Switching energy supplier - robots are better than humans

Our dual-fuel supplier was Scottish Power until this morning.  A letter they sent me recently reminded me of just how much money they get from the joint account each month.  I called their call centre to say that I was comparing prices and what was the best price rate they could offer?

One long and fruitless conversation with the (very lovely) Ian later and he is still unable to quote me their best deal.  Ian himself is a lovely chap - excellent.  His training, however, seems to have him guiding the conversation continuously AWAY FROM the subject of Tariff Comparison Rate (TCR).  I asked for the best TCR several times and he seemed both unable and unwilling to discuss it.  "Oh you want to know how much you'll be paying?" No goddamn it, show me the best TCR!  It was as though he has been told to avoid the topic at all costs.

Now, I don't expect that Scottish Power's call centre are very different to any other.  They are there to confuse, schmooze and bamboozle their way into KEEPING you as a customer and thereby maximizing profits as they gradually increase prices.  Fair enough - they are there to make a profit from me.  But they seem to expect me to just sit back and take ever-increasing prices on the chin without doing anything.

So where do you go?  How about to a company who make money on CHANGING your provider based on saving you money.

Next time, I won't bother calling a human.  I'll talk to a robot.  The best ones keep it simple.  With USwitch it took me 10 minutes to switch provider and save over £230 per year.

Thank you USwitch.  You helped me move from a TCR of:

Scottish Power Standard: 16.62p/kWh for electricity and 4.97p/kWh for gas

to...

EDF Blue: 13.73p/kWh for electricity and 4.48p/kWh for gas.

Remember: TCR.  Nothing else matters.  Especially NOT the quality of customer service.  The better trained the human, the less they work in your favour.  Go for a robot instead.