Time for an Energy Deal?

Perhaps it's just another way of marking the passage of time ...

I suppose (for me) it's manageable but the annual energy contract reminds me what a mess the 'competitive' supply arrangements in the UK are.

Might ask for a smart meter too

I've nothing against my current supplier 'Flow' but the price hike of over £185 (about 18%) is way out of line for general inflation or the increased costs the company is facing so I do feel obliged to be ' non-loyal' and find another provider.


Looking at the 'switch' sites, which I believe get more than £50 per completed switch (be nice if in the interests of transparency the switch sites made this public)   I can see several better deals but there are others from other companies that are not supported by the automated switch - have chosen Oneselect - their price for 2017/18  actually lower (and with no early exit charge) than cost for 2016/17.


Either the UK government needs to make consumer supply market genuinely competitive or impose some sort of control (as they proposed a few months ago)- utilities like energy are 'natural monopolies' only differentiation is the service - flow have been fine and I will see how this company operates over next 12 months.


From my experience working with CAB on energy deals I know that the active consumer is in the minority and the well informed (and often financially secure) can make the best of these sort of switching deals - vast majority can't be bothered or are in debt and want to avoid confrontation that might ensue.

More on pensions -

A figure to light.

Today I had a second PensionWise session - this one just near Paddington station hosted  by CAB.

I was pleased that the information from my earlier meeting was on file so it was only necessary to review what I'd shared previously.


My main concern had been how I could combine funds to by an annuity and this seems relatively straightforward and something I plan to do at 61.

Having said that although I now have found some support - the pension area is complex and there are pretty much no guarantees - annuity rates are creeping up but are low - if inflation takes off some folks are going to suffer.


[I also found today, again that it's worth contacting providers and contractors - having called my car insurers a reduction was offered (we got one too for our building insurance) - also we've been told that Anglian windows will look at the work they've already done later in the week.]

If I came into money I'd like one of these - spread from basement to loft - with character

Building

too

Now at £290 

(hopefully becoming) Pension Wise and (41)

When we had a  Chancellor (George Osborne)  who had ambitions to be PM and a future in Europe's EU he kicked off a 'reform' to what we could do with our so called Pension Pots.


As is so often the case some good intentions have become overly complicated and many customers are woefully ill prepared to make some pretty major decisions as they move towards retirement.


My fear is that some of the suggested plans and strategies  that are out there are likely to lead to a new level of miss-selling and unsuitable decisions being made.

Not the nicest place to meet

In an attempt to get some idea of my potential choices I yesterday met with a PensionWise 'Guider' (clearly not an adviser), at the end of it I felt like I'd been guided into an area deep within the Pension jungle - this is a 'free' session but I feel like I've only just started a long and convoluted journey that could potentially involve sessions with IFAs (it stands for Independent Financial Advisers and I guess it could be costly) and some banging of my head against a brick-wall.


If we go back to the introduction of the ability to use the funds we've saved during our working career to provide income from something other than a standard annuity my fear is that not only was it brought in with out the right infrastructure being there to support it  but that it  heavily influenced by the existing suppliers  and the choices arr not customer friendly or easy to make (in fact it seems that only half the planned 'reforms' are and will be enacted).

My session was delivered at nearby CAB premises under the auspices of PensionWise - not very lovely premises  and the appointment was a 45 minute one.

  I was informed that my appointment was with one 'Guider' in fact I had someone else, I was also rather irritated that the person chose to have not one but 3 phones on during our session - much better and more respectful  if they had been turned off.

To be fair I did get a lot of information and generally my questions were answered but I fear that reform is not the right term for what has happened  -expect more on this topic I will start to access some of my pension funds this summer - I'm ready to ask questions and get the best deal I can.

 (and here's a useful link)

£54.45 reads the same the other way 

Doors

Keep opening..

Deep in the heart of  W13 Hartington Road

Oh yes do you have any idea what the red logo is or means in the glass?

Always something to find out..

The number is almost submerged beneath a layer of white paint 

Shopping for energy and Red 75

I've been reminded this week that my current energy deal is coming to an end.

I'm offered the choice from my own energy provider of a considerable price hike (if I remain with the current tariff) or a slightly smaller increase if I choose an alternative tariff with them.

I can then look around using 'price comparison' web sites to check the deals on offer ( Uswitch is such a site but there others doing a similar job).

The UK home energy market it's not clever
and it's not smart

These websites do most of the  work for you if you decide to change provider - and there's some sort of scheme that ensures that it happens in a timely manner.

So I looked at the competing offers and found that I could 'save' £350 by changing provider (tfor me it's a company new to me -flow)

Now I did quite a bit of work with the CAB talking to people about energy and switching suppliers but I'm still slightly concerned when I make this (seemingly) annual change - I remind myself that   the gas and electricity coming through the pipes and wires is the same  and that I'm unlikely to need to talk to the call centres or get involved with the company if they can manage the billing -(not always the case for me).

So how do people older and in financial disarray manage - well they are the ones penalised by this Alice in Wonderland idea of competition - if all companies had the same (or no) fixed charge  the only comparisons would be on unit charge and how they managed the customer -

At the moment it really does seem that the UK home energy market is not working as a competitive market should and as usual those paying the highest prices are those least able to afford it.

Come and see me

ART MARKET

I'll be out and about by Ealing Town hall later today - come and chat about my project - near the sign below!

Red 75

Plenty of Red here by the Town Hall  and it is surely not the 'worst'

Just by the Town Hall

[see a rough cut of the ongoing project here]