Most of the UK's domestic electricity consumers are failing to benefit from price cuts, because they have not switched supplier, the government's spending watchdog has said. BBC News Online asked readers for their thoughts on why people were staying put.

Your comments

I stayed loyal on the assumption that my provider would be obliged to pass on savings; obviously not, so I'm looking to switch as soon as possible. Thank you.
Alan Preece, England

When I changed gas supplier, my original supplier took �400 extra through my direct debit agreement, the bill for which came through when I was on holiday so I couldn't contest it. And it took them six weeks to put the money back into the account. They even have the cheek to phone me up and ask if I'd like to return to them! Changing supplier is more trouble then it's worth, and since they all calculate their prices in different ways it is impossible to work out which one is cheapest.
Jay, Wales

To me the priorities seem all wrong here. Is 'cheap' electricity really a step forward? Richard Ogden, England

Having tried to find information for myself and our church, it is very difficult to find clear and accurate information.
Edward Wilkinson, England

I moved my electricity and gas accounts with ease, and gained a significant saving by having both through the same supplier. However, a couple of months later I received a letter from my new supplier saying 'sorry to hear you are leaving us...'. It turned out that my neighbours in the flat above had applied to change supplier, and due to a typo somewhere along the line, my address was the one registered. It took me four months to sort the situation out and get back to my chosen supplier.
LIZ, UK

The situation becomes disturbing when you consider that among those less likely to switch are some of society's most vulnerable Edward Leigh MP, Public Accounts Committee chairman name here Click here for main story

I have not switched because I had always believed that loyalty paid. But it appears that these Companies care little for the loyalty of their customers. I for one will now be looking to change supplier.
Dave, UK

I switched 18 months ago and it was a hassle. There seemed to be endless stages to go through with various confirmation letters. Its not like they were changing the cable to my house!
Tim, UK

I've switched energy supplier's three times, making significant savings, based on reduced tariff rates and cross-promotions. Comparing consumption, tariffs and standing charges could be made easier though. No problems so far, although switching times can be lengthy.
Joe G., Derby, U.K

There's too much choice now. A free market only works when people behave as if they are economic machines, but because we're now supposed to choose between hundreds of deregulated companies for utilities such as electricity, gas, phone, water, as well as all the other complex things in life like insurance, mortgages, pensions etc. a good number of people (including myself) just can't be bothered to take the extra time to wade through their publicity and work it all out for �20 a year. Most people have to work too hard to bother - life's too short. The only thing I'd think about changing would be my mortgage, because the sums involved are big enough. �50 a year? That's four evenings at the pub. A year. Whoopee.
Iain Jenkins, UK

I think to persuade people to switch OFGEM needs to provide more official education about how it is done A, UK

I have personally switched supplier because it is more convenient to have the same supplier for gas and electricity. I don't know if it is cheaper though. The billing schemes are too complicated to work out. My mother recently switched and was promised savings of around 20%. When she switched it was actually more expensive.
David Moore, England

To me the priorities seem all wrong here. Is 'cheap' electricity really a step forward? I don't see that it encourages people to use less electricity, and to use renewable sources where possible. Why are renewables always more expensive? Switching to a 'green' tariff needs to be more attractive and the debate should be shifted away from 'cost' to 'environmental consequences'.
Richard Ogden, England

It is too much hassle to change. I do not like being bombarded with information.
Helen, England

What these business-fixated people seem not to realise is that most of us 'don't want to be rushing around all the time trying to do deals for the basic necessities of life. Andrew Mantle, UK

I have recently bought my first home and have looked into various methods of saving money by switching electricity and telephone services. I have saved money through switching telephone provider but when I weighed up the electricity switch and the loyalty schemes offered by my present supplier, it made no financial advantage to switch. Even though competitors had lower rates. I think this may be the same for a good portion of domestic users. With commercial users it is different because with a much higher usage marginal differences in unit rates make big savings. But for your average domestic user it is very difficult to be persuaded to switch by price alone, especially if you are with a well known brand and have been with them for many years. Many people still view their local energy supplier as the electricity board or gas board. I think to persuade people to switch OFGEM needs to provide more official education about how it is done, how it works and problems that can occur. By doing this they would also reduce the number of cases of miss-selling and sale cons.
A, England

I switched my supplier about two years ago, primarily to get rid of the salesman at my door, but believing that he couldn't be promising a reduction of at least 25% without it being founded on fact. Under my new supplier, my bill immediately went from �30 per month to �110 per month. I tried to complain to my new supplier and was passed around a phone system that seemed design to waste people's time and money. Finally I tried to switch to another supplier. This proved impossible because my current supplier told the prospective supplier that I couldn't switch because I hadn't paid my bills. In fact, I always have paid them by direct debit and have never been late with a payment.
B Hamilton, UK

I've switched, once, but once is enough. What these business-fixated people seem not to realise is that most of us 'don't want to be rushing around all the time trying to do deals for the basic necessities of life. Some of us would like to spend our time in better ways. What many of us want is secure, reasonably priced supplies with enough competition to ensure that those people who can't leave business at the office do enough deals to keep the overall price level down for everyone.
Andrew Mantle, UK

My view is that I would rather pay a few pence more than suffer all the stress and aggravation of a new company. Arif, London

Deregulation has meant that consumers are left with a plethora of choices from companies who seem to go out of their way to confuse with complicated pricing structures - it is all well and good the NAO saying that you can make savings but trying to make the change and work out who can save you money is confusing, plus people run the risk of dealing with salesmen who are only interested in their own commission by selling them the best deals for the supplier rather than the consumer. For some the potential savings are not worth the hassle of the investigation. Deregulation of any essential service is confusing, unnecessary, and questionably unethical
Richard Melbourn, UK

I have switched (twice, in different flats) and escaped back to my original supplier. The first time I was tricked into signing up, by being told (by two large, intimidating salesmen when I was home alone) that what I was signing was a request for more information on their pricing scale, when in fact it was an agreement to let them become my supplier. Although I was upset by their tactics we decided not to bother switching back, as it seemed like too much bother. We did switch back soon because of the lack of customer care at that point. In my current flat my partner signed us up to another supplier when I was out, and I refused to stay with them. It then took them seven months to send us our bill for the one month we'd been with them! There is too much difficulty involved in switching suppliers (in my case at least!) and the energy supply companies seem to dislike passing customer information on to each other, resulting in delayed/wrong bills. I don't have the time to waste sorting out! t ! their mistakes!
Jennie F, Scotland

I switched supplier. However, it took six months, three letters to the regulator and a threat of court action before the firm would finally let me go as a customer. In all this time they insisted that I was still on their books and refused to accept a final reading. I won't ever try to switch again.
Andrea Collett, UK

Quality of life - what life? We're expected to work full time, parent full time, research and change our mortgages/credit cards/pensions full time - is there any life/time left over to be lived? Has anyone worked out how much time it would take to live up to all this stuff or whether there's any time left- having done all we're urged to do - to spend any of these hard researched savings? Perhaps someone should carry out an audit of whether there are hours actually available to us to "have it all/do it all" under this dreadful market driven regime?
Shelagh Lloyd, Wales

Switching is not as straightforward as the politicians and regulators seem to think. I had a year of problems during which I found out that the Meter Point Administration Service had the wrong details for my house but was not allowed to communicate direct with the electricity companies for 'privacy reasons'. I'm trying a change again through one of the third-party research and referral websites and have heard from my current supplier but not yet the new one. There are so many flaws in the current system and so many horror stories about it's little wonder most people are not bothering to shift supplier.
Graeme Roberts, UK

I have heard so many horror stories about people who have switched suppliers and then had significant amounts of grief and hassle to deal with. My view is that I would rather pay a few pence more than suffer all the stress and aggravation of a new company.
Arif, London

If you are to switch why not switch to a green energy company which sources its power from wind or small hydro. It may cost a little more but, hey, it helps towards a carbon neutral way of life.
Jacob Dean, UK

We switched once and ended up with loads of hassle for what was promised to save us money, it didn't. �50 a year is no big deal these days, you can waste that on a night out. Now if they where talking about �50 a month that would be different. Basically its too much trouble for too little a saving.
G Smith, UK

I switched suppliers and it took 12 months for the two companies to agree on a final reading, they refused to speak to each other about the situation and they wouldn't act on what I told them. I complained, one replied the other did nothing. In the end I got EnergyWatch involved and they were excellent, got it sorted in a week!
Mike B, England

It's a pain. It might only take 'three minutes' to complete the form, as was quoted by the regulator on the radio this morning, but it takes three years to sort out the mess afterwards. Having swapped my Electricity supply to British Gas they still haven't billed me 14 months later. Somehow I suspect a rather large bill will land on my doorstep one day.
Dave Gibson, England

Switching is as easy or complex as you want to make it. Sure, there are errors made, but these aren't always the supplier's fault - there are inherent problems from the monopoly days. There are great savings to be made by using one supplier for both gas and electricity - especially if you manage your accounts online.
Matt, UK

In nationalised days things still fell down, but there were the resources to fix them quickly. What used to take 24hours to fix in a major storm, now takes 4 to 5 days. When it happens all the companies go on the TV and say "we are importing staff from around the UK to help out in these difficult times." Well they are. But only because everyone who used to be able to fix it is now not employed anymore. So enjoy your cheaper fuel costs. I guarantee what happened in California last year, where there wasn't enough electricity to go around, so major power cuts were caused for days, will happen here within the next ten years. By then it will be too late.....
Captain Electric, UK

I'm continually wary of switching suppliers due to scare stories I heard while at university, about rogue salesman approaching my house mates and falsely signing us up for supplier switches that we had never agreed to. The main example of this was a housemate agreeing to receive information about more competitive prices and finding himself with a new supplier within a couple of weeks. this kind of deception scares me from making enquiries.
Ross Tselepis, UK

I switched three years ago to one supplier and then switched to another last year. I have never had any problems when switching. I now have my gas and electricity with the same supplier. Moving house is simple too, just tell them when you move, read the meters when you move out and they do all the rest.
Ian Simmins, UK

The price of energy in this country and indeed throughout the world is far too low. The government has set itself a target to generate 10% of the UK's electricity from renewable means by 2010 - frankly without significant investment the haven't a chance. Perhaps the way meet their obligations to the Kyoto agreement is to make people use energy responsibly - the most effective being to increase its cost. No doubt this will be popular!
Gareth, Durham, UK

With focus again returning to switching I am disappointed to see there is no mention of the variety of 'green tariffs' on offer. I switched one of many green tariffs currently offered as lowest price is not my main concern, and I still make a saving from my incumbent supplier. A lot of attention is paid to monetary savings, with a complete lack of attention towards environmental issues and how we can reduce C02 emissions by promoting renewable sources.
Neil Stephens, UK

I have switched electricity suppliers a couple of times. Prices seemed to vary by a small amount, but customer service ranged from really bad to quite good. I'd gladly pay a little extra for better service.
Gerard, London, England

I've changed to a totally-renewable- electricity supplier instead. Everyone seems obsessed with visible initial cost rather than the cost of clearing up the problems caused by 'cheap energy' which we massively subsidise with tax.
Nick Sharp-Rees, England

If this is the new way of commerce and selling services then deregulation has not achieved what it was set up to Kenneth Tibbett, England

I work in a call centre in the Electric + Gas industry and I would say that customers need to educate themselves a lot more on their Electric + Gas accounts. Do you all know where your meters are ? Do you know how to take meter reads so that if your bills are overestimated you can call in with a read to correct your bill? Since deregulation customers can't have it all ways. We have many customers who say we should read meters every month which is impractical as the costs of the work would have to be passed onto customers??? Do they want that ? A meter read takes 20 seconds yet you would think it was a massive inconvenience the way some customers go on. Customers need to get real and help themselves.
Jamie, UK

As long as you use energy sensibly, eg don't fill a kettle to the brim for a making one mug of coffee, you'll find your bill very pleasing in the long run anyway irrespective of minute fractions of pennies per kWh. My monthly payment is about the same as it was 15 years ago. The weather has more effect!
Barrie Bray, uk

We switched two years ago with no hassle and saved �100 in the first year. Since then we have had problems with the supplier not reading the meter and constantly wanting to change the amount we pay each month - everyone we know who has changed supplier has had a problem of some sort and there's too much pressure from doorstep salesmen to sign up.
Julie Freeman, UK

It may be true that we stay loyal to one supplier, but have you have to appreciate the nightmare that can be encountered when changing supplier. not only are you caught up in company politics, but even after you have given a verbal reassurance to a customer service adviser that you don't want to stop and stay with them you get pushy salesmen knocking the door trying to get in and get you to sign back up!?!? People are staying loyal as the change of supplier processes are a great deal of frustration and annoyance!
Jason Rowe, South Wales

I am disabled and live on a small fixed income ... so I regularly check out suppliers costs and never hesitate to change companies when I find a cheaper source. I've never had any problems with changing over suppliers. I simply don't understand folk who say it's too complicated or too difficult ... they should go to Citizens Advice or any of the many consumer help groups to find out how to do it and start saving money .. go on do it today!
Jan, England

I have switched suppliers once to combine gas and electricity, I pay monthly d/d and they all promise to save you money initially but after a few months the bills go up. Stick with what you have got, it is not worth the hassle, aggravation or waiting 6 weeks for exactly the same service!
Joanne, London, England

We switched to a new supplier for both gas and electric from the same supplier. It was a nightmare my previous suppliers lost or forgot to process my account by the dates promised and we ended up having to pay two suppliers until it was finally sorted 9 months later. Since then we have had numerous call fro other companies making promises that they cannot or will not be able to keep and the claims they make about the so called malpractices and other illegal activities my new supplier carries out should be challenged in the courts. If this is the new way of commerce and selling services then deregulation has not achieved what it was set up to .
Kenneth Tibbett, England

Why can't OFGEM force companies to change their practices instead of forcing customers to waste a lot of needless time in the name of "competition"
Nick Grealy, UK

I moved into a new flat, but wanted to change back to my original supplier from the old address. The supplier at the flat was still sending me bills - one of them for �500+ for less than a months supply!!! I'm NEVER changing again!!
Peter Keen, England

When we were in the UK, we switched suppliers based upon a internet savings service. The process was a complete hassle, took ages to sort out (at least 2 months) and we didn't seem to save any money anyway.
Tony Windsor, Canada

I switched both electricity and gas to an online supplier. I haven't looked back. It was easy to transfer and I save �50 a year on both electricity and gas. All my bills are on line which means that I don't have to do any filing!
David Rickards, England

Over the last few years I have moved about a bit and as a consequence have had different suppliers. But I have only changed supplier once. I was being charged loads as I was on a storage heater system, when I changed supplier. They managed to read my meter wrong. Not only did they not ask me to pay for loads of electricity I had used they gave me some money back! Classic! Through the incompetence of a number of companies I managed to not pay an electricity bill for nearly 2 years. Even though I spent some time ringing up to get an account sorted out. Eventually I gave up. I have subsequently moved and suspect I will never be charged for that period. Compared to most people on here I think I�ve had the good end of the incompetence of the Electricity Companies.
Steve, England

There are some good web sites dedicated to comparing suppliers, which I recommend. It took me two goes to change suppliers. The first time my electricity supplier wouldn't let me go, so for 6 months I was buying my gas from the electricity company, and my electricity from the gas company. Far too confusing for me! Second time worked fine.
Richard, UK

I have switched several times, all ok except that many firms billing arrangements are an absolute shambles
g briggs, uk

It is ridiculous for the regulator to rely on customers continually switching suppliers to keep prices down. The suppliers invent ever more complicated and changing tariffs so people don't know what they're buying anyway and it's a total waste of everyone's time. I've got better things to do frankly.
Phil, UK

I have had a similar experience in forced sales. A company offering information in return for a signature, then began supplying us gas and electricity. A further problem I have encountered was when I moved to a new house recently, I tried to change to a new gas company. This process took months to initiate, but finally I received the final bill from the old suppliers. The next day I then received a letter from my intended gas supplier that I had not joined them yet, and that I would need to give some more information. I wondered who on earth I had moved to. It turned out that the person who sold me the house registered my gas meter under his new address. So I was receiving gas paid for by him with the bill address to his new address. You can imagine the problems this caused with the gas companies. Currently, I am not being billed for my gas supply, and this has been going on for two months now. Not sure if I should laugh of cry.
D McWhirter, UK

All in all we are very happy with the savings and greatly improved service Steve Burston, Bristol, UK

I checked up on both prices and complaint levels on the Web, and used the same site to switch to an internet-only supplier. Very little hassle and considerable savings. The main hassle is collecting up information about your existing total usage so that you can get accurate quotes.
Allan, Wales

Remember that British Energy nearly went bust recently because the price of electricity is close to being uneconomic. Generators and suppliers should be making sensible profits in order to invest in new infrastructure.
Dick Winchester, Scotland

The NAO have failed to mention that when the market was first 'deregulated' suppliers were prevented from lowering their prices in any area where they were dominant- this was supposed to encourage competition and allow new suppliers to make rapid inroads. So until April last year suppliers weren't even allowed to offer savings to their loyal customers who had been with them for years!
Alison Chappell, UK

One of the problems that consumer watchdogs need to address is getting all suppliers to state clearly exactly what their price policy is, i.e. how much per kWh or cubic metre do they charge, what standing charges are enforced, etc. Then customers could work out for themselves whether they are going to be better off by switching or not. At the moment, it's completely impossible to tell except by trial and error.
Howard, UK

I'm inspired by the comments about 'green' electricity to look into changing to this. Only by people signing up to environmental power generation will the market increase and the cost come down.
Michael O, London

I agree with Iain Jenkins "Life's too short".
Stephen Lane, UK

I am baffled to see so many people complaining at the level of choice that they have. Yes, you could spend your entire life working out what the best deals on utilities, phones, mortgages, etc. are, but you don�t have to. Switching is a choice � not a requirement. Estimate the potential saving, estimate the hours required to execute, work out the hourly rate equivalent and decide if it�s above YOUR threshold. Switch and save, or pay the premium of convenience. But don't switch and bemoan the effort.
Tom S., UK

I've switched electricity & gas suppliers twice in the last 4 years. Each time, I've saved quite a bit. The main gripe is comparing different offerings is difficult. We need a simple way of describing the schemes like the 'CAT' standard for investments.
Dino, UK

After changing I found that I was not being charged for Economy Meter usage (I owed about �2). Being honest and trying to sort it out has uncovered errors by both original and subsequent supplier and I am now in a position of having not paid for any supply since October 2002. This is a very worrying situation for a 70 year old retired person.
Ronald White, Wales

I created a spreadsheet to work out the different costs of the different suppliers. It is no simple matter, suppliers have different service charges and there often is a tiered charge depending on the usage. Net affect was that there was about a �1 difference total for gas & electricity usage per year compared to my current suppliers. Some suppliers offered a one-off golden hello of around �10-�15 for joining them. I concluded it was not worth the hassle given the horror stories I heard about make the change.
Gary, UK

You're not going to see 40% wiped off your bill. Dave, UK

We switched our gas and electricity suppliers to the same company 2 years ago. Now we can view our account information online, submit meter readings online and if we have a problem we can submit a request online and the supplier will call back at a time of our choosing (and at their expense). On top of this the savings we made were significant enough that we signed up to their Green tariff which buys energy from a renewable source. All in all we are very happy with the savings and greatly improved service.
Steve Burston, Bristol, UK

Has anyone tried changing LPG supplier - you are required to have your LPG tank replaced before a new supplier will fill it. More to the point, why can't we obtain natural gas and receive sensible bills? Answer: I can, if I am prepared to pay in the region of �45,000 to install a supply from the main 4 miles away to our group of houses! The regulator may be looking after the rights of people in the mainstream, what about those of us not in that category?
Anthony, UK

I switched supplier when I bought my new house a year ago. The saving is huge even the process was not so easy. I am an electrical engineer and have financial and economic background but I still found so difficult to decide the right supplier. There are plenty of information on the internet but it is time consuming to switch.
Jianglong Zhou, UK

I switched once and made a reasonable saving on my bill. Since then I've switched again to a renewable energy source provider (actually the only one I could find)- it means my bills are slightly higher (�5 or so a month) but I feel its worth it. The biggest problem I found was lack of comparative information.
Doug, UK

Have thought about it many times. When I start looking I get so confused that I give up.
Bob McNally, UK

I found it very easy to change supplier all I did was contact the one I wanted change to and they did the rest! I do agree that it is difficult to identify which supplier is cheapest.
Julie Anderson, England

I switched companies following a call from a door to door sales person from a large provider claiming I would make 15-20% saving. My bill remained the same, I moved abroad 3 months ago and ended my contract however the new company is still sending me bills even though they acknowledge I gave final readings 3 months ago!! During my enquires I have also found I was over charged by my old supplier at the end of the contract and did not receive a refund. There billing process makes it extremely difficult to detect these errors
steve, UK

Both energywatch and various MPs are screaming for Ofgem to do something about this. Two points. 1) Ofgem lifted price controls on supply companies some time ago. It's up to the companies themselves to decide how much benefit will be passed through to consumers. Business customers (through the power of negotiation) have enjoyed some 8-14% reduction in retail prices. If you don't like your price, change your supplier. 2) NETA stopped the generators artificially setting the price of electricity, ensuring an approximate reduction of 40% of wholesale prices. This reduction has been passed through to consumers in most cases. However, supply company shareholders demand profit. You're not going to see 40% wiped off your bill. Does Ofgem actually have to do anything? No, the media and the NAO have already spread the word. Competition is out there people.
Dave, uk

It is remarkable that years after privatisation, the same issues face the Regulator now as they did then. Until Ofgem attacks the obstacles facing the domestic consumer, and the suppliers, the problem will be around for a while longer.
Malcolm Budd, England

I have tried to change three times to change my supplier -- each time I filled in all the forms, but nothing happened. When I phoned to check on progress, I was told they had no record of my application & suggested I try again... I'd love cheaper electricity, but no one seems to want my custom. As for those who say electricity should be more expensive to encourage us to use less, that's fine if you have the money, but remember that some of us are struggling to keep a roof over our heads with our low incomes.
Phil, UK

Frankly the whole thing is a mess; what energy price cuts? How would we as consumers ever know?... Households, however, are never provided with enough relevant information
Farid , UK

I haven't switched because I don't trust the new supplier to keep their prices lower than my existing supplier - in other words, they entice you with the prospect of cheaper bills then, 6 months later, their prices increase and you are back where you started (or worse off).
Alastair, England

These energy companies rely on customer apathy in order to retain their customer base. I had such hassle with one gas supplier, who were rude and generally unhelpful, that I moved both gas and electric to another supplier...they are helpful and if I ever want to query my direct debit amount they're more than happy to see if it can be reduced.
Sally, England

As already been mentioned, a saving of �50 per year is not enough to make me move suppliers. I would only consider moving for a saving of �150 per year or more. Any supplier, no matter the industry, needs to try harder and offer more incentives in order to persuade people to move to them.
Tony Mckenna, England

If Ofgem had had my experiences with alternative suppliers, culminating in the flat announcement that my supply could not be shifted because I have two electricity meters, they would probably understand why I find their 'customer inertia' comment just a tad ironic.
Camilla Roskelley, UK

The smart move is to invest the savings from cheaper energy supplies in measures to reduce energy demand, like better insulation and low-energy lights. This gives the double whammy "win-win" for the customer!
Ian McKay, UK

Originally I swapped to my 'rival' supplier when the salesman came knocking on the door. Usually I'd make an excuse to get rid of them, but me and my flatmate had just received our new TV and we were having trouble tuning it! Needless to say we bargained with him and we got our TV tuned and he got a new customer for the company! It turned out that our quarterly bills dropped by a third as we took both electric and gas out with the same company. When I moved into my new house last year all I had to do was phone them and say the previous owner is not with you and I'd like to be. They do it all for you! I've had no hassle and my bills are extremely low considering the energy used up in the house. If the bills increase again I'd have no qualms moving somewhere else in the space of a phone call.
Becky, Scotland

Having worked in the industry for two years, I now advise friends that switching is an unnecessary hassle. I witnessed first-hand the enormous problems that customers had when changing supplier. The vast complexity of the disorganised switching processes, combined with unsatisfactory internal quality measures at suppliers, all mean that consumers are prone to vast problems when changing suppliers. This can cause significant harm to those who are least able to absorb financial losses while mistakes are corrected. Complex and opaque pricing means that consumers often fall victim to fraudulent sales practices, and the possible savings are not sufficiently great to warrant the potential, and in my experience, inevitable mistakes that may occur. Until suppliers ensure that the switching process is more reliable (an difficult task to attempt without industry-level co-operation) and offer consumers greater, transparent savings, the status quo will remain.
Anonymous UK

Beware moving house! We gave our Supplier final meter readings etc. when we left our old house. Unfortunately, our buyers changed to another Supplier as soon as they moved in. They didn't inform the previous Supplier and it took us many phone calls to finally terminate the account and get our surplus payments returned.
Ken, UK

I switched energy company using one of the many comparison websites online. Not only was it was very straight forward, but the amount I saved more than justified the small amount of time it took.
Ben M, London, UK

I agree with Jamie�s comments. I also work in the utility industry managing a team of call centre staff. I would like to make a couple of points which will hopefully help consumers. Always read your meters every quarter and provide these to your supplier. The reason being, estimated bills are worked out on a customers usage but if a company does not have any actual meter readings it makes it difficult to provide accurate estimated bills. Firms are only regulated by OFGEM to read meters once every 2 years! So it is not the companies responsibility to take the readings. If you do not provide meter readings when you change suppliers a company can still bill you from and too estimates (Be careful as this will be stipulated in the terms and conditions you are supposed to read when you change suppliers)which may cause long term problems. Also I would advise not changing your supplier after the winter months as your final bill will be a lot higher than if you switch after the summer months due to excessive usage. The best time to switch I feel is in August or September as your final bill should be very low. Customer Service staff are there to help you and if there is a problem it will probably of been an "administration error" so be reasonable with these people. Changing supply is not difficult as long as you provide your NEW company with a read when asked to do so. If you do not get asked still take a record of a reading for your benefit about 6 weeks after signing the contract as this how long it usually takes to switch your supply from when you have signed a contract.
Andrew , England

Bearing in mind the split between electricity supply companies is purely theoretical and the fact that all the electricity is the same, coming as it does via the national grid I am at somewhat of a loss to see how any savings can properly be offered when the cost of running all these unnecessary supply companies must add up to �millions! All we need is one electricity company with transparent open accounts creating and supplying electricity at just over cost (to allow reinvestment)on a strict basically private sector business model. The customer wins, commercial users win, we all win. With the present system, shareholders, CEOs, directors, managers and everyone except the consumers win because the competition is false, being only theoretical. If the consumers really wanted this artificial choice from an imaginary market they would be surfing between supply companies all day long, not as the report says, suffering from 'inertia'. I thought the customer was always right. In this case it seems they just want to pay a reasonable supply cost with the least aggravation but are being criticised for it!
Hugh W Parker, England