OneBigSwitch.ie Bulk Buying for Electricity

Naux wrote: »

Classic....are you a Politcian by any chance!!;);)

You may laugh, but that is a very common feeling amongst householders. As level pay by Direct Debit is fairly new to the Irish market many might not realise this kind of sentiment. However people have been using payment cards at the post office for many years now and when I look at a potential customers bill that is in loads of credit due to overpayment each week, they usually prefer it that way. Many people, especially the older generation, hate the idea that they will fall behind in the bill and would much rather pay extra to provide themselves a safety net. You would be surprised how many people have over €1000 in credit pretty much all year round, even in May after a long winter. Sometimes the companies will call them up or write to them to advise reducing their weekly payments at the Post Office as they are not consuming that much, but they insist upon maintaining the amount.

When I go to switch them, I have to inform them they will be refunded all of their credit, and usually they ask if its possible if the balance can be transferred directly to their new provider, in which case I tell them they would have to pay it directly themselves if they wanted to.

Great for the electric companies all this credit!

Deep Thought wrote: »

They are not at a loss , they are aware and them make an educated decision, the fact that the site asks you to enter you current bill and then make a suggested saving that you do not have to sign up for , is to be well informed and not gullible.

So, please dont keep patronizing people

Some people will have seen through it and made an informed decision, no doubt about it. Many, most likely the vast majority will be utterly disappointed in the result as they believed they would get a much better offer in exchange for the inevitable deluge of direct selling they are about to experience. Most probably never realised that OBS are a for-profit business and there only motivation is cold hard cash. The savings for the consumer is just a way to catch them, its all very clever and fairly well hidden. The entire process is scientifically engineered to provoke a quick decision from the consumer. The countdown timer, quick before its too late......all psychological tricks to ensnare people.

You can see it your way, and I will see it my way. I know I am correct on this matter though, every single tactic they are employing are tactics I was taught nearly 15 years ago. These tactics work even when people know better deep down, but for some reason people cant stop themselves from committing to these things. You only need to watch the shopping channels selling the biggest load of cheap quality guff day after day to see what I mean. We know its rubbish, we know it will be used for 1 day before ending up in a kitchen drawer never to see the light of day again, and yet we place that order and enjoy the excitement of the entire process, the allure of a bargain is irresistible, as a consumer driven society we cannot control ourselves.

Did you see the expose of TK Maxx and their tactics? Downright fraudulent a lot of it, but the majority just well thought out marketing taking advantage of consumer gullibility.

alanbk wrote: »

Interesting thread. Where is the expose on TK Maxx btw ?

It was on Dispatches on Channel 4.

Here is a link to it in youtube, its in two parts, both listed below.

PART 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElfOxDMRn24

PART 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lWEXtTTeg8

green123 wrote: »

level pay is not the best.

as you have already said level pay charges 20 % extra on every bill.
now i know that at the end of the year you will get a refund of any extra that you have paid.

the problem is that people who are switching are very often struggling to pay bills.
they want to switch to save money and lower their bills.
but by switching to level pay their bill will actually be 20 % higher all year long.

for an average yearly bill thats about 200 euro extra that they will pay during the year by using level pay.

so thats 200 euro that they cant use all year as if it is locked away in a term deposit account.

not many people who are struggling to pay bills would be paying into a deposit account at a bank.
so why pay into a deposit account at a utility company ?
especially when they dont even offer any interest on your deposit !

I didnt mean the actual plan BG use, which is called "level pay". I should have made that clearer, I can see why thats confusing.

A budget plan is generally the easiest way for consumers to afford to pay their bill, thats just an average of your annual bill spread over 12 months. Its only BG as far as Im aware who add 20% on as standard.

[QUOTE=
You can see it your way, and I will see it my way. I know I am correct on this matter though, every single tactic they are employing are tactics I was taught nearly 15 years ago .[/QUOTE]

I guess this is no good for you as you are getting your 20% staff discount from Energia

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=89689993&postcount=218

or is this a general discount opportunity

One issue which seems not to be addressed is that any overpayment must be over €200 for you to get a refund at the end of the year - seems very high.

From Bord Gais Website the bold/underline emphasis is mine.
Will I pay the same as last year?
Your monthly payment amount is based on your most recent consumption, your previous year’s consumption and energy prices. An initial intolerance (typically 20%) is added for variations in your usage. This allowance is made to ensure you do not get into debt and your bills are always covered as no lump sum is required to be paid by you. If the calculated monthly payment varies by €20 we will adjust your monthly payment amount. We carry out reconciliation once per year. If you are in credit by more that €200 then you can claim a refund. If the amount is smaller than this then we will carry the amount forward to reduce your monthly payments for the next year. You don’t pay anything extra for your gas by using this payment method.

What happens if you leave and you have a credit - do you get it back then ? I assume so but not sure.

Muahahaha wrote: »

Right admittedly this isn't a Bargain Alert just yet but if enough people sign up to it then it could very well become one.
Website is onebigswitch.ie and they just launched today. The idea is that when they have a few thousands sign ups they can then go to the electricity companies and negotiate a discount using the purchasing power of a large group of people. I guess you could say its Groupon for ESB.

Anyway according to the company electricity costs have risen 21% in the last year alone and also that schemes like these are up and running successfully in other European countries. So I've signed up and hope this works out cause I'm really sick of €100+ bills at this stage. Sign up is easy, there's a survey bit but you don't have to answer all the questions.

Is this gonna happen?
Ever???

greenfingerz wrote: »

yer man who set this up is probably thinking to himself right now
what a bunch of suckers.

Can you blame him?

Although they did start a 'price war' between themselves and Electric Ireland who I went with in the end. They ended up cheaper overall, minushavingto give a 3rd party any information. The people who went with them in the end deserve to be called suckers!

Am I right in thinking Airtricity are now doing the same? 17%? about 2 months too late to the game...