Hundreds of thousands of angry gas and electricity customers desert Big Six suppliers

Source: Financial Mail on Sunday, LondonNov.mini storage 10--An army of gas and electricity customers fed up with what they see as the greedy Big Six energy suppliers are switching to the smaller players.First Utility, Britain's largest independent energy company, took on 100,000 new customers last month as a result of widespread dissatisfaction with the Big Six ? British Gas, EDF, Eon, npower, ScottishPower and SSE.Mark Todd, director of comparison website Energyhelpline, says: 'Smaller suppliers offer some of the cheapest tariffs, so switchers will not only send a clear message of their frustration with the big boys increasing prices, but they will save money too.'One couple who switched to a smaller company are Mike and Wendy Wood, of Macclesfield, Cheshire.The Woods, who have two grown children, Hannah, 22, and William, 19, switched from npower to a two-year fixed dual-fuel deal with First Utility.Mike, 52, a private landlord, says: 'We received a letter from npower saying it was going to increase our direct debit by 12 per cent to well over pounds sterling 200 a month for gas and electricity.'We decided that enough was enough and started to look around for another deal, and that's when we found First Utility.'Not only did the fixed tariff from First Utility reduce their monthly bill by about pounds sterling 40 a month, but they are also happy with the service they are getting, including being given a free smart meter.This allows the couple to monitor their energy use on everything from their dishwasher to their television. Mike says: 'The service is spot on and the switch went without a hitch.'There are plenty of alternative smaller players, but the main ones are Ovo, First Utility, Co-op and Green Star Energy, a new eco-friendly energy supplier.Smaller suppliers are finding it easier to compete on price because they do not have to pay some of the green levies of about pounds sterling 110 a year per dual-fuel household imposed by the Government.Jeremy Cryer, energy spokesman at comparison website Gocompare, says: 'Suppliers with less than 250,000 customers are not obliged to meet certain licence conditions such as green levies.'The cheapest fixed tariff currently available is from First Utility, even though it does pay the green levies. Its iSave v12 June 2015 tariff means that the average annual dual-fuel bill works out at pounds sterling 1,178. However, there is a cancellation fee of pounds sterling 60 if you switch away before the fixed deal ends in June 2015 and you have both gas and electricity supplied.Eon's Fixed 1 Year v5 costs the same but it is only for o儲存e year. It also comes with a cancellation fee of pounds sterling 10 for dual-fuel bills.Spark Energy's Advance 2 looks like the cheapest fixed deal ? with an average dual-fuel cost of pounds sterling 1,116 ? but customers have to pay two months in advance. Regulator Ofgem is currently investigating Spark Energy following customer complaints regarding billing practices and switching procedures.A Spark Energy spokesman says: 'These issues are historic, not current. We are investing pounds sterling 1.5?million to improve customer experience.'The third cheapest fixed deal is available from another small supplier ? Green Star Energy.Its No Worries 12 Months Fixed Version 2310 is for 12 months once you sign up. The average annual dual-fuel bill is pounds sterling 1,182. It comes with a cancellation fee of pounds sterling 31.50 for electricity, but not for gas.Ovo also has a fixed deal that features in the top ten. Its New Energy Fixed is for one year once you sign up, with the average annual dual-fuel cost working out at pounds sterling 1,226 ? nearly pounds sterling 50 more than the cheapest fixed rate available.The longest fixes are still offered by the Big Six. Price Protector from npower runs until the end of December 2017 and should cost the average household pounds sterling 1,367 per year for dual-fuel. There is no exit fee.FOR customers wanting a longer deal but with a smaller supplier, First Utility has a medium-term fixed deal, which runs until the end of January 2016. The iSave Fixed v10 will cost in the region of pounds sterling 1,274 for a year's supply of energy. There is an exit fee of pounds sterling 60 for both gas and electricity.Before choosing a deal, remember that the average price promoted is only a guide as it will depend on your personal circumstances, including where you live, how much energy you use and how you pay your bills.This means that even though some of the smaller suppliers may not feature in the best-buy tables, some of their tariffs could still work out the cheapest for you.Cryer says customers should pick the best deal for them regardless of the size of supplier. 'There are pros and cons with all suppliers, large and small, but it's important people realise that there is far more choice than just the Big Six,' he says.According to comparison website uSwitch, three in four customers say they would be happy to switch to a smaller supplier if they could get a cheaper deal.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 Daily Mail (London, ) Visit the Daily Mail (London, ) at .dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉