Changing From A Large To A Small Energy Supplier
I recently changed from a large energy supplier; NPower, to a small one; OVO.
So how has the experience been and would I change now, knowing what I now know?
1. Costs
If I compare my actual costs for 2013, when I was with NPower to the estimated costs for 2014 on OVO, they are about the same at £143-145 a month for both gas and electricity. I suspect that for a modern three-bedroomed house, where I cook by electricity, do one load of washing a week and have a deep bath every day, that these figures could be a bit low.
But it is surprising how close the two suppliers are in terms of costs. Partly, this is because OVO set the level of the standing order based on what I was paying NPower
2. Account Management
I am just getting to grips with managing my account to my benefit.
In the previous section, I said that OVO set my initial payments based on my NPower usage.
I have now adjusted my standing order to my usage , as OVO allow you to do. I estimate that when I get this adjusted correctly, my bill could reduce to about £120 a month.
One thing that happens with OVO, is that if you are in credit, they give you a small interest payment. It may only be pence, but it’s more than a big supplier would give. You can also request that the balance be withdrawn to your bank account.
3. The OVO Web Site
Like all new web sites, the OVO web site has a few problems and could be better. In their case, things like remembering your login ID and the general handling of passwords are areas I would improve.
As to the login, they could do a lot worse than look at how Zopa has created a secure login. Zopa’s is certainly one of the best!
I would also recommend that you login once a month and give it a good look around.
4. Customer Support
I don’t think I have any complaint in this area.
You phone them on an 0800 number.
5. Would I Change Again?
Not at the moment, but if I did want to change, I’ve got a single A4 piece of paper with all of my details and relevant numbers on it, so change would be easy.
So for that reason alone, I would advise anybody to change at least once to an energy supplier with good paperwork and web site.
The Best Diplomatic Illness
It is being reported that because of illness to one of the Court staff, the Pistorius trial will be delayed until next Monday.
Hooray for him or her!
Any TV or radio station, that vowed to be a Pistorius-free zone, would get my eyes or ears!
It is not news, it’s a tragedy for all involved.
Crossrail Goes To Reading
I talked about this happening in this post nearly a year ago.
Now according to various reports like this one in Modern Railways, it’s going to happen.
I do think sometimes that the planning of Crossrail wasn’t done by those possessed of great imagination, unlike some of those involved in the actual building of the railway.
Extending to Reading would appear to be an improvement that doesn’t need much new infrastructure or trains.
If you look at extending the Shenfield branch of Crossrail, there is no suitable station, as the only large conurbation; Chelmsford has a very cramped station.
The Computer Software Update Problem
I don’t like automatic updates of computer software and this story from the BBC about Kaspersky Labs and their anti-virus software is vindication of my view . Here’s the first two paragraphs.
Thousands of computers running Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system were unable to connect to the internet after installing an anti-virus update.
Users said they were also unable to access their internal company networks.
I only update my software, when I find the current system has a serious bug, as I’ve been stung so many times in the past. And then I update software, when I want to, so I have time to test it before it drops me in the doo-dah.
Another question thatr has to be asked here, is given the current political situation, why would anybody use Russian anti-virus software.
Jack Kinzler
Read his obituary in the Washington Post. This is the introductory paragraph.
As chief of the all-purpose machine and tool shop at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Mr. Kinzler specialized in down-to-earth solutions for beyond-the-stratosphere problems.
They don’t make them like him any more!
Will Ipswich Make The Play-Offs?
This looked extremely unlikely after David McGoldrick got injured a couple of months ago, but after three wins out of the last four games, it just could happen!
C would now be going on about the dreaded play-offs. I don’t know why she hated them so much, but it could be that it made me increasingly edgy.
But if they do make the play-offs, after last night’s win against Derby, where they gave away a goal in the first minute and didn’t score the winner until the last, they won’t do it the easy way!
It’ll probably be a roller-coaster ride all the way to Wembley! That’s if we get there!
Institutional Bank Transfers Have Really Got Better
Today is a Monday and I was surprised to see my monthly pension payment had arrived in my bank account overnight.
A few months ago, the transfer would be in a pending pot, but I wouldn’t have been able to use it for probably three days.
I could blow it all today, on a wheel nut for a Lamborghini.
The only users in this process are the banks.
I always remember my friend, David, who rose to the top of a major clearing bank, telling me that they got a third of their profits from overnight money.
So they won’t be getting the interest payment, when they lend out my pension money for two days. Unless of course, they lent it out for Friday and Saturday nights!
How To Remove A Fish Bone
I was reading Melanie Reid’s column in The Times yesterday, which was all about waiting for an operation, when I remembered an incident with a fish bone.
C had breast cancer a few years before she died and a couple of days before she was due to have her operation, we went to have a fish supper in a restaurant in Cambridge.
Unfortunately, I got a bone stuck across my throat and we ended up in Addenbrooke’s Hospital. They repeatedly tried to remove the bone, but after a couple of hours, it was decided that it would be best if I came back in the morning and they gave me a general anaesthetic to get it out.
So I duly arrived in the morning and I was admitted to a ward to wait. They said it wouldn’t be long.
But I waited and waited and the staff nurse was getting fed up with having one of her beds blocked by a fish bone. Apparently, there had been a whole series of serious emergencies and they’d run out of operating theatres.
Eventually about four in the afternoon, the staff nurse got so fed up, she forcibly recruited a very junior doctor, to remove the bone, in the way that Dr. Finlay would have used. That is by means of pure medical dexterity.
The first two attempts were complete failures, mainly because I wasn’t calm enough. So partly in jest, I suggested they got a pretty nurse to hold my hand. So they volunteered this Spanish nurse to hold my hand.
It worked and a couple of minutes later the bone had been removed from my throat and the staff nurse got her bed back.
If there is a moral to this story, it is that so much of the old skills we use for all sorts of actions in all professions are being lost and not handed down through the generations.
The Shard Mucks Up My Journey Home
I had lunch today in Carluccio’s at Canary Wharf and afterwards went to the excellent Waitrose there to get some shopping that is difficult to find closer to home.
As the DLR wasn’t running due to engineering works, I decided to get the Jubilee line home. I can either change to the Overground at Canada Water station or go to London Bridge station and get a 141 bus home.
But on windy days like this, only a large person would go via London Bridge, as the wind around the Shard makes the bus station a rather unpleasant place.
So I used the Overground!
The Anonymous Widower 