Are there six more boring words on the planet than ‘fix and switch your energy supplier’? Perhaps ‘ice sculpture melting day: free entry!’ or ‘local council appreciation day this friday’ but it’s definitely up there. There isn’t a hotter topic in the UK right now, with David Cameron and money-saving supremo Martin Lewis barking at you to fix your energy prices before the suppliers do an evil cackle while adding a sneaky zero to your bill. So today I decided to give in and do it. Look, I’m not proud but here’s what happened…
To prepare myself for the startlingly dull task of switching energy suppliers, I first ingested two mugs of coffee and a fistful of penny sweets to boost sugar levels. I chose cola bottles and shrimps but any confectionery you have to hand will do. You’ll need it, trust me.Then, here’s what you do:
1 – Swear under breath, furrow brow, sigh.
2 – Go to moneysavingexpert.com to see what shouty Martin says. He may be shouty but he is an expert.
3 – Join their Energy Club. Wait, no, come back! This really only takes five minutes and it works out how much you pay now and what you could save. I know, tedious but economically sound.
4 – The Energy Club told me I could save £109 by going with the first two suppliers on their list but also revealed they’re a bit pants when it comes to customer service. I sighed again.
5 – I swerved the first two and went with the third pick which turned out to be my original supplier (E.On) but just at a better tariff. I could save £56 a year. Look at it this way – that’s 65 bottles of Heineken (on offer at Nisa money-savers) or a colossal 280 Curly Wurlys. Now I’m excited!
6 – I went to E.On’s site and it helpfully informed me I could actually save £86 a year with rewards too. Or to put it another way, more than enough to pay for a Curly Wurly every day of the year. Sold!
7 – I clicked Switch Now and within five minutes I was switched. I even felt a tiny frisson of excitement whizz up my body. Or perhaps that was a shiver because I can’t afford to put the heating on what with energy bills being so high.
In conclusion: Fixing and switching your energy supplier is a tedious job but it only took 20 minutes. After that, just sit back and think of the beer and Curly Wurlys.
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