Lucas_Dad

I went through the process of switching energy providers recently. Just thought I'd share my experience, if that is of any interest or use to anyone.

We built our house a couple of years ago. Our builder did the job of getting us connected up. I assumed for a long time that we'd get the same discount as we were getting at our rental. Turns out, he did a crap job of setting us up. Measly 6c/kwh solar feed-in and no discounts whatsoever. My fault partly for not looking closer I suppose.

We're with Origin for both gas & electricity. NSW.

I signed up to onebigswitch.com.au. They get special deals from all kinds of suppliers in return for their many members potentially switching providers. They identified Click Energy as the best deal - a decent 19c/kwh solar feed-in and a health 20% discount for paying on time. Very attractive.

I called up iselect.com.au and spoke to someone very helpful. They didn't have Click Energy on their system. They ran the numbers and identified that actually I'd be better sticking with Origin - lower FIT (9c/kwh) but 19% discount on bills. Lower FIT is ok for me because, being a full time dad, I use day time solar a lot - washing machine, dishwasher, oven, etc.

I then called Origin direct and said "do better, or I'm leaving". I'm glad I did call them. Their best deal for me was not on iselect's systems. They offered 20% discount. Ok, only 1% more than iselect, but still better. "I reckon you can do better" I said. Don't ask, don't get! I asked, I got! Not a big improvement, but they upped it to 21%. It all helps. Still 9c/kwh solar FIT, but now I get 21% on elec and 17% discount on gas - again, 2% more than iselect could sort for me. Also, they back-dated the new gas & electricity discounts to commence from the end of the last bill.

Even with onebigswitch Click Energy's much better solar FIT, I would have been worse off had I jumped on that offer, because I use most of the solar rather than feeding it in, and when I have no solar Click's rates are much higher than Origin (something like 40c/kwh compared to Origin's 24c/kwh).

So the moral of my long boring story? These comparison sites, and super-deal sites may not be all they're cracked up to be. Ring the providers directly and simply ask that they do better.

The end. Cheers

commonwealth

Same with home loans. Every year I call the bank and threaten to refinance if they don’t give me a lower rate. It worked. Until recently. Then I actually refinanced to a lowe rate and got a rebate from new lender for all refinance costs.