Savings Stories – How Jill saved money on her energy bills

“I just gave you my details, you told me what you thought you could save me, you beetled off and did whatever it is you do behind the scenes, and then I got a message saying we’re going to switch your energy provider and save you £124.  And I thought ‘Marvellous’!”

Jill, who lives in Oxfordshire and is semi-retired, was always pretty on top of her bills. But when she was offered Nous membership by her company, Majestic Wine, who she works for in store for 15 hours a week, she jumped at the opportunity to hand over responsibility to us.

How did you manage your bills before joining Nous?

I've always been fairly on top of my bills.  I'm responsible for everything in the household and I probably review my bills once every six months or so.  But I think the concept of Nous is really good, and although I knew I wasn’t going to be one of those people that was going to save hundreds and hundreds of pounds (because I’m fairly on top of stuff), Nous still saved me £124 on my electricity and gas bills.  So what's bad about that? Nothing! 

‍What did you think when you heard that your employer, Majestic, had decided to offer you all free Nous membership?

One of the things that's really impressed me about Majestic - having come from another corporate business - is the way they look after their staff.  They have a lot of people who are working in stores and earning hourly wages, so the majority of their headcount is going to be in a lower income bracket.  At the moment, especially because of the cost of living crisis, it’s a really positive and practical benefit to offer.  It’s really very well-timed to actually help and make a difference.

Which of our savings modes did you select and why?

I chose Balanced Mode, where you propose deals, give me time to review the details but basically just get on and do it for me unless I say otherwise. I think that's a really useful way for it to work because lots of people are paralysed by decisions and planning.  So having Nous say “I’m going to sort this out for you unless you don’t want me to” is great.  And I don’t have any issue with saying ‘No’ if I don’t want you to do something - I wouldn’t have signed up if I didn’t believe this whole service was going to be to my benefit. 

And then soon after, we switched you to a new energy provider and saved you £126 - how was that?

One of the things that was great was it was so simple.  To be honest it was ridiculously simple!  There was no going backwards and forwards - I just gave you my details, you told me what you thought you could save me, you beetled off and did whatever it is you do behind the scenes, and then I got a message saying we’re going to switch your energy provider and save you £124.  And I was like “Marvellous”!  And that was pretty much it - it was genuinely as easy as it could possibly be. 

How do you plan to spend the extra money you’ve saved so far?

To be honest I've probably already spent it!  It’s just a nice-to-have but if I haven’t spent it already then it’ll probably go on some nice wine!