Bonkers, Switcher etc not showing best value

Famous Blue Raincoat

I’ve just been searching online for the best alternatives to my current electricity and gas suppliers. When I put in the name of my current electricity supplier, Energia, into Bonkers/Switcher I was given a number of other firms as being cheaper with Energia being mentioned once down towards the end. I kept googling and came across this from 4 July, 6 days ago, saying Energia is the cheapest dual fuel deal at the moment. That got me wondering about the agendas of each of the three websites.

Long story short, I rang Energia and the guy there explained because Bonkers/Switcher get paid for moving you to a new company they won’t show the company you’re with as the cheapest alternative. That was news to me.

Now, the Energia guy didn’t exactly shine either. He was giving me a “great” deal, or so he said, but when I mentioned the DF40 code on the moneyguideireland website above, he went off and spoke with a manager. He came back telling me that this was Energia’s “best ever deal”, etc. I looked at the rates on the DF40 code and they were significantly cheaper than that “best ever deal”. [But be alert to Energia’s “standing charge” being €180 compared to, for instance, Electric Ireland’s €110 standing charge]

So, basically don’t assume Bonkers or Switcher are going to show you the best available offer. There should be more transparency about how these price comparison websites work.

Xterminator

Really, you were surprised to find that a 3rd party website was not tuned to your exact circumstances? Or that energia can offer a better deal if you ring them up directly?

Better stay away from trivago so.

Its the same with insurance too. get a quote, call up your provider and tell them i got this quote, can you beat it. sometimes they will!

coylemj

Famous Blue Raincoat wrote: »

So, basically don’t assume Bonkers or Switcher are going to show you the best available offer. There should be more transparency about how these price comparison websites work.

Company 'x' cannot be the cheapest for consumers and at the same time pay a price comparison website to recommend them. The whole business model is a con.

paddy19

coylemj wrote: »

Company 'x' cannot be the cheapest for consumers and at the same time pay a price comparison website to recommend them. The whole business model is a con.

Sure it can .
A comparison site is just another way of getting new customers.

Probably a lot cheaper than TV advertising.

The old adage is that half of all advertising is wasted and nobody knows which half.

The advantage of a comparison website for the company is you
get a real live customer who is ready to buy your product.

MOH

I'd never take the word of a third party site without checking out the figures myself, especially if they make their money from commissions. That said, Bonkers do claim that they "monitor all suppliers continually and update our data to ensure our results are accurate at all times. And unlike some other price comparison sites, our gas and electricity comparison and switching service is fully accredited by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), meaning you can trust the results you see" (which surprised me, I would have thought they'd have some disclaimer).

They said though, they Energia guy is hardly an unbiased source, I'd say the supplier hate Bonkers and co for making it easier for people to switch. And he's definitely wrong to claim that they won't show your current supplier - last time I checked they showed my current supplier as a good bit cheaper than anyone else.