Money for nothing (EDF Energy)

Member Name: davomrmac

Product:	EDF Energy
Date:	03/10/08 (174 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Ummmm, none

Disadvantages: Big price increases for essential utilities

Please excuse this being a rather heated article or opinion, but with the recent price hikes would you really expect anything else.

Let me get the positives covered first... it might just make you a little happier. EDF Energy supply both our gas and electric. The bills are always accurate and we pay by direct debit, which saves us a little of our bill. I also opted to read the meter myself, so every so often I go online and supply my meter reading, again about another £1 per bill saved. So there are some good things to say. The service for supplying our gas and electricity is good, but that's it. I have never had to call them out, so what do they really do. After all, if it was a dodgy light switch, they wouldn't fix it for nothing just because I am a customer, so it would be as an extra expense.

The big problem is not just with EDF, but how can they justify a 40-45% price hike when they make so much year end profit. Their directors earn a fortune with big fat paychecks too. There is even another 20-25% price increase expected in January 2009. It is ludicrous how they want to squeeze more and more money out of us for essential services. To knock this on the head for the time being I switched to Scottish Power. It does not save me a great deal, about £100 over the year (still that is about £9 per month). What might save me more money is that I capped my bills until December 2009. If we do get a price increase across the board in January, my saving will be a lot higher... no loyalty here, when the deal comes to an end, switch again.

If everyone switches when they can to cheaper suppliers, maybe someone will sit up and take action. Maybe we will see these utility companies start lowering their prices to attract people back.

Tip: If you plan to switch, don't settle for the £15 to £30 incentive from the comparison websites. I got £72 from Quidco which is much more like it.

Summary: Everyone switch, save yourself some money