The DTI is persuading customers to Switch to Save.
I was watching this on BBC News 24. Some dim witted blonde who poses as Financial Correspondent was labelling people who don't switch suppliers - including the newsreader - as stupid.
Faced with statistics that show savings of over 20% for switching, it does seem strange that people don't switch.
However, my perception, one I suspect I share with a great many people is that the initial offers for switching are simply not as attractive as they initially appear. One woman on the voxpop commented that it was unlikely that you save anything in the longterm.
But more importantly is the hassle. I have been very detrred by the aggressive marketing I have encountered on the doorstep. When I have engaged with these sellers, I have encountered nothing but rudeness and non-co-operation. When asking for leaflets or web-addresses to find out more I hav ebeen refused. The option is 'sign up now' or 'sign up now'. I'm sorry, but I don't buy or sell on the doorstep.
There is a wealth of anecdotal evidence of people being bullied into switching - sometimes on the signature of the child of the household.
There is a wealth of anecdotal evidence of people being treated appallingly when they do switch. Of being billed by the old as well as the new company - perhaps because they 'forgot' to tell the old company they were switching, maybe not. Enormous bills from the new companies that do not reflect past or present usage And a host of other problems, which have led people seriously to regret switching.
Perhaps the industry has cleaned up its act recently. I don't know. But even if it has, the impression remains with me, and no doubt with countless others, that the savings involved in switching are not worth the hassle.
It serves as a timely reminder, though, that I am very bad at leaving appliances - computer, CD players - on, or TV on standby, overnight or when I'm out. And Jimmy leaves taps dripping and boils a full kettle for one cup of tea.
In my defence I don't have a tumble drier or dishwasher, and I almost never use the iron.
