Key Post Is there a gas and electricity supplier which rewards loyal customers?

Sue Ellen said:

It has been mentioned many times on AAM that the discount rate is not what we should be looking at but the price per unit and also the annual charge which can vary a lot from one company to another.

Most people move each year to avoid this existing customer problem.

I have found of late that the deals on Bonkers and Switcher are not great and it is better to check both those and the rates on the individual company's website.

It pays to run your electricity usage figures through www.energypal.ie also.

From a customer service point of view I would rate the companies as follows from the ones that I have used plus I don't have an EV/panels/gas heating:

1. Energia - excellent but dearer
2. Electric Ireland - good, but last time I checked figures, which is a couple of months ago, were dear
3. Bord Gais - cheaper but can be troublesome and time consuming to deal with

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I have an EV and the BG plan is unbeatable for my usage. So getting an additional discount to what I could have got as a new customer was a surprising amd welcome bonus.

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MrEarl said:

I've yet to see any power supply company treat loyal existing customers fairly. They are every bit as bad as the insurance industry...

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My experience is that it is the exact opposite to "treating customers fairly"; they penalise and take advantage of customer loyalty. Especially despicable behaviour in the context of the elderly, vulnerable and less financially savvy parts of their customer base.

That's said, they have improved somewhat in the last couple of years, and now once you contact them their "loyalty teams" offer a deal with a minimum of fuss. Previously it was like pulling teeth. But there is still a large percentage of their customer base being screwed because they don't know any better.

Sue Ellen said:

From a customer service point of view I would rate the companies as follows from the ones that I have used plus I don't have an EV/panels/gas heating:

1. Energia - excellent but dearer
2. Electric Ireland - good, but last time I checked figures, which is a couple of months ago, were dear
3. Bord Gais - cheaper but can be troublesome and time consuming to deal with

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My experience was very different, Energia were atrocious to deal with, especially in respect of notification of the end of contract term. "We notified you on your bill - no you didn't - yes we did - show me where it says it on the bill - oh no actually we notified you by e-mail, we do that sometimes - no you didn't - yes we did - show me where - oh no actually we told you at the time the contract was taken out......"
Electric Ireland - I've found their customer service very good to deal with and each year for the last few years matched the best rates I found for the competitors.
Bord Gais - Some years since I dealt with them. Last time when I moved from them I had a lot of hassle getting a return from an estimated overcharge.

Thanks! Hadn't known about the my energy pal site. Very handy and thankfully validated that my current plan is the cheapest!

No reward for loyalty in the utility market and many more areas besides.

Harvard said:

No reward for loyalty in the utility marke

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Why would you expect any?

Gas and electricity are pure commodities and no one wants to consume more than they have to.

Providers of most other other goods and services can get people to consume more of their product than they need to, hence loyalty bonuses and bulk discounts.

Dr Strangelove said:

Why would you expect any?

Gas and electricity are pure commodities and no one wants to consume more than they have to.

Providers of most other other goods and services can get people to consume more of their product than they need to, hence loyalty bonuses and bulk discounts.

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I don't expect loyalty.

Sue Ellen said:

I have found of late that the deals on Bonkers and Switcher are not great and it is better to check both those and the rates on the individual company's website.

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Just to add to this, I've noticed that, for a while now, Bonkers don't list all providers/tariffs (e.g. the Energia plan/tariff that I'm 99% sure is the cheapest for my needs) whereas Switcher has an option to show providers/tariffs that they can't switch you to (using which I do see the aforementioned Energia plan). So it's worth bearing this in mind when using these sites to shop around. I ended up using them but also checking the websites of each individual provider. What a palaver...

Sue Ellen said:

From a customer service point of view I would rate the companies as follows from the ones that I have used plus I don't have an EV/panels/gas heating:

1. Energia - excellent but dearer
2. Electric Ireland - good, but last time I checked figures, which is a couple of months ago, were dear
3. Bord Gais - cheaper but can be troublesome and time consuming to deal with

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I think it's difficult to make such generalisations about price competitiveness given that individual household usage profiles vary widely. For example, as I've said, Energia are likely significantly better value for my usage profile than others. As for customer service, I just assume the worst for all service providers - not just energy companies - given that markets/consumerism encourages a race to the bottom when it comes to pricing, and customer service is generally the first casualty in a price war.

On a related topic, I really don't understand how Yuno are allowed by the CRU and/or ASAI to advertise themselves as "Ireland's cheapest electricity provider". I guess that there's a lot riding on that asterisk...

* Comparing Yuno Energy fixed discount rate (EAB €1,362) and all publicly available new customer sign up discounted 24 hr electricity EABs, excluding cash back offers.

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