Bulb energy supplier questions
 

Thinking of changing my Gas and Electricity supplier to Bulb so have a few questions that you guys may be able to answer, thanks for any help.

1. I believe i don't have to contact my current supplier (eon)?

2. If eon owe me when switching will they automatically pay me back?

3. If i owe eon when switching what happens then?

4. Has anyone that previously switched to Bulb made a good £ saving compared to their previous supplier?

5. How long does it normally take switching?

6. Will i have to have a smart meter?

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

I changed from Eon to Octopus a couple of years ago, so can't comment specifically on Bulb, who were actually my other choice. Can't remember why I went with Octopus, but they have similarly good reputations.
I didn't have to contact Eon, I did have to provide octopus with a final reading. Eon will send you a final bill or reimburse depending on your balance. Can't remember the time scale exactly, don't think it took more than a few weeks.
Smart meter should be optional, it is with Octopus currently. Don't think I'd sign up with someone who enforced one.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

Not all companies automatically give any credit back:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ut...-bill-refunds/

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

Useless posts removed, Grow up.

---------- Post added at 19:38 ---------- Previous post was at 19:37 ----------

Yes.

They then increased their prices 3 times in 6 months, so I dumped them.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

1. No you don't need to.

2. Yes they should do.

3. They may object and stop the switch if you owe them a lot.

4. Probably, only reason for switching.

5. 17 days

6. Depends on their t&c. AFAIK no one can force you to have a smart meter.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

All companies now automatically give any credit back and have done since 2014.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

I made the move about 6 months ago and they keep bringing my costs down. I can refer you and you can get £50 credit onto your account and I get £50 also.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

My parents and sister are with them so I will use them for the referal, thanks for all the info.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

The article quoted is from 2017 and says that this is still happening. I would advise people to check just in case, it can't do any harm.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

I’m with Bulb, leccy only as we have no gas. Happy so far. They’ve reduced prices once in the year or so I’ve been with them.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

Transferred to Bulb as soon as I moved in to the new house nearly 7 months ago, as I was not staying with EON. No price increases or asked to pay more, £64 per month for Gas and Electric use for two people in the house. Plus they use 100% renewable electricity from solar, wind and hydro.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

I'm sorry Ricard but the article deos not say they still do it.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

I'm not so sure Bulb are a small supplier given the amount of advertising they are doing. The usual plan for these companies is to offer a low tariff to attract customers then hike prices. If you're prepared to switch each year (which I am ;) ) you can make significant savings, but they rely on apathy.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

Last time I swapped suppliers, I had to request for the money back - and that was last year - I gave them 3 months to do it, before I requested it.

Incidentally - I make use of these guys : https://flipper.community/ they automatically flip you to the cheapest provider. They do charge you £25 a year - but only if the amount they say you is more than that.

If anyone wants a referral link, let me know.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

Why do that, when you can do it yourself for nothing? . They are also only likely to select from providers that pay them commission, not all do.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

..because it takes time and effort to do it, and I feel I'd rather invest my free time elsewhere - not to mention that I regularly forget to do it - I always mean to, but other stuff trumps it.

They say they take no commission from the suppliers... and I feel that if I am paying them, then I may actually get impartial advice, as opposed to the comparison sites which are doing things for 'free'

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

After nearly a month of being with Bulb they're saying my monthly usage is £79 for Electricity and Gas which i am very pleased about as Eon wanted to up my debits to £128 a month!

Obviously Gas usage will go up in the colder months but so far i am very pleased, also got £50 added to the account for switching and so did my parents.

I can't believe how simple it was to switch, if i had known i would have done this years ago.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

Do it every year, it rarely pays with the same supplier for more than a year. Plus of course you can usually get a bit of cashback for switching.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

Yup. Always pays to watch out for exit penalties, although even these do not apply within 49 days of your contract ending.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

So i have been with Bulb for around 5 months now and still paying £77 a month for Gas and Electricity and my credit balance is showing as £174.83 so i am extremely happy with that so far!

If i had still been with Eon i would be paying atleast £118 a month for both fuels, so i am paying £41 a month less with alot still in credit.

It pays to shop around people if you are someone like me who never considered changing supplier!

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

I really wouldn't build up too much of a credit balance, it's not for your benefit. My current supplier, Symbio, only charges for actual use each month, which is a nice change.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

I will look into whether i can reduce the payments online, I'm paying £77.19 a month and energy usage is showing as £80 for November but this seems to change alot, sometimes alot lower strangely, i will give it a month or so to see how the gas usage hits the credit.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

I've been with them for a year, was paying £102 a month, and have referred 2 people so made £100. My payments have been reduced to £83, currently sat with £350 in credit. Will cover me as I use more over the winter. Previously with British Gas and having been stung a few quarters with large bills I went on monthly and was paying for what I used which worked nicely but moving to Bulb changed that but still saved me a pretty penny.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

I would look into reducing your monthly payments too then.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

I have just reduced but will be cracking heating up soon so will be using more. Don't mind been in a bit of credit saves having to worry about it over the winter then.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

I've just reduced my payments down to £70 a month to see how that goes, everything is so easy to do on their site compared to Eons!

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

I moved from Eon as well, their prices were getting silly. I did consider Bulb but ended with Octopus who have a similarly good reputation. No exit fees and if you're in credit you can get some money refunded with a couple of clicks. Definitely worth considering moving away from the big boys.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

I strongly recommend Octopus provided you are happy to do everything online and to send in your own monthly meter readings. Reduced my monthly gas/electricity payment to £60 and still in credit to get through what may well be a very cold winter.

Re: Bulb energy supplier questions
 

Orbit Energy dropped my Direct Debit by £22 per month. I contacted them and said that I had done my calculations, and needed to build up credit to pay the extra cost of the winter months. So they reversed the decrease. That's the whole point of Direct Debits, paying equal amounts each month over the year. Then refunding any excess, or increasing the monthly amount from then on.