Aquila Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 Ok so we are really annoyed with Contact Energy over an ongoing dispute and will be researching/shopping for a new company to take over this weekend. Please give us your recommendations for who we should go with so this is as painless as possible! I don't know our current rate (b/c the bills are at home) but will be aiming to get something cheaper if possible... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 Ok so we are really annoyed with Contact Energy over an ongoing dispute and will be researching/shopping for a new company to take over this weekend. Please give us your recommendations for who we should go with so this is as painless as possible! I don't know our current rate (b/c the bills are at home) but will be aiming to get something cheaper if possible... we recently switched to NOVA - they do a slightly higher per KW charge but no daily charge - when i worked out the cost for one or two bills they were definitely cheaper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 most are not too different in costs from what I can tell I swapped from Genesis to Contact as I was not happy with Genesis but Contact are worst in my mind I have a holliday place at Coromandel and one of the meters has not been work for a while. They have worked out the costs and sent me a estermated account for what they say was used but my records from the year before show a figure 20% less. The amount is not too much and I cant be bothered with continuing the fight so will pay it and move on (flush the dunny and move on) but what now riles me is that they have said Im on the wrong rate so will be adjusting upwards as well They saw Genesis's account and were suppost to be betteringn that From the frypan into the fire As for the dispute, you may find that you wont be able to change until its settled Good luck, I will await your searching with interest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdspider Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 Powershop rocks! You choose the cheapest deal at the time and can stock up on it, eg buy lots in summer to last over winter. They are cheaper than over companies in summer but not in winter apparently, but still works out cheaper overall. They often do deals and if you watch their facebook page, you get alerted when specials happen (possibly by email too) I think if you get the start-up pack from the Warehouse, you'll get $20 credit as a bonus? Was at the time we signed up. Flatmate reckons they had a deal on their site too for $50 so check around first. And haven't had any problems whatsoever, since you can enter your own meter number into the website it's really accurate. They do still check the meter (well, not us cos it's a smart meter) but since you're entering the number, there's no guesses, so you don't get any sudden really high bills cos of an off guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquila Posted May 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 Yeah...they refuse to admit any fault. Basically they send us the bill really late (like 3 days before its due) and we can't pay it in time because we are flatting (have to organize everyone) and get charged late fees. Sure, I could collect an estimate amount from the flatmates ahead of time, but its the principle of the useless service they are providing. My bf uses Contact at his work and the bill always arrives 2 weeks ahead of time and its never paid late, but they don't take that into consideration. They have been sending us 3 letters a week the last couple of months reminding us to pay the outstanding late fees but yet the next bill still arrives late. :evil: What a waste of paper... We will be settling the outstanding amount, but that'll be the last money they get from us... and we will be closing both accounts. I have heard good things about Meridian and NOVA, so that is what I am aiming for at this stage. I don't expect to save heaps of money or anything, but maybe find a more suitable plan with actual monthly meter readings, not just estimates...grrrrr most are not too different in costs from what I can tell I swapped from Genesis to Contact as I was not happy with Genesis but Contact are worst in my mind I have a holliday place at Coromandel and one of the meters has not been work for a while. They have worked out the costs and sent me a estermated account for what they say was used but my records from the year before show a figure 20% less. The amount is not too much and I cant be bothered with continuing the fight so will pay it and move on (flush the dunny and move on) but what now riles me is that they have said Im on the wrong rate so will be adjusting upwards as well They saw Genesis's account and were suppost to be betteringn that From the frypan into the fire As for the dispute, you may find that you wont be able to change until its settled Good luck, I will await your searching with interest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquila Posted May 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 That sounds pretty interesting...I'll check em out! Powershop rocks! You choose the cheapest deal at the time and can stock up on it, eg buy lots in summer to last over winter. They are cheaper than over companies in summer but not in winter apparently, but still works out cheaper overall. They often do deals and if you watch their facebook page, you get alerted when specials happen (possibly by email too) I think if you get the start-up pack from the Warehouse, you'll get $20 credit as a bonus? Was at the time we signed up. Flatmate reckons they had a deal on their site too for $50 so check around first. And haven't had any problems whatsoever, since you can enter your own meter number into the website it's really accurate. They do still check the meter (well, not us cos it's a smart meter) but since you're entering the number, there's no guesses, so you don't get any sudden really high bills cos of an off guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdspider Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 Haha, it's kinda fun too. It was exciting when we first got it, like playing a game. We'd check everyday and buy the cheapest power and if within a couple of days if there's a better deal, they'll refund the stuff you just bought. It's almost like playing the stockmarket. With the flatmates though, you'd prob wanna get everyone to give you a certain amount each week/month and then you (or whoever is in charge) deals with the buying, on your credit card, over the internet. It's prepaid rather than getting a bill & splitting it evenly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 Doesn't Consumer or someone have a web site where it calculates the cheapest option for you, and with which company? I've never heard of Powershop. We have been with the local company, Trustpower, forever and never had any problems so stay there. Our bills are estimated one month then read the next. Bills arrive online with plenty of time to pay, or dispute the amount, and then the total is magically sucked out on the specified day. On the rare occasion I have rung the helpline with a question, it has been answered promptly and helpfully by someone local who has answered my question efficiently. I'm not actually sure what other options we have here :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquila Posted May 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 Do you mean this website? http://www.powerswitch.co.nz We are taking into consideration what it spits out as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdspider Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 http://www.powershop.co.nz/faq.html It's owned by Meridian but you are buying from all the companies and get to choose which one you buy deals from. Oh and you can just treat it like a normal power company too, don't have to prepay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 Must be nice to have options. I don't think we have any option but to be with Contact here. Thing that bugs me about them is they keep harrassing us for a key to the property so they can read our meter, which is located in the hallway of our house. What part of I don't want strangers having access to my house and being in my house when I'm not there don't you understand Contact?!! lol last time they made a special call to us and asked for a key. My husband said, "no don't want random people in our house when we're not here". The Contact representative said "oh but you can trust our meter readers". My husband then proceed to tell him of a new story I had relayed to him just days prior about a southern meter reader being busted for snooping though peoples houses and stealing stuff. Uh.. sure your meter readers are trustworthy..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 Yes Aquila that is the site I was thinking of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 I'm on meridian, we have a fixed KW charge for 2 years (but we can leave if we choose, they're contracted to that KW price). Bills arrive on time (emailed to us, why waste paper?) and we get an estimate then an actual read every 2nd month. I've got no complaints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supasi Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 I had a similar problem with Genesis and changed to contact. enesis would not send me a bill one month and them double bill the following. Their excuse was the previous tennants wanted the bill sent every two months. But when we started we got them every month. Go figure! Then we would get two seperate bills for gas and Power which meant we were not eligible for dual Utilities discount. That started about a year after we moved in. They cant explain why that was happening . Then I got disconnection notices for not paying my bill for two months, yet I had the receipts to prove it. I got into several heated arguments with useless people at Genesis who couldnt see what they were doing wrong. I told them to get stuffed and then joined Contact. No problems there and I even get a discount for recieveing electronic bills instead of paper. But the cost of the power was slightly higher( although with all the price rises its the same as what I was going to be charged by genesis if I stayed.Just that Contact was first to increase the price) HTH BTW, get the bill emailed to you. Saves the headaches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 We use energy online at the moment it is reasonable on rates but the big saver is a 20% prompt payment discount meaning you save a stack off what they actual unit and daily charges are just by paying on time.. Another option we considered was power shop but didn't like the winter prices going up.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WEKA Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 I have been with Powershop since Nov last year. Savings for the year are looking like about $700.00. They give me 5 cents back for every unit I use during the day on weekends as well. They have a special at the moment giving me $25 for anyone I recommend that joins plus that person gets $50. Send me your first name and email address and I will get them to contact you. All you have to do is give them your bank details and they do everything else, and will change you back if you are not happy after 60 days with no charges. They are really good at communicating. Their web site will tell you if they can supply you and how much they will save you without you doing any buying but you can save a lot more by purchasing their specials. As somebody else stated the best savings are probably during the warmer weather. http://www.powershop.co.nz/faq.html PS You will probably have you existing supplier ringing and offering discounts to stay when they are asked to change you over. This happened to most people I recommended. So you can get savings without changing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ymir Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 I use nova energy now, I was with contact and feel your pain. There is a consumer magazine link http://www.consumer.org.nz/powerswitch. This is an independent body. You have to fill out the questions (you need a powerbill) and it works out who is the cheapest for you and how much you will save with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WEKA Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 And you will find Powershop at the top of these surveys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted May 22, 2010 Report Share Posted May 22, 2010 According to their site Powershop is not an option for us here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WEKA Posted May 22, 2010 Report Share Posted May 22, 2010 Oh No You can probably click a box which will let you know when they can supply you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ymir Posted May 22, 2010 Report Share Posted May 22, 2010 lol starting to think you work for power shop weka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WEKA Posted May 22, 2010 Report Share Posted May 22, 2010 No, but they pay me a commission!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted May 22, 2010 Report Share Posted May 22, 2010 lol starting to think you work for power shop weka When you are happy with something sing it loud and long imo We are lucky at our house as we do not have to pay for power used but I have found this discussion very interesting as my son has just moved out. Fortunately the house we purchased for him is mostly gas therefore he selected the company that had the best deal on power/gas combined which may be contact. I will ask if when I see him next and if it is contact will get him to read these posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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