OLD CODGER
The following story is an article from a Columnist in our local evening paper.
The other week I read that a Which? report showed 87% of fuel customers were still with the `big six` for sourcing their energy supplies. Appararently it is the smaller companies that are offering the cheapest tariffs and the best customer service. So how come so many of us have not noticed this?
When I set up home some 50 years ago, there was no choice. If you wanted a gas supply you went to the National Gas Board and similarly to the National Electricity Company for electricity. When we wanted a telephone we had to politely ask the GPO and if you were lucky, you were connected some three months later. Maybe I should have noticed that privatisation has changed all this. We all have a choice of supplier and apparently the key differential is price.
It is the same with the mortgage.
Years ago, once you were accepted for a loan, you stayed with that company.
The Government decided when the Interest rates went up or down and each building society applied the new rate. There was no point in changing
to another society. It would have cost you to move and the amount you paid each month stayed the same.
So having grown up in the years when you simply paid the bills that came in and had no choice, I now live in an era of multiple choice when changing the supplier of anything can apparently save money. My children do it regularly. They arrange a new mortgage, new energy supply, new TV line and virtually new everything to get the best deal.
So why do so many of us just leave things as they are? Some quick checking has shown my Cash ISA is only getting 0.25% interest. I have just rung the bank to complain and apparently they told me about this when it changed some months ago, so is it my fault I am getting a poor deal!
Clearly the younger generation have grown up with this culture of change to save money therefore they think nothing about changing suppliers. I thought if I was loyal to my suppliers I would get a better deal, but clearly I am wrong.
So today I got on the telephone to talk to the Which?-recommended best energy supplier. Cheerfully, that small company I telephoned are quoteing a cost that will save me nearly £500 a year on my gas and electricity.
So now I have a dilemma. Senior Management said I should stay with the current suppliers in case something goes wrong. But the saving could be nearly £10 a week I said. This has caused a rethink.
So perhaps I will heed the methods the younger generation now use and seek out more cost-efficient suppliers. It seems I should be more proactive with the insurers as well. Apparently my son thinks I am paying too much to insure the house, the car and probably everything else. I am going to check who will pay me more interest on my Cash ISA. I also noted on sunday that I should be changing my bank and credit cards. No matter I pay off the credit card each month, I should apparently be earning Air Miles or saving points if I get the right company.
It seems wrong to me as we get older then it gets harder to stay on the right side of all this moving of accounts and suppliers. However my Income is not getting any bigger and now my son says its time to get smart. I can understand the money I might save. What I cannot cope with yet is the work I will have to do to sort out the best deals. I just think when you get older it may be better to leave things alone, pay a bit extra perhaps, but keep life as simple as possible.
I know there will be members here that Don,t like paste or copy in posts and I don,t mean to offend anyone doing it If its against site rules and told otherwise by admin I won,t do it,In future I only want to share with people here something that some people Can relate to Includeing myself in todays world.
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