SVDP uses fact checking to aid the poor

The online “fact-checker” has been set up by  the St Vincent de Paul Society to help the needy.

It shows any household can save up to $500 on electricity bills and $200 on gas depending on which of nine retail companies they use and the fine print in each contract.

Manager policy and research St Vincent de Paul Society, Gavin Dufty, said research showed the deregulation of electricity prices by the State Government last year had created a $500 gap in the best and worst deals for an average household using 6000KwH of electricity a year.

He said now more than ever householders had to shop around and be prepared to change retailers.

The article continues…

“The only people who benefit from householders who don’t know how to shop around for the best price are the big companies who get to keep all the customers,” Mr Dufty said.

He said for a household on average annual electricity consumption the difference between the smallest electricity bill of $2000 and highest of $2500 represented a 20 per cent gap, or the same as gifting $25 for every $100 paid to your electricity company.

Mr Dufty said before deregulation last year only one of the nine electricity retailers in SA had prices above the standard government controlled rate. Now six did.

Kathy Aiston, 52, of Glenunga said she had often thought about switching from electricity retailer AGL, but found the process too complicated.

She said with two children – Matilda and Sidney – her annual electricity bill was $2000.

On Tuesday, when she used the fact-checking tool, Ms Aiston found she would be best switching to the electricity provider Power Direct which would save her $181 each year.

Her bill was previously $4530 a year, but she recently installed solar panels, cutting her bill significantly.

Without solar panels, she would have saved $493 by using the tool.

“I just don’t have time to read the fine print and there is so much to it,” she said.

“I have often thought about changing providers, but I have never got around to it and at least you know AGL are real, but these people turn up on your door and you have never heard of them and they start firing details at you.”

Mr Dufty said the fact-checkers were being distributed to welfare agencies throughout South Australia, where consumers are paying for the highest energy costs in Australia.

“Everyone is welcome to use these tools however, and we have them available on the internet from today at www.vinnies.org.au/energy,” he said.

Analysis provided to The Advertiser by St Vincent de Paul Society of contract fine print from the state’s nine electricity retailers shows that two are currently the least expensive; Power Direct and Lumo, which are offering contracts which would total just over $2000 each year if customers can take advantage of conditions such as paying on time.

Alinta and Simply Energy were offering deals which would cost householders just over $2100 each year, AGL $2150 and Origin $2200. Energy Australia and Momentum were offering deals at around $2300.

Those who are currently worst off are Origin customers who are paying up to $2500.

For gas prices, the deals range from a low of $950 for a Simply Energy contract to a high of $1150 for an Energy Australia contract.

South Australian Council of Social Service director Ross Womersley said the system would be of most benefit to welfare agencies who would have online access to it from today, but could be used by any member of the public who wanted to save money.

“The system is so complicated and people are put off by this and so they won’t change their retailer,” he said.

“Information is power.”

Mr Dufty said “pay on time” deals were increasingly becoming part of the electricity and gas market, but not all householders could take advantage of them because they could not juggle all their bills and had to pay late.

He said the St Vincent de Paul Society aimed to simplify complex contracts by taking into account the offers and penalties being used by retailers which were: inducement to join discounts, fixed term discounts, early exit penalties, late payment penalties, on-time discounts and “other” benefits which were at the discretion of sales staff.

For example customers with Origin Energy could save around $300 by taking advantage of all of the discounts offered even if they stayed with the company.