Time for a change: Do you make up the 32% of  non-switchers?

• 32% of people haven’t changed supplier in the last 5 years;
• 20% know they could be on a better deal but can’t be bothered to switch;
• Auto-switching can save customers time and money for life

New research* commissioned by weflip, the automatic energy switching service, reveals the extent to which most UK households are disconnected from managing their energy bills.  On average, energy customers have only switched providers once in the last 5 years and just under a third (32%) haven’t switched energy supplier at all in that time.  

The perceived time and hassle it takes to shop around for energy deals appears to put some customers off.  A fifth of those surveyed were aware that they probably could get a better deal but simply couldn’t be bothered to switch.  Only 43% of people said they were happy to actively manage their energy bills to ensure they are always getting a good deal.  Nearly a fifth (19%) of energy customers have no idea what tariff they are on.

The survey asked those who haven’t changed provider in the last 5 years what had prevented them from doing so.  40% felt switching was too much hassle; 21% thought there was no point because they would need to repeat the process every year; 17% found energy bills and tariffs too confusing to be able to switch; 12% just didn’t feel confident to shop around; 9% feared their energy supply would be cut-off during the switching process.   

Sally Jaques from weflip commented, “When it comes to electricity and gas bills – loyalty counts for nothing.  The truth is, you’ll pay more for the privilege of sticking with the same provider.  New customers are almost always charged a lower tariff than existing customers by energy companies looking to attract new business.  And, when cheaper fixed deals expire - customers are automatically rolled-on to their supplier’s higher default rate. 

“Historically, it’s been up to householders to take the initiative and shop around every year to make sure they’re getting a good deal on their energy.  But, as our survey clearly shows, many people don’t feel they have the time, inclination or expertise to do so.    

“Using our new smart switching service couldn’t be simpler. Customers subscribe to the service by registering their details once, they are then are automatically flipped on to the best price deal for life – without having to repeat the process every year.  When switching providers, the provision of gas and/or electricity is uninterrupted.  The only difference customers will see is a different company’s details on their bills and lower prices.”

How weflip works

Customers register their details and provide information including current supplier and tariff, energy usage – which can all be found on an existing bill.  weflip’s algorithm pinpoints the best deals and identifies the right moment to switch a customer’s energy supplier by comparing thousands of tariffs.

weflip checks daily to see if there is a cheaper tariff available to customers (including any exit fees to leave their current deal).  Once a saving of at least £50 (including fees) is identified, it automatically moves them onto the new, cheaper deal.  Typically, the process takes 21 days and customers can expect to be switched two or three times a year.

For more information on your saving energy bills for life, visit: https://www.weflip.com/

-ends-

For further information please contact:

Anders Nilsson and Louisa Marsden on media@weflip.com

Gordon, Jason or Liz at MAW Communications on 01603 505 845

Notes to editors:

*On 5 October 2018, Bilendi conducted an online survey among 2,002 randomly selected British adults who are Maximiles UK panelists.  The margin of error-which measures sampling variability-is +/- 2.2%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and regional data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of United Kingdom. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

About weflip

weflip is a smart savings service that helps people save money by automatically switching them to better energy deals.

weflip is a completely free, automatic savings service that guarantees cheap energy forever.  After customers sign up, weflip simply flips households onto cheap energy tariffs automatically, doing all the hard work on their behalf, so they never have to worry about overspending on energy ever again.

weflip is part of GoCompare Group plc, which operates GoCompare, one of the UK’s largest and most trusted comparison sites and has been saving customers money on a range of financial and non-financial products since 2006.

weflip’s energy service is powered by Energylinx, which is also a GoCompare Group plc company, and one of the UK’s most established and respected energy comparison services.

weflip takes customer privacy seriously and does not sell customer data.

For more information visit www.weflip.com and www.gocomparegroup.com