What are the best energy auto-switching services?
Would you be surprised if we told you that you are most likely wasting £300 annually on your gas and electricity?
Recent data in a study by First Utility indicated that a whopping £2.2 billion is being wasted every year by households who are overpaying for their energy bills.
The main reasons for this are that people are either simply unaware that they could get a better deal on their energy, or consider it too cumbersome to switch energy suppliers.
However, a handy new solution called auto-switching could be the key to not only saving you a lot of effort, but also a lot of money.
What are energy auto-switching services?
Think of energy auto-switching as outsourcing your research for an energy supplier and the end-to-end management of this relationship henceforth. Energy auto-switching services basically do all the groundwork for you – finding you the best energy deal, switching you over to the best tariff, managing the migration of your contract from your old supplier to the new one, and taking care of any payments.
Usually, you are notified before they switch you to the new tariff. What’s more, this process doesn’t end as soon as you’re on a new tariff – auto-switching services continue to search for the best deal continuously, ensuring that you’re always a step ahead.
It’s the simplest and fastest way to ensure that your household remains on the best energy tariff available to you.
What are the benefits of auto-switching?
Put simply – time and money! Auto-switching not only ensures that your current tariff is automatically updated to a new one, if it is a better deal, but it also saves you the hassle of trawling through comparison sites yourself and managing the switch.
What’s more, auto-switching helps you cut through the noise. The proliferation of energy suppliers and different types of tariffs have made choosing the right plan for your home an exhausting process. What’s more – hidden charges, technical jargon, and lengthy switching requirements make it even more daunting to tackle this on your own, which is why auto-switching removes the onus of decision making from you and leaves it to the experts.
Finally, apart from getting the cheapest deal, auto-switching services make holistic decisions about which suppliers to switch to based on a number of other factors such as complaint handling and service rankings, elevating your overall customer experience.
How do auto-switching services work?
Energy auto-switches operate in a similar manner to comparison websites.
- First, you have to provide them with details regarding your location, current tariff and supplier details, as well as give them an idea of your home energy usage.
- Next, the auto-switcher will do the research on the best deals available to you, filtering out suppliers who do not meet sustainability requirements or have received poor customer rankings.
- You may also have the option to set preferences such as choosing to switch between large suppliers only, types of tariffs, or going for more eco-friendly tariffs.
- Finally, the auto-switching company calculates your potential savings and selects the best available plan, switching to the new tariff for you.
The service level you agree upon with your auto-switcher determines the level of support you will receive. Some auto-switchers offer dedicated support with multiple contact options, some offer commission-based services, and some limit the number of times they will switch to a new supplier for you. Below, you can find a more detailed comparison of well-known auto-switching services.
Do energy auto-switchers find you the best deal?
While auto-switching services often claim to find you the best deal, this may not necessarily be the case – you should definitely consider doing a bit of research yourself before committing yourself to any contract. Remember that you can still change your mind about the tariff that they switch you to – typically you have a two week window within which to make any changes.
Different auto-switchers have different operating models. For the most part, price comparison websites like GoCompare offer their proprietary energy auto-switching services, which means that the range of deals that they select may be limited to ones from the energy suppliers who pay to be listed on comparison websites, which may not necessarily be the best deal.
However, others, like Flipper and SwitchD don’t have any affiliations to price comparison sites, and therefore consider a wider range of tariffs for selecting the best deal. However, they usually charge a fee for this.
Finally, sometimes the effort of switching through multiple providers to save a few pounds may not be worth the effort, especially if it causes disruptions to your energy supply. So you must be careful when deciding upon which auto-switcher to go for.
What are the top energy auto-switching services?
The most well-known energy auto-switching services are:
Auto-switching company | Launch Date |
Switchd | 2017 |
Flipper | 2016 |
Look After My Bills | 2018 |
WeFlip | 2019 |
Switchcraft | 2018 |
Migrate | 2016 |
Labrador | 2016 |
Homebox | 2019 |
Switchd
Summary:
– Freedom to choose between the Free, Lite, Standard and Premium service options.
– Switchd claims to have access to a national switching database that can help keep track of your switch.
– The whole of market service covers a wide variety of suppliers, including those offering Green Tariffs.
About Switchd:
Free service option available. However, deals are sourced from pay-to-list suppliers only.
Whole of market paid option starts at £1.99 per month and includes all suppliers in the market. You won’t pay until you have made savings of at least £50.
Switches per year:
– On average, switches suppliers every six to nine months.
Potential Savings:
– £408 as per the Switchd website.
- Customer rating :
- 4.4 / 5 on TrustPilot (based on 188 reviews)
- Customer reviews mention that it is an easy and efficient solution with great customer service.
Exclusive offer:
NEW: Switch today and get a £10 John Lewis Gift Card. Terms & Conditions apply.
Look After My Bills
Summary:
– Biggest auto-switching service in the market with over 200,000 members.
– Offers you £20 when you refer friends to join the service.
– Provides updates by text or post in addition to online channel.
About Look After My Bills:
Free service, but only offers you energy deals from suppliers that pay to be listed with them (does not cover the whole market).
Switches per year:
– If any exit fees are applicable to your current tariff, they won’t switch it until the contract ends. They switch your tariff if they can save you at least £50.
Potential Savings:
– £277 as per the L.A.M.B website.
- 4.6 / 5 on TrustPilot (based on 9,759 reviews)
- Customers mention excellent service and a seamless and efficient switching process.
Exclusive offer:
Switch and get a £10 New Look Gift Card. Terms & conditions apply.
Migrate
Summary:
– Impartial evaluation of best energy deals since it is not a commission-based operating model.
– Socially responsible – donates £10 of its commission to local causes.
– Offline auto-switching service available via telephone.
– Advanced customisation options possible – Green Tariffs, minimum customer service rating, Warm home discount, etc.
About Migrate:
Migrate is completely free, providing an automatic switching energy service.
Migrate started in 2016, with the aim of reducing costly energy bills while also being socially responsible by giving £10 for each switch to local causes.
How many switches per year:
– Typically switches suppliers once a year when it detects savings of > £50 (after calculating exit fees).
Potential savings:
– £316
- Customer rating:
- 4.7 / 5 on TrustPilot (based on 228 reviews)
- Customers mentioned that they found cheaper deals, that the system was effortless, and that communication with Migrate was excellent.
Switchcraft
Summary:
– Conducts a wide search of all energy suppliers in the market.
Possible for prepayment customers to use this service, unlike many other auto-switchers.
– Possible to customise to your preferences – supplier size, discounts, tariff type, paper vs. electronic bills, Green tariffs, etc.
About Switchcraft:
– Free service – they make their money from commissions paid by suppliers after you switch to them.
How many switches per year:
Usually switch to a new supplier once a year when your contract ends, and when it detects savings of > £50 (after calculating exit fees).
Potential savings:
– £268 as per the Switchcraft website.
- Customer rating:
- 2.8 / 5 on TrustPilot (based on 3 reviews)
- The number of reviews was limited but most mentioned that the service failed to identify the cheapest tariffs after some months of service.
WeFlip
Summary:
– Owned by comparison site GoCompare – monitors the market continuously to find the best deals.
– You have 14 days in which you can cancel the plan that they recommend to you.
– Asks you to assist in the selection of the first “switch” so they can learn what factors are most important to you when switching to a new supplier.
About weflip:
– Free to use service – scours the entire market for the best energy deals and earns its commissions from suppliers once you switch to them.
How many switches per year:
– Usually switches suppliers once or twice a year when it detects savings of > £50 (after calculating exit fees).
Potential savings:
– £280 according to WeFlip.
- Customer rating:
- 2.5 / 5 on TrustPilot (based on 48 reviews)
- Several complaints about customer service and a lot of mentions regarding issues with communication and payment.
Flipper
- Service description: Charges an annual membership fee of £30 after your first switch. However, its service covers all suppliers in the market.
- How many switches per year :
- Switches up to four times a year depending on market conditions.
- They switch your tariff if they can save you at least £50 after exit fees.
- Potential savings: £395 as per the Flipper website.
Summary:- Taps into the details of your current usage in order to identify the best possible deals.
- You only pay after you have switched to a new energy-saving deal.
- Searches the entire market for the best deal.
- Customer rating:
- 4.6 / 5 on TrustPilot (based on 3,276 reviews)
- Customer reviews mention value for money, effortless switching between suppliers, and excellent customer service.
Labrador
- Service description:
Free to use service – covers 45 (out of around 60) suppliers from the market – no subscription or membership fee. Commission is earned when customer switches to the new supplier.
- How many switches per year:
- Switches on average 1-3 times a year.
- They switch your tariff if they can save you at least £80 after taking exit fees into account.
- Potential savings: As much as £300 as per the Labrador website.
Summary:- Conducts a tariff search every month to find the best new deals to switch to.
- One of the best auto-switching services to use when your home has a smart meter – has customised tracking options for smart meters.
- The amount of potential savings could be higher, since it switches you only when it detects savings of >£80 (as compared to £50 offered by most suppliers)
- Customer rating:
- 3.7 / 5 on TrustPilot (based on 34 reviews)
- Customer reviews mention good customer service, but also highlight issues with the potential savings guarantee.
Homebox
- Service description: Free service that claims to compare all the energy suppliers in the market. Commissions are earned when customers switch to the new supplier.
- How many switches per year?
Switches once a year on average – monitors the best deals daily.
- Potential savings:
£396 as per the Homebox website.
Summary:- Actively seek out deals that are not covered by other energy auto-switchers and display them, giving you access to a greater number of deals.
- Allows you to filter out suppliers based on Green Tariffs, customer service rating, and more.
- It is possible to get an initial quote without creating an account.
- Customer rating:
- 3.4 / 5 on TrustPilot (based on 13 reviews)
- Customer reviews mention excellent customer service and quick and efficient service. Unfortunately, a number of bad reviews for another company with the same name have brought down the overall ranking.
Whilst ‘auto-switching’ might be a good choice, you’ll want to keep monitoring any switch that takes place to ensure nothing has gone wrong.
Alternatively, it’s not too difficult to switch energy suppliers without auto-switching, and you can do so by visiting the link below: