More than half a million Scots are paying hundreds of pounds too much for their energy bills, according to figures. The affected households are overpaying on gas and electricity by an average of almost £400 a year when their current tariffs are compared to cheaper deals on the market. This adds up to a total of £387 million annually across Scotland, with residents in Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute and East Renfrewshire among the worst off. Energy comparison experts say the stark figures demonstrate the importance of shopping around for the best deal. Kate Morrison, energy policy team manager at Citizens Advice Scotland, said: “Consumers in Scotland can have higher energy bills due to a number of factors, such as network costs, homes that are less energy efficient and the prevalence of electric heating, as well as the way infrastructure costs are split.
Herald 6th Aug 2018 read more »
IT’S an odd fact of consumer life that most of us, when buying food, clothes or certainly a car, will shop around but when it comes to our energy supplier many of us stick with the devil we know. We’ll even block our ears to research repeatedly suggesting we could save hundreds of pounds a year. Several reasons may be adduced for this. There’s the supposed hassle, for instance. But it can take 10 minutes to change energy supplier. True, you may want to do some research first, and might find yourself increasingly bewildered by conflicting claims on discussion forums. But, usually, it doesn’t take long to find a suitable supplier well attested by consensus. Indeed, the same websites facilitating your switch will often do the research for you, including into aspects such as environmental performance or exit fees. People reluctant to switch might worry about a smaller supplier going out of business, or might just mistrust an unfamiliar brand. Granted, all change in life involves some risk. But it’s all relative. There are people who would dive under traffic to pick up £400 lying in the road but wouldn’t risk switching energy supplier. In excess of that sum might be saved annually in some parts of Scotland, according to new research, with the average across the country being £360. That the research comes from one of the smaller suppliers challenging the so-called Big Six no doubt suggests a vested interest in such results. But that needn’t invalidate the figures, which are presented as an analysis of reality. Bulb’s figures may pertain to its own offers but are broadly in line with previous research by Ofgem which, across the board, found savings of around £300 available.
Herald 6th Aug 2018 read more »
