Energy News

Slam the door on energy doorstep selling

Monday 17 August, 2009

By becca.talbot@consumerchoices.co.uk

British households are being urged to think twice before switching energy suppliers with doorstep salesmen, as they don’t offer the cheapest gas and electricity prices.

Customers switching energy suppliers with a door-to-door salesman should be wary that the promise of the “cheapest standard tariff” won’t necessarily be the cheapest energy deal available.

Gareth Kloet, head of utilities at Confused.com said: “Door-to-door salesmen could save you money, especially if you have never switched provider or tariff before, but you need to be careful.”

According to energy regulator Ofgem, 41% of households switch suppliers through doorstep salesmen, meaning they could be missing out on cheaper deals, such as online energy tariffs.

Kloet continued: “Research shows that you could miss out [on a better deal] because door-to-door salesmen don’t alert you to online savings, or other providers’ tariffs. Don’t just rely on the salesman''s patter - check out their claims for yourself.”

Figures show there is a noticeable difference between a supplier’s cheapest online energy tariff and their standard tariff:

• British Gas - Online best is an average of £1,019 a year, but doorstep best is £1,085
• E.ON - Online best is an average of £1,017 a year, but doorstep best is £1,095
• EDF - Online best is an average of £982 a year, but doorstep best is £1,097
• Npower - Online best is an average of £1,019 a year, but doorstep best is £1,151

Chris Eagle, commercial manager at EnergyChoices.co.uk said: “The best way to compare tariffs is to use an accredited comparison site, which will compare all the tariffs currently available in the market - including the online ones. Our energy calculator does just that.”

He continued: “Customers using our energy comparison service saved an average of £139* on their gas and electricity bills. Compare prices today and see how much you could save by switching to a cheaper tariff.”

* Over the last sixty days (18 June - 16 August) customers using our service saved an average of £139.07. The maximum saving was £1,583.