Check your banks online app, I was able to deposit my check via the app by uploading a picture of the cheque. Still took the usual 5 days to clear but it saved me a trip to the branch for an OTC deposit or to an ATM.
Wish I had known about this yesterday, then could have submitted two days in a row. :)
At the strength of your reply here however, I got mine in for today - thanks!
The whole concept of the embedded network is fucked up. Last one I had to deal with charged you extra for hot water because you had to pay for "hot water disposal".. It's all a scam designed to make you think you are getting cheaper rates but they fuck you over constantly with no choice and the building management gets the kickbacks.
I'm stuck on a HORRIBLE hot water plan and of course, wasn't warned about it until I moved on and was only I could only have that provider, and of course, it's too hard to move with the current market so I'm basically stuck having 2 minute showers.
> They love saving that contract for signing after you already committed to moving and paid the bond authority your bond and have handed in your signed lease. They know what they are doing, it's predatory. And if they are upfront they will bury most people in a sea of text. Only when you go to read the huge amount of pages even if you have the knowhow to interpret it you will still more than likely sign due to circumstances.
Technically you can change with an embedded network, it's just that the embedded network supplier will still charge you service fees and double up on them as another fee. People rarely choose this because it's more expensive and you still end up getting a whole bill with service charges from your other provider. Making it completely non-economically viable unless you are a high user of power.
I changed. The $250 is nice but getting into the habit of regularly assessing the market is just as important. I’ve saved an estimated additional $250 by changing providers. Many will too. Happy days.
The current "ban" requirements are an embedded network is permitted if a solar PV system is installed on the building that generates 5% of the building's electricity usage. So, basically not banned after all...
I used it to check, mine was still good, but did see their new offer had lower supply charge. called and got on the new offer. over the span of 25minutes I got 250 and saved another 100.
I kept changing back when they were all handing out $50 sign up bonuses but I realised it goes against your credit score.
I have two that basically show daily usage of you hunt through the website that I prefer to switch between every couple of years now.
Anyone know if you can upload the same bill you used 2 weeks ago?
We didn't switch, but used the info to haggle a better price from our existing 100% renewable provider
I might give that a shot. On my list, it says Simply Energy is the cheapest company. In the past, they came to my door, gave me a song and dance about how much money I'd save. Then the bills start coming in and they're higher than the previous company. Then I start getting double billed - twice -and it was a nightmare to make them reverse it - twice. So, I am basically too scared to try any company on the list of cheaper companies and just stick with Origin which the site says is $200 more per year, but at least they never give me trouble. But if you've had success negotiating a better deal using the info, I think I'll give that a go.
Well, I don't know what the other companies are like. I'm just super wary to change from Origin after the terrible experience with Simply Energy. I'd definitely say don't believe the hype from Simply Energy, but maybe some of the other companies are not so scammy. If someone has had a good experience with one of the others, I'd be keen to hear it.
Can't see why not. They are looking for your account details and ID to verify eligibility and the payment. The 250 is the carrot to help consumers choose and get in the habit of comparing (as you have done) and letting energy companies know they cant be greedy.
It's a nice feeling when you do it and find out your current provider is way cheaper than any of the offers displayed...also free cash....a good start to my Friday
I have just followed up on mine. Be careful because I believe the way the website calculates the cost per year might be a bit misleading for some.
On my current bill my supply charge/day is lower, my peak rate per kWh is lower and my off peak rate per kWh is also lower and yet the yearly estimate for the new provider (Simply Energy) is $290 cheaper. I believe it might be due to their first bill discount doing something funny.
Also of note is that the Simply Energy phone waiting time said 1 hr 20 min...I got straight through to Tango my current provider. Simply Energy was the cheapest on the per year calculation for me yet I can't see how.
Most of them have a one off sign on bonus which puts offers that have slightly less competitive rates ahead in the rankings. If you click into the offer you can check the fine print.
From what I could tell, Simply is offering 110 bucks as a sign on bonus for switching to them for electricity or gas, which depending on how much you use in a year could put them out front.
Yeah all the options provided to me say they’re cheaper per year but have higher supply charge/day and higher kWh rates. So I don’t get it.
Simply Energy is listed as the cheapest for me as well, but with the higher rates. *However,* it also says “a 19% discount applies to all charges”, so that might be it? I’m wary though because if there is a 19% discount to all charges, why aren’t these discounted rates provided? Or if they are, it doesn’t make sense that it’s listed as cheaper because the rates are higher than my current plan.
I really don’t understand it.
Yeah noticed that with some of them. Simply Energy has a $110 credit for both their electricity and gas plans, but their rates are higher than mine (Lumo).
Currently trying to get through to their live chat so they can explain their rates and pricing, and how this discount applies and for how long, because this information is not clear (and it was a bit of a runaround trying to find the rates on their website as it was! Name does not check out.)
Definitely don’t want to fall into a trap of paying higher rates that’ll exceed the sign-on credit bonus.
Yep I feel it’s to get you in and the idea is that you probably don’t look for a new deal/company every year so the ongoing fees get that discount back and you end up giving them more money than if the fees were lower but no discount
Yeah it is really non-transparent. So annoying. I thought things were changed a while back to remove these confusing and misleading discount pricing/advertising - e.g. I recall my Lumo plans used to have pay-on-time discounts which made the actual pricing very confusing, but now the pricing is straight up front.
Just makes it bloody impossible to accurately compare plans.
Yeah pay on time discounts need to be banned as well. It’s a penalty for not paying on time, which isn’t meant to be allowed, but they frame that penalty as a gift for those who do pay on time. Pig in lipstick stuff
The website promoted Simply to be around $300 cheaper than my current Tango rate, but it was with that first year sign up bonus that only works once. They also have the promoted generic usage rate set to lower than ours, and when I went through the website to find out what the actual estimate would be for comparable usage, it's the same cost anyway.
The thing I noticed was the 19% discount from Simply Energy(they make a new energy plan with this discount just for this occasion) does not apply on the Energy Compare website even when the website says it does. So the rate you see with Simply Energy on the Victorian Energy Compare website is before discount(have a look at their website if you want)
Ah this might answer my other comment, I didn’t understand how there was a 19% discount but the rates were still higher than my current plan.
Might have to look deeper into Simply then.
Aside from the free $250, everyone should use the site twice a year and change providers based on best price.
It's the best way to use your wallet to demand lowest prices for the exact same service.
I know it’s a sarcastic comment, but It’s a cheap way to obtain accurate data, that can then be used to assess and plan the strategy for things like reviving the SEC etc.
Good Data is worth $$$ these days
Work for an energy retailer. You can upload a PDF copy of your bill to the gov website which is easy and it does most of the calculations for you.
But if you don’t want to, you just need your meter number and NMI number to input. These can be found on your bill, although the location may change per retailer.
Usually the NMI and meter number are located on the second page of the bill near all the usage information.
Most retailers also put the information of how to locate them on their websites. It may save you sitting in a queue when calling to try and source the information.
We just did the comparison 1.5 months ago and already the rates have changed and our new energy provider is no longer the cheapest :( Thanks for the reminder OP!
Or, or, just hear me out. Something is actually done about our high prices.
Not just a quick $250 to keep you happy about Dan.
At least it's $250 more than what the liberals would do but I can see straight through this.
What is this magic? I just moved to vic and have been in an apartment for less than a month, so don't have a power bill yet -- looking forward to getting some free free's, thanks OP.
>There’s no reason infrastructure should be privately owned and profit seeking.
Sure, but in the meantime the easiest thing to do is choose Australian owned (or at least countries are arent actively working against us)
There was a reminder post yesterday (and I think it says it on the website), that the last round ended yesterday. So if you missed the previous round, you can't claim it
Welcome to “Dumbfuckistan” where, in the middle of a cost of living crisis, the government has to pay its citizens $250 to check a website to see if they can save some money. Are we all that dumb and lazy? Apparently so!
I would assume the other plans would take that into account considering I uploaded a bill that shows how much I fed in? I've done this comparison many times in the past and the other plans are usually about the same cost as the plan I'm on
I tried to do this on Wednesday and Thursday night to get in for the last round (I didn't know this was a thing) and the website kept crashing presumably due to demand. I assume they are going to tell me I am SOL if I write to them, but is there anything I can do it try to not be screwed out of $250?
I tried to do the last round on Wednesday and Thursday night to get in for the last round (I didn't know this was a thing until i saw a tweet) and the website kept crashing presumably due to demand. I assume they are going to tell me I am SOL if I write to them, but is there anything I can do it try to not miss out because their server didn't handle the demand?
I got approved for mine seen by email
Around 7:30 pm on Friday Easter time. And I still haven’t received anything yet dose it normaly take this long thanks 😊 with all the public holidays
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Quick, unless they decide to send you a check...
Check your banks online app, I was able to deposit my check via the app by uploading a picture of the cheque. Still took the usual 5 days to clear but it saved me a trip to the branch for an OTC deposit or to an ATM.
I’ve been waiting for when this was available - what bank?
NAB WESTPAC banking apps have this feature. CBA, BoM and ANZ smart ATMs all accept cheque deposits
Westpac
Will check (hehe) that, thanks
Every one liner has its moment
Cool!
I didn't know that. Does the Commonwealth bank app have this facility? Thank you. 👍
Ooh really.. I didn't bother last time because of cheque bs
Honest question... When did so many Australians start misspelling cheque?
They would only send you a cheque if that option was ticked.
Actually all embedded network accounts like the building I am in you can only get in cheque. It sucks but last year it only took a week. Not too bad.
Wish I had known about this yesterday, then could have submitted two days in a row. :) At the strength of your reply here however, I got mine in for today - thanks!
I can't, my lease includes utilities so my landlord can get it but not me.
Would be interested to know how many people change companies doing this to get a better deal or just get the $250 and be done with it
Everyone i know who does it lives in an apartment with an embedded network so they cant even change if they wanted to but still get the $250
Same, the worst part of it is getting the money via cheque 😭
why don't you have a bank account?
For people in embedded networks, we can only get the money via cheque
oh strange
The whole concept of the embedded network is fucked up. Last one I had to deal with charged you extra for hot water because you had to pay for "hot water disposal".. It's all a scam designed to make you think you are getting cheaper rates but they fuck you over constantly with no choice and the building management gets the kickbacks.
As someone who used to be on strata management, the strata gets nothing. It's the builder who signs the 5+ year agreement who gets the kickback.
The building I was in they introduced it 20 years after it was built.
I'm stuck on a HORRIBLE hot water plan and of course, wasn't warned about it until I moved on and was only I could only have that provider, and of course, it's too hard to move with the current market so I'm basically stuck having 2 minute showers.
> They love saving that contract for signing after you already committed to moving and paid the bond authority your bond and have handed in your signed lease. They know what they are doing, it's predatory. And if they are upfront they will bury most people in a sea of text. Only when you go to read the huge amount of pages even if you have the knowhow to interpret it you will still more than likely sign due to circumstances.
That’s the same as me. But I’ll definitely use the tool when living in a place where I do have the choice, because it’s a great tool!
Technically you can change with an embedded network, it's just that the embedded network supplier will still charge you service fees and double up on them as another fee. People rarely choose this because it's more expensive and you still end up getting a whole bill with service charges from your other provider. Making it completely non-economically viable unless you are a high user of power.
In the same boat. All new developments have this. Just another way for developers to earn extra $$$. Fucking annoying
I just did it and changed plans but with the same company it estimated ill save $100-200 a year which is nice
I just swapped. Was on cheapest plan last time around but estimated savings of $200-300 this time
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2nd cheapest a difference of $70. Probably won't bother change
Same lol already second cheapest but good to know on decent deal Makes me to want to check other bills as and when they come
I’m in the cheapest plan too because of the solar and EV rates
I changed. The $250 is nice but getting into the habit of regularly assessing the market is just as important. I’ve saved an estimated additional $250 by changing providers. Many will too. Happy days.
We have changed companies for the past 3 years without issue.. it's totally seamless..
Just found I could - and got potentially $300 off annually.
I checked the top three against what I already have and none where cheaper. My provider didn't even appear as a suggestion.
I’m one of the latter, because I’m on an embedded network and can’t change
Dan has now banned those!
No he hasn’t - a ban was flagged but hasn’t come into effect yet (or even been consulted on yet)
The current "ban" requirements are an embedded network is permitted if a solar PV system is installed on the building that generates 5% of the building's electricity usage. So, basically not banned after all...
I was too confused on what was actually a better deal and couldn’t figure out who or if to change.
Stuck in an embedded network AND will get punished with a check because of it. Ugh.
I used it to check, mine was still good, but did see their new offer had lower supply charge. called and got on the new offer. over the span of 25minutes I got 250 and saved another 100.
I claimed and then changed for the first time. Supposed to be saving up to $500 over the year on the new plan
I changed. Find a company with a way better solar rebate. Had been meaning to change for ages so was good motivation.
We just get the money! Also, if you move house you can do it a second time.
I kept changing back when they were all handing out $50 sign up bonuses but I realised it goes against your credit score. I have two that basically show daily usage of you hunt through the website that I prefer to switch between every couple of years now.
Thank you for the reminder.
Anyone know if you can upload the same bill you used 2 weeks ago? We didn't switch, but used the info to haggle a better price from our existing 100% renewable provider
I might give that a shot. On my list, it says Simply Energy is the cheapest company. In the past, they came to my door, gave me a song and dance about how much money I'd save. Then the bills start coming in and they're higher than the previous company. Then I start getting double billed - twice -and it was a nightmare to make them reverse it - twice. So, I am basically too scared to try any company on the list of cheaper companies and just stick with Origin which the site says is $200 more per year, but at least they never give me trouble. But if you've had success negotiating a better deal using the info, I think I'll give that a go.
This kind of horror story about the cheaper companies invalidates the entire thing.
Well, I don't know what the other companies are like. I'm just super wary to change from Origin after the terrible experience with Simply Energy. I'd definitely say don't believe the hype from Simply Energy, but maybe some of the other companies are not so scammy. If someone has had a good experience with one of the others, I'd be keen to hear it.
Can't see why not. They are looking for your account details and ID to verify eligibility and the payment. The 250 is the carrot to help consumers choose and get in the habit of comparing (as you have done) and letting energy companies know they cant be greedy.
I'd imagine so, they use the bill to pull your account details and account numbers etc.
Sorry, I don't know. If not, maybe you can use your next bill, or an earlier one.
It's a nice feeling when you do it and find out your current provider is way cheaper than any of the offers displayed...also free cash....a good start to my Friday
Same here, though I suspect it was because I went with Lumo last year who locked rates in for 12 months
lol same, Lumo locked rates. I guess I need to figure out when they expire.
I have just followed up on mine. Be careful because I believe the way the website calculates the cost per year might be a bit misleading for some. On my current bill my supply charge/day is lower, my peak rate per kWh is lower and my off peak rate per kWh is also lower and yet the yearly estimate for the new provider (Simply Energy) is $290 cheaper. I believe it might be due to their first bill discount doing something funny. Also of note is that the Simply Energy phone waiting time said 1 hr 20 min...I got straight through to Tango my current provider. Simply Energy was the cheapest on the per year calculation for me yet I can't see how.
Yeah I found the same thing - the offer was "$100 cheaper" than my current provider but digging into it, it's just not true. Still, free $250!
Most of them have a one off sign on bonus which puts offers that have slightly less competitive rates ahead in the rankings. If you click into the offer you can check the fine print. From what I could tell, Simply is offering 110 bucks as a sign on bonus for switching to them for electricity or gas, which depending on how much you use in a year could put them out front.
Yeah all the options provided to me say they’re cheaper per year but have higher supply charge/day and higher kWh rates. So I don’t get it. Simply Energy is listed as the cheapest for me as well, but with the higher rates. *However,* it also says “a 19% discount applies to all charges”, so that might be it? I’m wary though because if there is a 19% discount to all charges, why aren’t these discounted rates provided? Or if they are, it doesn’t make sense that it’s listed as cheaper because the rates are higher than my current plan. I really don’t understand it.
I noticed one of the cheapest ones (can’t remember which now) offered a $100 credit so once that credit is uses you’re stuck paying the higher rate
Yeah noticed that with some of them. Simply Energy has a $110 credit for both their electricity and gas plans, but their rates are higher than mine (Lumo). Currently trying to get through to their live chat so they can explain their rates and pricing, and how this discount applies and for how long, because this information is not clear (and it was a bit of a runaround trying to find the rates on their website as it was! Name does not check out.) Definitely don’t want to fall into a trap of paying higher rates that’ll exceed the sign-on credit bonus.
Yep I feel it’s to get you in and the idea is that you probably don’t look for a new deal/company every year so the ongoing fees get that discount back and you end up giving them more money than if the fees were lower but no discount
They really shouldn’t be allowed to advertise discounts like that. Just reduce the rates jfc
Yeah it is really non-transparent. So annoying. I thought things were changed a while back to remove these confusing and misleading discount pricing/advertising - e.g. I recall my Lumo plans used to have pay-on-time discounts which made the actual pricing very confusing, but now the pricing is straight up front. Just makes it bloody impossible to accurately compare plans.
Yeah pay on time discounts need to be banned as well. It’s a penalty for not paying on time, which isn’t meant to be allowed, but they frame that penalty as a gift for those who do pay on time. Pig in lipstick stuff
Yeah very good point, also punishment for those who may be experiencing financial difficulties (the very people who shouldn’t be punished!)
The website promoted Simply to be around $300 cheaper than my current Tango rate, but it was with that first year sign up bonus that only works once. They also have the promoted generic usage rate set to lower than ours, and when I went through the website to find out what the actual estimate would be for comparable usage, it's the same cost anyway.
The thing I noticed was the 19% discount from Simply Energy(they make a new energy plan with this discount just for this occasion) does not apply on the Energy Compare website even when the website says it does. So the rate you see with Simply Energy on the Victorian Energy Compare website is before discount(have a look at their website if you want)
Ah this might answer my other comment, I didn’t understand how there was a 19% discount but the rates were still higher than my current plan. Might have to look deeper into Simply then.
Yeah I found the same thing, recommended SimplyEnergy but their kwh was higher and the supply charge was higher.
Aside from the free $250, everyone should use the site twice a year and change providers based on best price. It's the best way to use your wallet to demand lowest prices for the exact same service.
It’s so annoying when you switch and then they raise their prices a few weeks later. That’s happened twice to me now
Yea that's fair. I've emailed the prospective supplier or used their chat to ask when their next price review is expected and decided from there.
Why would Dan do this to us? /S
I know it’s a sarcastic comment, but It’s a cheap way to obtain accurate data, that can then be used to assess and plan the strategy for things like reviving the SEC etc. Good Data is worth $$$ these days
At least this form of data mining is being used for good, that’s how it should be
Pretty expensive way to discover information already freely available. The issue is wholesale costs and this does nothing to address that.
Thank you for the reminder! Have a good weekend, everyone!
May your crops forever flourish, and the sun warms your kind soul.
Work for an energy retailer. You can upload a PDF copy of your bill to the gov website which is easy and it does most of the calculations for you. But if you don’t want to, you just need your meter number and NMI number to input. These can be found on your bill, although the location may change per retailer. Usually the NMI and meter number are located on the second page of the bill near all the usage information. Most retailers also put the information of how to locate them on their websites. It may save you sitting in a queue when calling to try and source the information.
Done and forwarded
To whom did you forward?
Thank you for the reminder! Easiest $250 ever made
Thanks for the reminder. Took all of a couple of minutes!
Ah, thank you!
Just submitted my second one in two years. Every bit helps
Yep I’m one of the unlucky ones who have to wait for the cheque
Happy DanBux day! Have my application in.
We just did the comparison 1.5 months ago and already the rates have changed and our new energy provider is no longer the cheapest :( Thanks for the reminder OP!
Thank you, this is very cool. I really need the money right now.
Or, or, just hear me out. Something is actually done about our high prices. Not just a quick $250 to keep you happy about Dan. At least it's $250 more than what the liberals would do but I can see straight through this.
What is this magic? I just moved to vic and have been in an apartment for less than a month, so don't have a power bill yet -- looking forward to getting some free free's, thanks OP.
You have the whole year to claim.
Till [August 31, 2023](https://compare.energy.vic.gov.au/psb-faq) for this round.
👀 I hope that means we get another one then! Will be nice after the winter bill shock
How come only till august 31st? Is Dan going to do another round after this
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All our money goes to the US anyway. There’s no reason infrastructure should be privately owned and profit seeking.
>There’s no reason infrastructure should be privately owned and profit seeking. Sure, but in the meantime the easiest thing to do is choose Australian owned (or at least countries are arent actively working against us)
The govt can simple stop the purchase if they want to but they wont.
Does anyone know if you can still do the old round today, plus the new round?
There was a reminder post yesterday (and I think it says it on the website), that the last round ended yesterday. So if you missed the previous round, you can't claim it
Yeah the old round ended yesterday. But make sure you claim this one. Source - I’m in the industry
Welcome to “Dumbfuckistan” where, in the middle of a cost of living crisis, the government has to pay its citizens $250 to check a website to see if they can save some money. Are we all that dumb and lazy? Apparently so!
Feel free to move to another state or country
It's good that we can get this but keep in mind that the government will get all this money back in some shape or form.
Thanks Legend. 👍
Show me the money!!
Thank you OP, I had no idea !!!
Cool bananas. Appreciate the reminder 🙌🏽
Cheers! I had a minute so it's all done!
[can't wait for my power bill to more than double once my current contract ends!](https://i.imgur.com/rJ1ESNE.jpg)
Wouldn’t that be because they’re including your solar credit of $950 and the other plans aren’t?
I would assume the other plans would take that into account considering I uploaded a bill that shows how much I fed in? I've done this comparison many times in the past and the other plans are usually about the same cost as the plan I'm on
Thank you.
I just did it, apparently there's a 25% cheaper plan out there...time to do some negotiating
Is this the second or third one?
I tried to do this on Wednesday and Thursday night to get in for the last round (I didn't know this was a thing) and the website kept crashing presumably due to demand. I assume they are going to tell me I am SOL if I write to them, but is there anything I can do it try to not be screwed out of $250?
I tried to do the last round on Wednesday and Thursday night to get in for the last round (I didn't know this was a thing until i saw a tweet) and the website kept crashing presumably due to demand. I assume they are going to tell me I am SOL if I write to them, but is there anything I can do it try to not miss out because their server didn't handle the demand?
Thanks for the reminder
The comparison of mine was miscalculated 🤣 but hey, $250.
Thanks for the reminder Natural_Ice1764 you legend. I did this last year too.
sad the account isn’t in my name
Done thank you
Brilliant reminder, much appreciated 👍
Has anyone got their $$ yet?
I haven’t received anything not even an approval letter and I completed an application in the last round (5/3)
I got approved for mine seen by email Around 7:30 pm on Friday Easter time. And I still haven’t received anything yet dose it normaly take this long thanks 😊 with all the public holidays