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Editor’s note: We asked Andrew to write about his experience with Simply RACV
Simply Energy and RACV
With their longstanding alliance, RACV promoted Simply Energy in return for commissions while Simply Energy offered additional discounts for RACV members.
Despite discounts RACV members lost out
Energy Umpire showed in their article often RACV members were getting a third rate price, but not always as I explain later. At that time the Simply RACV deal was more expensive in these sampled towns: Warrnambool by $391; Northcote by $674; Sunbury by $340; and Glen Waverley by $574.
I decided to try the Simply Energy plan
I recently purchased a house in a country town to get away from the city and grow some vegetables. It came as a big surprise that the Simply RACV plan was the cheapest, as I knew that this was not often the case. So, I signed up. I have to say that the move in experience was poor and it took many calls and there was no power for several days in a heatwave. After that hiccup, the experience was fine and Simply provided good information about daily usage and costs.
Suspicions rose when Simply Energy sent a vague price increase notice
On December 18, I received a notice that prices would increase, quoting the old and new prices and my electricity bill would increase by $187. It also said that there was a cheaper electricity plan available. There was a vague statement that “there will be no change to your discounts”, which for RACV members is 45% for usage. What made me suspicious was that the cheapest electricity plan for me had a 12% discount. How come a 12% discount could give a cheaper price than a 45% discount? How could a special offer to RACV members not be the cheapest plan available from Simply Energy?
RACV and Simply Breakup – Come clean Simply Energy
There was no mention of the RACV on the price notice. I checked online. There was no mention of RACV on the Simply Energy website and no mention of Simply Energy on the RACV website. I called Simply Energy and I confirmed it. RACV and Simply Energy have broken up.
It’s disappointing that you didn’t come clean Simply Energy.
Goodbye RACV Simply Energy
It was time to compare so I turned to Energy Umpire. I was glad I did. I could save $119 on electricity and $116 on gas. That’s $235 all up. As my usage is modest I wasn’t expecting big savings, so I was pretty happy with that. If my usage had been that of an average household I would have saved $407.
Energy Umpire offers a simple solution for RACV members. We do not accept any commissions from suppliers so you get an independent comparison. The best thing is that Energy Umpire compare every Supplier and every Price plan. You get the cheapest price and keep the cheapest price even when prices change. When there is a cheaper price available, you get it.
For a free comparison and savings calculation visit our website. It’s free to find out how much you could save. Try it now.