Free tea and cake may have got them through the door, but it was help with switching that people were interested in when they attended The Footprint Trust’s Switching Event last Thursday (9th February).
Responding to feedback from consumers – and as part of the National Energy Actions’ Warm Homes Campaign – The Footprint Trust provided free, impartial energy switching guidance at an event supported by the local Citizen’s Advice. J&J Crump, who provide home insulation as part of the Energy Companies’ Obligation, were also there to chat to people.
Anecdotal evidence gathered by The Footprint Trust indicates that, although people are aware of switching, they are very reluctant to do so with many people of all age-groups preferring to stay with the traditional local electricity supplier.
Ray Harrington-Vail of The Footprint Trust said:
“Although in our experience the traditional local electricity supplier offers good customer care, it is often the case that people could save money by switching to another provider”.
Mark Russell from the Big Energy Saving Network added:
“It seems to be anxiety about what can go wrong which puts most people off. That’s why we thought we’d put on this event, to give people the support they need when switching”.
It took about 20-30 minutes per consumer so a total of 10 consumers were ‘switched’ at the event, whilst others were happy to receive general energy-saving guidance – along with a piece of cake. Savings of between £34 and £187 were identified for consumers using USwitch, one of the OFGEM-approved comparison websites .
For those that missed the event, the Trust can be contacted on 01983 822282 or by email [email protected].
