparisons as well , thanks .

shugy

Air tricty I find ok

Spirit of 67

shugy wrote: »

Air tricty I find ok

Hard to know what to make of that one , bit vague !

L1011

Eirtricity would have to be cheapest by a huge amount for me to even consider them. Reputation for severe billing issues, scummy, lying (I had one try pretend to be a meter reader!) door to door sales 'staff' - pay per sale people with a contractor, and so on.

filbert the fox

lindascribbler wrote: »

A doorstep saleswoman gave me a great spiel the other evening about a 14% reduction in my bills immediately if I change to Airtricity.
Anyone out there switch & did it save in the long run?

you just informed us of everything we need to know.....

If I have the misfortune of actually answering the door to a caller like this I just say I never buy anything at the door & ask them to direct me to the website where I can get this offer...... not one has done so yet.

flutered

always with electric irl, would pinnergy pre pay be dearer or cheaper, please do not mention direct debit

racso1975

Dearer but you don't develop debt so may be easier to manage. Get you last bill that was read and not estimated and go onto bonkers.ie and compare prices that are best for you. Remember to look at standing charges if your usage is not large.

ted1

flutered wrote: »

always with electric irl, would pinnergy pre pay be dearer or cheaper, please do not mention direct debit

Pre pay is the dearest way to purchase energy

What's wrong with Direct Debits?

Goldstein

I analysed them all forensically about 6 months ago and there was around €30 between the most expensive and the cheapest over 1 year and €46 over 2 years i.e. almost no difference between ESB, Bord Gais, Airtricity and Energia when you factored everything in. Granted this was based on slightly lower usage compared to an average family home but it's still an incredibly small difference if they were really competing with each other. A cheap rate usually meant a high standing charge and vice-versa. Or a cheap electricity rate would mean a more expensive gas rate. Between standing charges, VAT and the PSO levy it's hard to find any real savings in tariffs - best thing you can do is reduce and even then because of the factors just mentioned you don't make a huge difference.

soc

http://www.bonkers.ie/compare-gas-electricity-prices/electricity

Put your usage in there (even a guestimate) & see for yourself how PrePay compares to other providers.
Can this be moved to Bargain Requests please?

Goldstein

Goldstein wrote: »

I analysed them all forensically about 6 months ago and there was around €30 between the most expensive and the cheapest over 1 year and €46 over 2 years i.e. almost no difference between ESB, Bord Gais, Airtricity and Energia when you factored everything in. Granted this was based on slightly lower usage compared to an average family home but it's still an incredibly small difference if they were really competing with each other. A cheap rate usually meant a high standing charge and vice-versa. Or a cheap electricity rate would mean a more expensive gas rate. Between standing charges, VAT and the PSO levy it's hard to find any real savings in tariffs - best thing you can do is reduce and even then because of the factors just mentioned you don't make a huge difference.

So if the cash difference between the various offerings isn't huge, is there one company that is renowned for good quality service?

If the trade off for saving a tenner is spending two hours holding the phone to try to get them to do something and failing... then its a very expensive saving...

mel123

So what would people recommend for me please:

Im moving in to a new house, and I was going to go with bord gais but because I don't have a previous account with them, they want a 500€ deposit, which I don't have (they refund it after 6 months or something) unless I sign up bill pay and direct debit. I don't want to do this because they said they will estimate my bills on the last 12 months and there was a family living in the house so I assume they will be high enough.
Seeing as there is not much difference in price, im looking for a good supplier hassle free, I don't want them messing me around with bills and direct debits and bad customer service. Who is my next best option?

L1011

Deleted User wrote: »

So if the cash difference between the various offerings isn't huge, is there one company that is renowned for good quality service?

If the trade off for saving a tenner is spending two hours holding the phone to try to get them to do something and failing... then its a very expensive saving...

Historically, ESB/Electric Ireland lead the way for customer service but I'm not sure about now. Airtricity are the worst of the post-pay providers.

mel123 wrote: »

So what would people recommend for me please:

Im moving in to a new house, and I was going to go with bord gais but because I don't have a previous account with them, they want a 500€ deposit, which I don't have (they refund it after 6 months or something) unless I sign up bill pay and direct debit. I don't want to do this because they said they will estimate my bills on the last 12 months and there was a family living in the house so I assume they will be high enough.
Seeing as there is not much difference in price, im looking for a good supplier hassle free, I don't want them messing me around with bills and direct debits and bad customer service. Who is my next best option?

You will not get any provider that will let you go with no direct debit and no deposit.

For no level pay - any of them except BGE, but its still direct debit or deposit.

mel123

Thank you, sorry I didn't mean I wouldn't do direct debit, I just don't want to do the level pay.

Anyone any thoughts on Nest offered by Electric Ireland?
It looks like you don't get any direct debit discounts or loyalty discounts on this because I assume your getting the device for free, would I be correct does anyone know?

irishchris

I am thinking of switching to energia for my electricity this month. Currently with electric ireland but bigger discount with energia.
Anyone in here have experience of using them?
Also I play electric ireland 20€ per week by standing order so that my bill is always in credit.is this possible with energia?
Does anyone have the Iban and bic for energia if it is

dudara

Not a Consumer Issue, so moving to Accommodation & Property. The A&P charter now applies.

dudara

Michael D Not Higgins

Energia have a thing called Fixpay which is what you want for the same billed amount. It works on a monthly rather than weekly basis.

I've never dealt with them myself so don't have any experience I can offer in their customer service, prices, etc.

the groutch

irishchris wrote: »

I am thinking of switching to energia for my electricity this month. Currently with electric ireland but bigger discount with energia.

just be aware that a higher % discount doesn't make them automatically cheaper.
they could well be more expensive pre-discount than EI based on your usage.

you should go to bonkers.ie to get an estimate of how much you're actually going to save or not by switching over.

ceekay74

I switch supplier nearly every year after using bonkers.ie, at this stage I've probably been a customer of all the energy suppliers.

If all the suppliers were going to cost the same amount over the year, I'd go with energia. Better customer service and a better website.