Did anyone on here catch that interview today with a lady called Clare concerning her struggle to survive these new energy hikes by the energy company Southern or some such? it was truly heart breaking hearing this poor womans tears live on radio 2 and should be required listening for the oxbridge replicants who pretend to govern us.
Moving doesn’t come close to describing this lovely womans bravery and candour on a mass appeal radio show.A rallying cry if ever there was one? How much more of this ■■■■ are we ready to take?
I didn’t hear it, but… In general terms, it’s very easy to switch provider, although it takes longer than it should once you’ve done your bit, but very few people switch, switching is the biggest tool the public have at keeping energy prices low.
So maybe the public don’t think it’s that bad or as bigger issue as Miliband thinks / hopes it is.
Or maybe it’s the good folk of trucknet sticking to their principles and not dealing with rate cutters and paying the Propper rate!!
That said the charges for gas and leccy are RIDICULOUS! i’m on pre-payment meters as i got behind with the bills and was forced onto them. and its costing me nearly twice as much as those who pay DD on a dual fuel account!
when the weather turns cold ill be paying £35 a week for gas, and £30 a week for leccy £260 a MONTH! yes admittedly i save during the summer, as we dont run the heating at all… but its still over £2500 a year for my combined bill… were lucky, we can (just) afford to eat and heat… BUT itll only need a small upset to change that!
stevieboy308:
I didn’t hear it, but… In general terms, it’s very easy to switch provider, although it takes longer than it should once you’ve done your bit, but very few people switch, switching is the biggest tool the public have at keeping energy prices low.
So maybe the public don’t think it’s that bad or as bigger issue as Miliband thinks / hopes it is.
Or maybe it’s the good folk of trucknet sticking to their principles and not dealing with rate cutters and paying the Propper rate!!
The problem is, when you punch up for the “cheaper provider” they are all less than a fiver a year different from each other (on my usage) with the one oustanding one that is significantly cheaper “wants a grand up-front” because of my usage patterns over 6 months…
“We don’t want you to run up a debt” - No, they bleeding well want MY cash on deposit early in THEIR bank account for no good reason at all!
That said the charges for gas and leccy are RIDICULOUS! i’m on pre-payment meters as i got behind with the bills and was forced onto them. and its costing me nearly twice as much as those who pay DD on a dual fuel account!
when the weather turns cold ill be paying £35 a week for gas, and £30 a week for leccy £260 a MONTH! yes admittedly i save during the summer, as we dont run the heating at all… but its still over £2500 a year for my combined bill… were lucky, we can (just) afford to eat and heat… BUT itll only need a small upset to change that!
B…
You don’t always need a chimney, if you have got a outside wall you can have a wood burning stove gives of much more heat than an open fire.
my dad (who is 75 and been very very ill for months-lot better now though ) got landed with a £650 bill for his gas about 2 months ago- he needed his heating on all the time when he got out of hospital in the middle of winter.now he is worried about putting his heating on .■■■■■■■ vultures.
stevieboy308:
I didn’t hear it, but… In general terms, it’s very easy to switch provider, although it takes longer than it should once you’ve done your bit, but very few people switch, switching is the biggest tool the public have at keeping energy prices low.
So maybe the public don’t think it’s that bad or as bigger issue as Miliband thinks / hopes it is.
Or maybe it’s the good folk of trucknet sticking to their principles and not dealing with rate cutters and paying the Propper rate!!
The problem is, when you punch up for the “cheaper provider” they are all less than a fiver a year different from each other (on my usage) with the one oustanding one that is significantly cheaper “wants a grand up-front” because of my usage patterns over 6 months…
“We don’t want you to run up a debt” - No, they bleeding well want MY cash on deposit early in THEIR bank account for no good reason at all!
i’ve just done a quick comparison, without digging out actual useage, just kept clicking don’t know or the middle option, the dual fuel annual quotes range from £998 to £1285, so if you’re currently on a tariff towards the dear end there’s decent money to be saved, if you’re on the cheaper end then you’re on a competitive rate, not everyone will be able to make good savings.
if you’ve got the money sat there earning little interest, then maybe it will be worth letting them put it in their account?
anyway, ya man martin lewis has made it easy, enter your details and when a company is x amount more competitive than your current one, you’ll get an email
happysack:
Did anyone else grow up without heating?
(i’m not disrespecting the old and infirm)
When i was growing up we had no central heating just a gas fire in the lounge, i remember waking up in winter being able to see my breath in front of me and the freezing cold when getting out of bed - how times have changed !!
happysack:
Did anyone else grow up without heating?
(i’m not disrespecting the old and infirm)
When i was growing up we had no central heating just a gas fire in the lounge, i remember waking up in winter being able to see my breath in front of me and the freezing cold when getting out of bed - how times have changed !!
I grew up in am old barn conversion. There was an aga i’m the kitchen, and an open fire in the lounge. Both these rooms were upstairs, the bedrooms were on the ground floor. Believe me it was cold getting out of bed. Ice on the inside all winter! Didn’t help it was halfway up a bloody mountain!
Thank you so very much for your post and for your very kind comments. I cannot tell you how much they have cheered me up… I am Clare. Thank you again for your very kind words and for adding them to this forum. You are SO right in your words. I cannot imagine how much more dreadful the situation must be for those in a similar (or worse) position than me, who has any (especially very small) children. But until energy providers and other privatised utility/transport industries are “un-privatised” the situation will continue to worsen. The priority for these companies is to their shareholders and their company profits. I blame them not; they are clearly and openly private companies running basic rights for profit, rather than the greater public good. Thank you again for taking the time to share my words on here and comment on them. Bless you, Manalishi, and thank you once more. ■■
To everyone else; I completely respect your views. I am on a pretty reasonable dual-fuel tariff and am an active user of the excellent MSE forums. And I have NEVER sat on the streets (or, indeed, anywhere) and begged. I’ve only been to Kings Cross twice - and the most recent time was so someone could take a picture of me at “Platform 9¾”. But thank you for responding in any case.
Love the truckers of the UK; I think you’re all fantastic. x Bless you all once again. ■■
