Staying loyal/changing

Having just come back to the UK after living in France we haven't got to grips yet with the possibilities here.
But when there we had a battle with our propane gas provider, their prices were rocketing. After a few months of getting estimates from other firms, our original provider revealed they had another type of contract with a much lower rate of payment.Which we , as clients anciennes, could benefit from. At first I thought it was because we were poor old pensioners, but they meant 'longstanding customers'.
We went onto this new contract, much cheaper but for a limited time.
So the lesson is, do your research before changing.

I switch banks every few years, utilities as soon as they start to nudge upwards, insurance is via Teachers Union so good,
internet with BT for years, because it is so easy to haggle with their retentions team and so far 100% performance and reliability.
Car insurance I always did through a broker and always great price............and if needed can just call broker for such as insuring new car, reporting bumps etc.........made life much easier than direct with ins Co.
I feel sorry for people who wilfully remain blind to the fact that loyalty does not count for anything in todays commercial world.

Your ridiculous comment is tantamount to saying that unless a customer is loyal to a bank for a substantial number of years, they won't feel obliged to keep your money safe. Potty.

I've been loyal to my bank for nearly 50 years now and because they get to know your spending habits etc they repay you by keeping your account safe. If I ever needed a large spend I tell them first in case they don't think it's me.

I’m surprised that no-one has mentioned cash back sites, such as Quidco. There are often great deals to be had through them. I always check around when a renewal is due. I recently changed my broadband and phone deal to a new company, through Quidco. I got £100 cashback, a £100 storecard from the new company, and monthly charges comparable to my previous deal.
Shopping around can be a pain, but there can be some good savings.
Valeriej43. If you sign up for a water meter you can change your mind, in the first year, have it disconnected, and revert to the old payment method. I used to help out in our local shop, which had a bill-paying machine. I used to tell all our elderly customers to apply for one, and received lots of grateful thanks for the savings they made.

I must admit I always check on the price comparison sites, but not everyone is computer savvy. Loyalty means nothing to companies these days, which is wrong. The worst thing is automatic renewal, it can cost a small fortune when the 'new customer' deal has finished,

Every year my Mum's insurance company sends a quote for renewal which is at least 30% higher than the year before. And each year I ring them up and say it is unacceptable, following which they reduce it by a very significant amount - one year the figure they finally quoted was lower than the previous year.

My Mum cannot deal with these matters as her sight is very poor and she is in her late 90's. If there was no-one else around to see what was happening and challenge these people, she would probably be paying a huge amount by now. It is disgraceful.

My friend tried to change banks, being assured it would be really simple.
First she had to get 6 months proof of her disability and other benefits.
Then they didn't match her birth certificate because they didn't have her middle name on.
So she phoned the benefits people and asked them to send more proof, and to include her middle name.
The paperwork they sent had her middle name spelt wrong... to cut a long story short, she never did end up switching banks.

Changing bank accounts can have repercussions. Some organisations ask how long you have banked with your current bank same as how long you have lived at your current address. If you are able to retain one and say move around on a savings account for a higher interest that would make sense though again there can be questions due to money laundering issues. Think the issues of loyal customers paying more is really about if a company can offer cheaper rates they should be applicable to all customers.

I used the energy club thingy on the Martin Lewis site too.
I was determined to move away from the large names and onto a smaller provider.

It was much easier before the utility companies were privatised. didnt have to spend hours on the internet trying to find the best deal.

Moneysavingexpert.com's Cheap Energy Club is good - they provide cheap(er) collective switches a couple of times a year, they also have a comparison tool you can use. I switched to a fixed deal with my own provider, got a £130 gift voucher from them and £25 from moneysavingexpert (half of their free for doing the deal). plus a guarantee of no price rises for 18 months and that if prices dropped so would mine (fix and fall tariff, sadly no longer available).

I use the Energy Club at Money Saving Expert for fuel bills. You choose he company you want with the saving you want. Add in exclusion fees to your alert and then they'll alert you when you can save more than the company you're with. For example I'm on a green energy 18 month deal, not the cheapest as it's longer term, it will cost me £25 for dual fuel to exit so, realistically, I won't change for a saving of less than £75. They alert me when I will save £75 or more if I switch. I check it out, if I want switch I do. If I don't, I don't do anything about it and they will alert me the next time a deal comes up within my parameters.

I always shop around - for home insurance especially.
Here's why:
Three or four years ago I got my renewal from H.....x who I'd been with for a while.
The letter said words to the effect of, if my situation and requirements had not changed in the last year (which they hadn't) there was no action needed from me and it would automatically renew. They quoted an increase of about £20 from previous years.
I had a bit of time to spare and a D..... L... booklet that had come through the door, so I got a copy of the current policy with all the clauses listed and phoned D L to get a like for like quote.
It was over £200 cheaper!!
I immediately rang The H and said I didn't want to renew. When asked why, I told them I'd had a much better quote but didn't mention amounts or name the company. The young man on the phone asked me to hold for a few minutes then returned and said that he could lower their amount by £150.
How is that possible I asked, well discounts etc he mumbled. "But surely you'd applied all those before sending the quote" I asked in a sweet and innocent way ......
I got him to send me the details of the new amount so I could compare them with the new company - but I still cancelled. HaHa.
The whole thing took less than 30 minutes.

I change my internet, fuel provider,and home insurance every year, and i get annoyed with my sister as she has stuck to the same companies since she was 60, when EON started their pensioners tarrif, she also wont have a water meter because "her neighbours are worse off on one" she is in a 2 bed bungalow and they are in a 3 bed house with family
I always pay a bit more than the fuel company ask for monthly, and twice have had a £400 refund at the end of the contract
Also she wont have the internet as she says facebook is evil, she might be right about that in some ways, but trying to tell her its not all about facebook,
You just cant advise people sometimes as they have an idea fioxed in their head

M&S have a savings rate of 5% for 1 year which may be re-offered at a slightly lower rate the following year but they move your savings into a measly paying Everyday Saver account at the end of the 12 months, unless you contact them to open another better paying account.
I got £125 gift card + £5pm added to it for 12 months provided I pay in minimum £1k and have 2×DDs. That was in September.
4 days after joining, they hiked the DDs to 4 and monthly deposit to £1250. It might have risen again as they only have so many deals on offer.

My gas charges are 3.4p per unit and 5.1p per day standing charge. I changed to this 1yr fixed rate tariff with (Brilliant Energy) in May 2017. Looking on their website the standing charges have risen exponentially to around the 21-26ppd and the unit price has crept up slightly too.
That's a lot in just 7 months.
I shall be casting around for a good deal in Aprias I do with all my suppliers every time a contract is nearing the end. It usually pays off.

With Universal Credit everything has to be done online. I suppose that will mean that people on benefits do at least become computer literate, even if they have to use the library to do so.
The thing about comparison sites is that once they have got your details, they and various affiliated firms, keep pestering you. So now I just try a few companies by phone or on their own website. So much trouble and not always worth it.

I do agree about computer use and access, it's just that my Mother was very able to deal with things online in get late 80s so I do sometimes forget that not everyone else does ! I do get really aggravated when the only way to deal with a problem is online, apart from computer literacy issues, some people have serious broadband problems in their area plus there is the cost which can be an issue if you are on benefits

I think I would be more inclined to chop and change if it was as 'seamless' as we're lead to believe.
Of course, once you've changed to a cheaper tariff, it always starts creeping up until it matches the company you've left, in my experience.

Worth repeating Lazigirl's opening sentence - of course not all elderly are computer illiterate -
but
My neighbour in his late 70's has never used a computer. His son arranged his gas and electric utilities tied to a 2 year deal without any checking around because his Dad mentioned it to him. He hasn't a clue what deal he is on, his son has fallen out with his Dad, From a rather reluctant and embarrassed conversation it sounds like he is paying something like twice what I am. I'm not going to ask as he was clearly uncomfortable talking about it.
On another issue, he's having problems with the local council - there's never anyone answering phones, it's all email this, or check our website. My 91 year old neighbour on the other side knocked on my door after being 3 hours on hold to the council, he was close to tears in frustration .. a quick Twitter check showed their lines were down.

There's a bigger problem here in that a whole demographic of people aren't being able to access the sort of information they require in order to shop around, or contact people. My car insurance company charge £15 to make changes to my existing policy which can be done for free on the net.

I received a renewal notice for my pet insurance (dog 11 years of age) the quote was £104.00 per month. I telephoned them told them I couldn't afford that kind of money, eventually I got it for £34.06. per month. £4,000.00 per illness and excess £50.00. Change my utilities supplier every year, also car and home insurance, and I'm 77 years of age. I bet there are many thousands like me.

Of course not all elderly are computer illiterate Gill57 but according to ONS stats, 10% of people in UK have never used the Internet. In 2016 (last available figures) 25% of disabled people did not use the Internet, and a whopping 32% of women over 75 didn't. Make you think doesn't it? My 94 year old mother is one of them.

Companies should reward loyal customers and should feature that in their renewal notices.
I guess, tho, that they make more money by charging loyal customers more and having flashy offers for new customers.

I spotted a DD for £220 pounds had been taken by the AA. Last year I paid £116 - what a shock! I rang them and they said as a loyal customer who had not broken down they could reduce to £150. I said I would try elsewhere and they reduced to £129. Was worth a call and I saved money before I'd even got up!