Be prepared for a nasty shock if your energy supplier goes bust

Pete.8

Every year I use the price comparison sites and move to the cheapest supplier which has worked out well over the years and only takes 5 mins to do.

Last week I got an email  with the subject - Welcome to British Gas which went on to say - "following the collapse of your supplier Ofgem have moved all PFP Energy customers to British Gas and we have devised a Special Tariff for you."
I had no idea PFP Energy had gone bust.

I was paying £1767 per annum for Gas/Electric from PFP Energy
For the same fuel consumption the cost with British Gas will now be £2401 - Well, there's no doubt that is special! - an increase of £634 per annum!!

I've looked at the price comparison sites and several have withdrawn that facility due to the current surge in prices.
Other sites just list a few big players with no significant savings and significant penalties for moving.
So I'm stuck with BG for the time being and paying over £50 a month more 😠

Hostafan1

I remember being promised cheap energy and real competition when Thatcher asset stripped the country of energy provision.
All we have now is a private cartel of 6 big , most foreign run, companies fixing prices .
Who'd have thought eh?

Fairygirl

I feel your pain @Pete.8. I do the same as you, every year, and I'm crossing my fingers that the one I'm with is ok. 
You'll just have to move into the shed....
That's a hideous increase for you though. 

The only saving grace for me this year has been that, it's been so b***dy hot, I haven't needed as much heating as normal. I've needed to use the shower more often though - and mine works off the heating supply...swings/roundabouts etc... 

didyw

I'm with Look After My Bills who switch me to the cheapest provider each year automatically.  They have told me that I'll be appointed a new supplier by Ofgem and they will have to honour any existing credit I have in my account.  I'll be free to switch once the new supplier is appointed by Ofgem.

Just read elsewhere that we in the UK pay about three times as much for our energy than everywhere in the EU.  Something's going on behind the scenes methinks.

Nanny Beach

How big is your property Pete? We had the same thing,moved here downsizing energy here with EDF bills astronomical. Changed to Scottish Power,who royally messed up night and day reading. Froze my account for  a staggering NINE months, crafty because I couldn't switch then. Changed to Extra. The only reason I knew was a tiny article in the business section on The Sun news papers. Guess what I got put back with SP. We just had letters a company in conglomeration with local authority, bidding for solar panel deal. O shopped around in July when my fixed rate was Finnished, could only save £33 pa. Company I'm with has best customer service record, although it wasn't the cheapest staying put. Also had serious problems with BG both on meter reading AND installation of central heating. Going to get a quote for the solar panels. My daughter has just signed another year with Avro,her bill had actually gone down. They are one of the 4 expected to go soon

Pete.8

didyw said:

 and they will have to honour any existing credit I have in my account.  I'll be free to switch once the new supplier is appointed by Ofgem.

Sounds like you're in the same boat as me then.
I was also told to wait until BG took over my account in order not to loose the approx £100 credit on my account, then I'm free to switch.
But that £100 will be gone in less than 2 months with the 'special' tariff I'm now on and there are currently no suppliers currently worth switching to

Plantminded

I'm like @Pete.8 and @Fairygirl, switching every time I can save money without being locked in with an "exit fee".  Don't panic though, take a look at this from Citizen's Advice, quoted today by the BBC: 

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/problems-with-your-energy-supply/your-energy-supplier-has-gone-bust/

Fairygirl

@Pete.8 - they're going to be discussing it on R2 just now, so might be worth a listen to see if there are any solutions. 

Pete.8

Nanny Beach said:

How big is your property Pete? 

I'm in a decent sized 3 bed semi that I had refurbished a couple of years ago so the insulation is now very good.
I was also with Avro for a few years and quite happy with their prices, they were the cheapest for 2-3 years running

Fairygirl

I've just had an email about getting anew Smart meter.
Couldn't make it up could you eh? 

I used 'So' who were very good, and also with Avro just now. Keeping fingers crossed...

raisingirl

Hostafan1 said:

I remember being promised cheap energy and real competition when Thatcher asset stripped the country of energy provision.
All we have now is a private cartel of 6 big , most foreign run, companies fixing prices .
Who'd have thought eh?

I'm not a fan of the system we have, but this situation is not being driven by the energy companies. It's an international issue. 
We don't pay more for energy in the UK per unit than elsewhere in Europe. Gas and electricity prices differ widely. Our gas is cheap relative to most of Europe.