Reply With QuoteMy experience could not be more different. I always use them for utilities and insurance with great results
Well not for me. My utility fixed rate expires next week so input annual usage and tariff. Lots of supposed savings of course but after some groundwork:
My existing billings are always exaggerated so the savings are not as predicted and in some cases I'd be paying more.
No account taken of customer service - high on my list of priorities. A prominent provider recommended has a lousy cs rating.
Of course all these sites will get commission from the providers so as far as I'm concerned it's a big con.
Car insurance needs renewal next month.......
My experience could not be more different. I always use them for utilities and insurance with great results
+1 I always use them great prices every time.Originally Posted by thegreatdogwood
+1 works for me for utility and car insurance.
Only used for home and car insurance, always worked well for me.
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I use comparison sites for utilities, mobile phones, car insurance and home insurance. much time and money saved along the way
Always for car insurance.
For utilities I always take the advice on Martin Lewis' website - always saved money every time we switched.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Rarely. They used to, but in the last two years the very best deals I've obtained have come from phoning the incumbent provider and asking what they can do for me. I did it with Home insurance this month; I called the incumbent, explained that I could sit on comparison sites and work out who to move to, or they could give me their best deal and if it's competitive, I'll stay. They dropped the price to a level I was very happy with and that was it. Took 5-minutes.
I did the same with car insurance recently too with the same result. Just an honest conversation was all it took.
What I have found works for me, especially with car insurance is using the price comparison site to see who's faring well then contacting the top one or two bough not via the price comparison site as the deals tend to be better
Always given me the best deals on utility bills and car insurance, although I normally try and get my existing provider to match. Oddly, my renewal on my home insurance has never changed in 7 years, still with my provider and always around the £200 mark which comparison sites can't seem of match.
Nearly always worked for me, I find the best site is Martin Lewis and I've done the massive utility switch he organises for the last 2 or 3 years and my costs have dropped dramatically. On his list it usually includes customer service ratings as well which is handy. My last switch a few months back, I signed up for a 2 year fix - there's nothing close to that now.
The last 3 years compare the market have come out on top for me, plus the 2 for 1 cinema voucher every week for a year and a silly meerkat for the dog!
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Snap. They quoted me way above what I'm paying, and recommended a company with a poor internet reputation.
If your decision is swayed by internet reviews then it is ultimately costing you money.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Looking for a removals company for when the house sale goes through. Called a few local firms for quotes, looked online and was directed to a comparison site, not one of the local companies I'd seen in my earlier searches were on there and the ones that were were considerably more expensive.
I always do three things - I ring around, I look online and I ask friends/ acquaintances (including here).
Every persons circumstances are different and what works for one may not work for somebody else.
Generally though, I have found that staying with the same insurance company or utility provider is not the cheapest option, but sometimes it is not ultimately about the price.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Absolutely. My search isn't over yet. But it highlighted the issues you could have, some people will genuinely just look on those sites and not think there are other options. Laziness can be an expensive problem!
We generally use these sites for car insurance though - always get our best deal there.
I also agree that bottom line price isn't always the deal maker
Use these sites as a check against what I'm paying, although my provider (Scottish Power) usually has a new offer when the fixed period comes to an end so I've been with them a few years. Money Saving Expert is where I started.
Does everyone realise who actually owns the MSE site?
- Moneysupermarket.com
The only site mentioned on this thread is Moneysavingexpert? = a very different entity.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
+1 for me too. Switched on his recommendations twice now and saved us £100's.
Just saved £50 plus better/more cover on her ladyship's motor. Our existing insurer (Halifax) couldn't get anywhere near Saga's ( I know, I know!) quote.
Me too. I sign up to electric and gas through money saving expert website. It's basically a group buy, so they get discounts due to the number of customers signed up. When cross matching against comparison websites, the rates for elec/gas were identical to the best deals elsewhere, but I receive £30 cash back, which I believe is the commission a comparison website gets for introducing you to a company. MSE gives it to the customer. No messing around, no claims having to be put in, just cash appears in my account a month after sign-up. Each contract is for 1 year.
Just spent all weekend on them trying to get slightly less than astronomical car insurance for my daughter.
Money Saving Expert tells you the preferred order to run them to get full market coverage.
Then there are some insurers who don't partake who you're supposed to do individually e.g. Direct Line, Aviva.
We eventually went with QuoteMeHappy which Confused found cheapest. And lo and behold they are actually Aviva!
I've found several of the comparison sites now seem to have a vested interest in selling products by certain providers.
However each year I play the game with insurance and then check a few other companies who aren't on the comparison sites, then ring my insurer and beat them down, as I have been happy with the customer service, now in the process of making a claim as someone drove in to the back of the wife and it's been so smooth compared to previous experiences.
Don't forget to use cash back sites such as Quidco as well.
Also don't forget to do your own research as well infound gas and electricity cheaper from another supplier and have said a fair bit.
MoneySupermarket (the group who run the comparison site) own MoneySavingExpert (the consumer web site originally started by Martin Lewis). They bought it in 2012 for £87 million pounds.
Of course they do! It all depends on how much commission the supplier is paying to the comparison site. (And it get much more complex than this. For example, Admiral Insurance used to own confused.com, Esure part-owned GoCompare, etc)
The most notable difference for me when using price comparison sites has been the vast increase in spam emails over the subsequent weeks.
Yes.... went to a couple of them for car insurance and then got hit by loads of insurance spam emails for the next couple of week. btw this was before I learnt that the comparison sites are owned by the insurance companies! Also the quotes were rubbish and completely wrong; I mean the low quotes were much higher when I went to the companies site to proceed. In the end I went to a couple of companies that weren't shown on the comparison list and got a much better deal anyway.
So, in conclusion, NO, they've not worked for me.
I always use comparison sites for insurances, but ALWAYS check direct as well. Surprising how often a direct deal will beat the comparison site, but at least it weeds out the expensive companies and I have a lifetime supply of Meerkats for the grandkids. lol
Interestingly a couple of years ago I contacted my car insurance company to see if they could better their deal by a few quid to retain the business (over 60, no claims, no points, small car, low mileage etc) - they flatly refused and consequently lost my business. Bizarre behaviour I thought.
Not worth it for mobile phones in my experience - much better to battle it out head-to-head with someone who thinks they may be about to be responsible for a customer cancelling their account!
My advice - always shop around and try to negotiate with everyone if you want the best price
EDIT: P.S. When just shopping around I always give my old works mobile number and my "spare" email address to prevent the email and text bombs that follow any enquiry. Then when you have found the one you want, go back and repeat with the correct information.
Last edited by UKMike; 25th January 2017 at 14:16.
My experience is that of late they are not as huge saving as they used to be. My renewal this year was cheaper then any of the comparison sites and I rang up the company and they knocked some more off. Pity as the kids wanted the special edition frozen toy.
I can also recommend the Martin Lewis site, and this despite the fact that one of my friends was a co-founder of the site that eventually became Money Supermarket.
I find you just have to be aware that some companies deliberately elevate themselves in a comparative list by stripping essentials from the main price (luggage from travel ticket prices etc) but keep an eye out for that and they are tremendously handy.
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With insurance has worked well for me.
Have never been inundated with spam and the prices quoted have always been accurate.
What do you mean by the prices quoted have always been accurate? I've only ever paid the quotes amount and in some have paid less if I've rung up after a quote and had a chat with their CS people.
I use them but with a throw away email and wrong phone number to avoid spam.
I like how directline and others advertise that they're not on comparison sites as if that is something good for customers, yea great so I have to spend half an hour extra filling out forms, bonus!
I mean that like you, I only paid the prices quoted (not higher), unlike some other posters experience: -
Last edited by Kingstepper; 26th January 2017 at 11:09.
I have just used a comparison site to trim £200+ from my household combined insurance, and that includes moving to a higher level of cover.
Annoyingly, it is with the same insurance company!
I always use comparison sites for our car insurance etc, worth going through a few though. For some reason comparethemarket always seem to generate better prices for me.
USwitch is also good, mainly for home related products I find.
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