Just switch to earn more than a Prime Minister

Imagine making €70 a minute…or €700 for ten minutes’ work.

Who makes that kind of money?

Top hospital consultants? Nope. At around €200 per visit, they get much less.

The Taoiseach? No. He gets €208k a year, or around €113 per hour.

So Mr Martin pockets a mere €19 for every ten minutes work.

Incredibly, most householders could make 40 times more than An Taoiseach at least once a year - yet most simply don’t bother to do so.

All we have to do switch energy providers  - or even just ring up and threaten to do so.

 Only 15% of us switch. And if we do nothing, we pay an average of €2099 a year  – when we could be paying less than €1400.

The energy market, like many others, makes most of its money through customer inertia.

It offers cracking discounts  when you sign up.

Providers do so because they know most people don’t switch. And when a year is up,  you can be clobbered.

If you do switch, you save a fortune – at the expense of the majority who don’t bother.

We’ve been banging on about this for years but the number of people who do anything about it remains stubbornly small.

The reasons are many: time pressure, lack of awareness and a deep aversion to anything to do with numbers. It’s also hard to remember exactly when to switch unless you put a note on the calendar or in your diary. Providers are supposed to write out to you to let you know in advance when your contract is ending. Mine said that they did but I don’t recall these letters and they are easily dismissed or forgotten about when they do arrive.

This is why a new type of switching service has been set up to do all the work for you.  

Now you don’t even have to do ten minutes work to make over €700.

All you have to do is sign up once to Weswitchu.ie – and be automatically switched  every year to the best deals on the market.

“At the last count, over 1,500 switches have been processed with an average saving of €550 each,” said Brendan Halpin who left a job in the energy sector to set up the new business.

He claims that the website gives an even better service than comparison sites as  it can tailor each deal to your individual profile.

Often even savvy switchers base their choices on average energy usage, which can mean getting a slightly worse deal than if you choose a plan that suits how much energy you actually use.

“(We) can immediately tailor the best tariff to the energy consumption profile of the customer,” said Mr Halpin.

For example, people with little energy usage might do better opting for a deal that pays the biggest cashback lump sum. But those who burn through a lot of gas and electricity should just go for the biggest discount.

“In year two we use actual energy consumption as we track our customers usage through a dedicated customer dashboard account,” he said.

If you want to switch yourself, there’s a handy guide on the Commission for Regulation of Utilities website (www.cru.ie).

It advises: "For electricity switches you’ll need your Meter Point Registration Number (MPRN) and for gas you’ll need your Gas Point Registration Number (GPRN). These can be found on your current bill. It is also important to provide an up to date meter reading when switching, to ensure you are billed accurately."

I rang up both my suppliers to see if they offered a better deal. I needn’t have bothered. While, I did get a decent offer, it was less than the Switchers. This is par for the course. Providers know that they can offer slightly less than the comparison sites can come up with as people will pay a little more to avoid hassle. 

There is also no need to notify your old supplier. When you switch, your new supplier will do that for you.  

"Once your account has been switched you will receive a welcome letter from your new supplier. You will also receive a final bill from your old supplier,” the CRU advises.

How to switch

My own energy deals for gas and electricity have just expired with Flogas and Energia respectively.

If I did nothing I would lose the discounts I was on and my energy bills would soar from less than €1400 to over €2000.

I rang both companies to see if they could give me a better deal. And lo and behold, they had fantastic offers just waiting for me to call.

Flogas immediately offered a 34% discount -  while Energia said they could cut my prospective bill by 29%.

You can be sure neither would have offered anything had I not taken action. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

If I opted for these deals I would save €696 a year, based on average energy consumption. But could I do better with comparison sites Switcher.ie and Bonkers.ie? And what about Weswitchu.ie?  Would its ability to tailor an energy package to my needs pay off.

As you can see from the table, yes I could. All three comparison sites beat Flogas and Energia, offering to save me well over €700 on my bills. My inclination is to sign up to Weswitchu.ie in order to save hassle and avoid missing out on any potential discounts.

It’s a nice feeling to earn 40 times more than the Taoiseach – even if it is just for only ten minutes!Top tips to save energy in the home

There are loads of easy, quick ways to make energy savings which can help you cut back on your consumption.

One of the easiest ways is to ensure you turn all appliances - from the microwave to the TV - fully off, rather than leaving them on standby. This will save up to 20% of your appliances’ energy use.

Turning off your appliances and computers will also help protect them from hackers who can target them when not used.

Here are some more tips from Switcher.ie to help reduce the Covid 19 hit:

• Think about turning your heating down by one degree - this could knock 10% off your heating bill.

• Keep your curtains closed

• Only put as much water as you need in the kettle, so if you’re making a cup of tea for one, don’t fill it to the top.

• Using the microwave for reheating meals.

• Cook several things at the same time and reheat later

• Defrost food before cooking, where possible.

• Don’t open the oven while your food is cooking

• Use ceramic or glass when cooking for maximum efficiency

• Make sure food is cool before putting it away in the fridge

Three steps to save €6k

Why stop at saving €402 on your energy bills as we outline elsewhere on these pages?

A financial advisor has come up with three simple steps this week to save over €6k to help you through the Covid 19 cash crisis.

Looking at the big ticket items such as mortgage switching, claiming tax rebates and changing utility providers will provide the average household with that princely sum, according to doddl.ie Managing Director Martina Hennessy.

Switching your mortgage has the largest impact on your finances.

“The lowest rate on the market is 2.2%, yet there are still over 220,000 households paying up to 4.5%.”

“Switching can save of €127 per month for every €100,000 outstanding over a 30-year term."

“On a mortgage of €300,000, the annual saving will be €4,572.”

Martina said people aren’t generally aware that they can get tax relief available for working from home expenses.

“Too many people miss out on claiming their entitlements, believing it either too complicated or not worth their while, but the average refund for a Taxback.com customer is €1,076," said Ms Hennessy.

“There are also reliefs available for medical and non-routine dental costs, couples in the first year of marriage and for flat rate expenses, such as €153 for electricians and €518 for teachers.

When you add all this to the mortgage switching tip and €402-a-year in energy costs cuts outlined elsewhere on this page, you’d save over €6k a year, she said.