slash your gas bill (Amerada)

Member Name:

Product:	Amerada
Date:	15/08/01 (115 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap

Disadvantages: took ages to switch

It's amazing to think millions of gas users are stuck with British Gas when they could easily shave their annual fuel bill by switching suppliers.

Fair enough, the saving won't be enough to retire on but it could amount to a handy hundred pounds or so a year.

The good news is gas companies are falling over each other to sign you up. The bad news is it can take ages to switch suppliers. It has taken me four months to change to my new supplier - Amerada.co.uk, which claims to be the cheapest in the land.

I axed British Gas two years ago because of its skyhigh prices and scandalous customer service (it was tardy in connecting our new house even though my wife was six months pregnant and it was winter.)

At the time I wasn't on the internet so I had to trawl magazines and Sunday newspapers to find the cheapest gas company. It turned out to be Amerada Hess Gas (Domestic) Ltd.

I signed up without trouble and agreed to pay £18 per month by direct debit (their suggested figure). The price per unit was 1.16p per unit with a 7.4p standing charge per day. It worked out about 18% cheaper than British Gas.

But Amerada hiked its prices in April this year (the reason it gave was an increase in wholesale gas prices - I wonder if prices will fall if wholesale becomes cheaper again?) so I went online in search of a better deal.

I found a useful site called uk.kelkoo.com which has an online calculator to identify the cheapest gas supplier in your area. Enter your postcode, supplier and how much you pay plus method of payment and it brings up a list of cheap gas companies.

It can also do the same for electricity but I was only interested in gas. It works out cheaper for me to split my utility bills between three companies rather than pay one company.

Surprisingly the supplier with the best deal was the online version of...you've guessed it, Amerada. It was some £30 a year cheaper or
9% than my current deal (1.19p per unit instead of 1.32p)

I went to amerada.co.uk and filled in the online application form within 10 minutes. The site, which says it is secure from hackers, is a gruesome purple and difficult to read but loaded quickly.

I chose monthly direct debit to benefit from a discount (I think 5%) and suggested a monthly figure of £17, a pound cheaper than I was then paying to take account of the expected lower bills.

They wrote saying my application had been received and they would contact me shortly. They asked me to notify my gas supplier I was closing my account - some gas companies will do this for you, Amerada.co.uk is one that won't.

True to their word a letter landed on the doormat within three weeks saying I had been accepted and asking me to cancel my direct debit.

Another email arrived a few days later telling me to go to their website to give a meter reading. I did.

Finally a letter arrived this month saying amerada.co.uk will take over on August 18. But the monthly amount will be ...£19 - a pound more than I am currently paying. It has taken four months for the entire process to end.

Oh well, it's about to start and I won't quibble over £1 per month but why ask my opinion if they come up with a different figure? And why isn't it cheaper than my current bill?

During the changeover the postman brought two letters from my old supplier Amerada - the first a final bill for £52 telling me my direct debit had failed (of course it had because you told me to cancel it).

It added the bill was for 'account information'. I assumed that meant I did not have to pay it because the outstanding balance would be switched to my online account. Mistake.

A red letter swiftly followed threatening legal action recover the sum unless I paid it within seven days.

I phoned Amerada using a number I was given by the online ar
m of the company. I got a recorded message saying the offices were closed. I tried another number given on my old bills and got through straightaway.

I reminded the operator I was switching to their online counterpart but was told it makes no difference. The two services have the same names but are run by seperate companies. The old saying about right hand and left hand comes to mind.

But after some persistence (and I admit a bit of annoyance) the operator changed tack and said the outstanding amount would be added to my online account after all!

Judging by the bungling and bared teeth I admit I'm a bit worried about what I've let myself in for.

I hope the first direct debit goes through smoothly and I won't hear from amerada.co.uk again. I'll let you know how I get on.

NB: Once you sign up you're given an account which you access through a username and password. If you forget your password they'lll email it to you.

If you have a query after looking at your statements it's best to email. Amerada.co.uk will charge telephone callers a premium rate of £1 per minute.

They do not send out paper statements and you can cancel if you write and give 28 days notice.

Summary: