Loyal or a rate slut?

It is a good idea to shop around if you can. Sometimes it's quite a job to try and compare the different packages for utilities. I have just changed my house insurance and saved over £100. I had stuck with a broker for years and was astonished how much the premium had gone up, so contacted Direct Line. Another thing I'm going to challenge this year is my RAC membership. I was too late to realise last year just how expensive it had become. I have been a member since 1988 but they are a prime example of how there is no such thing as loyalty! My son who has been a member for only a few years has a much cheaper price for the same level of cover.

My elderly neighbour is far from well and asked me to go through some papers to find a document for him. I couldn't help but see his home insurance renewal letter which shows that he is paying 4 times as much as I do. So much for loyalty! When he gets out of hospital I'll discuss the matter with him. For now it would only upset him.

We regularly change home/car insurance for cheaper deals. It's a bit of a pain going through the rigmarole, but worth it. I've heard of too many cases of loyal customers - often the elderly who've been with the same provider for many years and are too naive to think they'd rip them off - being grossly overcharged. In one case a woman was quoted over £1000 for contents insurance - a horrified relative got her the same cover for a quarter of that.

We've also changed gas/electricity and internet providers for cheaper deals.

We check and then change if a better deal is found every year. My OH has three bank accounts at the moment to take advantage of the deals they are offering. Never had a problem changing flows like clockwork.

We always use comparison sites for home, travel, car insurance and for gas and electric, but I must admit to paying over the odds for broadband as my main priority is a reliable service. Now we’ve finally got this, I’m sticking with it. Our biggest saving was moving from BG’s dual fuel deal to First Utility. £130+ a month down to £75, and 3 years later we’re still in credit!

Our house insurance quote came in at +20% this year, so I’ve got my quotes. The best one is £60 cheaper, and is exactly the same policy with the addition of free legal cover, from the same company! I’ll be giving them a ring later.

I am with British Gas for electric and gas. I feel the thing that makes me save the most is the smart meter. I watch how much we spend each day and often turn down the heating. We are on a fixed rate until sept 18 I think.

I changed my house insurance to an Age Concern House and Contents policy which is very reasonable compared with the one I had previously. A couple of years ago, I went over to AA car insurance which was reasonable then, but next time my premium falls due, I'm going to switch again.

I have changed Banks several times for various reasons, Barclays were the worst, DH had banked with them for years they treated him abysmally.

Changed from BT to Sky after they messed up when I moved & it cost me a lot of money for their mistakes. When I rang BT just before switch over day I was asked why I was leaving them, told them I had a better deal & was told we'll match it - no thanks.

Buildings/Contents Insurance, I live in a Park (Mobile) Home, very few insurers cover these & I'm happy with company I'm with.

Car Insurance is through LV, preferential rate as I'm a Retired Civil Servant but I do contact them to ask if they can do me a better deal, 2 years ago that saved me around £50.

Gas & Electricity, I'm with SSE as was previous owner, EON were doing energy saving surveys & they tried to persuade me to change but I didn't feel the saving was enough to risk any problems, I'm happy with SSE & their service.

I've been researching house insurance today tried a comparison site and two well known companies , I know I've been paying too much but I'm now very confused , they all do it cheaper but one is almost half the price of what I'm paying and another is a third less . The cover is actually more than I have and I'm wondering how it's possible I don't want to make a big mistake.

I’ve switched energy suppliers often to get a better deal. Never been a problem. Switched internet, phone deal last year. Easy, but I had tech savvy son here to set up router. Sure I would have worked it out...eventually!

The Martin Lewis website will email you when a supplier can provide your utilities for less. You set the amount you'd need to be better off by, and when a deal comes up that meets it, you'll be notified.

Yesterday I spent 1 hour checking whether it was worth saving on our utility bill. It is a big con. Obviously best deals are on line and dual fuel etc but it is actually quite difficult to compare with daily charges and so on. I worked out we would save £33 a year. Lol. Then you have to check customer service ratings. The real scandal is prepayment meters and penalising those who can't access on line deals.

I know it is worth checking your electricity and gas supplier against others, even though I haven't had to change for a while from Atlantic. I believe the bigger phone, tv and broadband suppliers get complacent and don't bother to look after old customers, so always shop around when your contract, if you have one, runs out. The same applies to mobile phones. Banks will invent charges if you say you are closing your account so just take your money out and move your direct debits yourself and leave the account open with 2p in it so long as there are no charges. No Bank should charge for a current account anyway. Always shop around for insurance, you can use the well-advertised names who make this easy and check other companies yourself. I saved over £100 on my house buildings and contents insurance this year by changing.

Silverlining if you can navigate GN you can sort out your utilities etc.
Check out The Martin Lewis web site. (MSE money saving expert).
He is also on TV this evening.
Good luck
Let us know how you get on.

DH deals with all that and is loyal (or can't be a***d! ) I get cross at all the 'join us and get' deals to tempt people while us loyal customers get b****r all!

I have never changed anything utility/phone/broadband wise ...call me apathetic. I know i should give it a go. AND promise to self... I WILL!
I always price check car and other insurance though and have saved a lot.

I change my tarrif regularly for gas and electric and that saves me. But im with the same supplier for utilities and tv and broadband etc

We've been with the same mobile provider for years because they provide the service at the price we want

We've not change gas/electric for years. On the lowest tariff they provide and they want to reduce our payments. I sometimes think these companies that say we can do it cheaper, then sting you at the end because they are not really any cheaper at the end of the day.

As I’ve said before, I stick to the same familiar suppliers but as I’ve moved many times over the years, most recently 18 months ago, I do get to haggle over our tartifs and right now our utilities are pretty low. Ditto with our insurances and mobiles. We don’t use credit cards but get benefits from our bank so apart from the Sky deal mentioned above, I think I’m pretty savvy too. I don’t chase the best rate but when the opportunity comes up I’m like anyone else...

lovebeigecardigans1955 Why would changing energy companies be a problem with the smart meter? We changed so ours no longer works but, as we didn't look at it after the first week, it doesn't bother us. I think it is great that they send off the meter reading but apart from that just think they are another thing to dust! Maybe that's because I am of the generation that never left things on when I wasn't using them. Know that the washing machine is using electricity is hardly going to stop me using it!

I am in process of changing gas & electric at the moment, contract is up at end of month and they wanted to change me to a higher rate and up my dd's despite being in credit by at least £150 if not more. Went on Quidco, changing to a green energy which is £10 a month cheaper and about £50-60 cashback. I have changed before but not for several years now as been pretty happy until now.

Always compare buildings/contents and car insurance - sometimes stay with them if they will match quotes, if not change.

Not changed banks for many years although do use two - no credit cards only debit.

Looking at life insurance at the moment (to cover funeral costs) so on comparison sites for that.

PS: Just to confirm above. If I wasn't happy with a company and what they offered I would move. I/we are happy hence we dont. I save money and more in other ways

The stress of changing energy suppliers is something I could do without. Being on a fixed income (like most of us here), it's the worry that the new supplier isn't being paid the correct amount and that I'd be left with a large bill down the line.
Last year a new tenant moved into a nearby flat, signed up to her energy supplier, who, because we have similar but not identical addresses, promptly cancelled my direct debit without contacting me. Took a while and those interminable phone calls to sort out. Likewise a friend changed suppliers and despite her calls saying she wasn't paying enough, a year later they found they'd made a mistake at set-up, and had 2 accounts for her, one of which had no money going into it!

1/ Gas & Electric: We have been with the same provider for G & E for 15 years. Moved it once and moved back with in 2 months. Load of tripe about savings etc our friends/family and we have found.

2/ Telephone/tv and broadband: been with the same company for 15 years. Ring once a year to get an improvement deal which I always do. You can probably work out who as it's all under one roof.

3/ Mobile: not moved and is separate company from no 2! All family stayed with one company for 15 years plus. Won't get better in our view

Banking: guess what: no not moved LOL. I have banked with my bank for 38 years! Ouch when I worked that out. All family do too. That's s tradition of 5 generations now. Ancestors worked for the bank.

Insurance: surprise we have moved them around for better deals

Um anything else? We aren't stick in the muds. Just happy with the services we have. Not going to fix what isn't broken

What a horrible term 'rate sluts'. I think it's just being sensible. Sadly you get no thanks for being loyal to financial/utility companies these days. I never renew any contract these days without checking others' rates.