I've been an Amerada customer since February 2002. I transferred both my gas and electricity accounts at the same time, the transfer process went smoothly and I encountered no difficulty with my previous energy suppliers.

******* Benefits ********

Completely online service. Easy access to your account transactions. Discounts for 'dual fuel', monthly Direct Debit instruction. £10 BOL voucher if friends you recommend take up the service. Cheaper than major energy suppliers (British Gas, YEB)

********** Disadvantages/Problems *******

Amerada run a 9 'til 5, no weekends office operation. It is geared up to respond to customer queries three ways.

1. Answer Centre. A fairly comprehensive FAQ service on the website. If you get no joy here, then...

2. Email them. Very poor response times to emails, measured in weeks rather than days. One one occasion I received no reponse at all.

3. £1 per minute phone line. Pay premium rates to hear a recorded message tell you the office is now closed.


Meter reading. Initially Amerada use the readings agreed by you and your former supplier(s). Thereafter estimates are used based on your former consumption rates and reading you supply and submit via the website. Recently we were visited by a rather suspicious type (no uniform, no liveried vehicle, but wearing ID) who read our gas meter. Concerned, I mailed Amerada. No answer. Mailed a complaint, received a phone call. Their rep told me Amerada didn't read meters, and to treat the visitor as bogus, report it to the police. I checked around and established that the meter reader was from Accuread contracted to (you guessed) Amerada! How can they not know this kind of basic information?

Amerada retailing division and it's 400,000 customers has just been bought by TXU Europe. Uncertainty is unlikely to bring any short term improvements in service.

Conclusion

If you wan
t to make savings, consider Amerada. Don't expect them to put too much effort into the service once they've recruited your custom. Don't expect them to know how the service works!

*************** UPDATE ****************

Today Amerada finally conceded that they do indeed receive meter readings via Transco, who are legally required to read all gas meters every 12 - 24 months. Why it took them so long will remain a mystery! So if you do choose Amerada, expect a visit from a geezer who wants to read your meter, but everyone denies knowing..