The Irish team behind the utilities components of popular UK price comparisons websites like Comparethemarket.com and Confused.com have developed a new service to help cash-strapped consumers get better value from their banks and utility providers.
David Kerr, co-founder of Bonkers.ie told Siliconrepublic.com that by using the new web service and spending as little as 15 minutes on the site, consumers can save themselves as much as €500 from their annual outgoings.
Bonkers.ie, founded by Kerr and Simon Moynihan, is a free-to-consumer, impartial online comparison and switching service which helps people find the best deals across a range of areas, from home utilities to personal finance products.
The site offers a selection of simple tools and calculators to empower people to find the best deal to suit their circumstances. The service also enables people to switch providers at the click of a button.
Comparison among various services
The service has launched with a range of comparison services for electricity, savings accounts, current accounts, credit cards and personal loans. New comparison services will be added in the coming months and new deals and tips are added daily to the site, to Facebook and through Twitter.
Kerr told Siliconrepublic.com that prior to setting up Bonkers.ie he wrote and delivered comparison software for Tesco, The Guardian, MSN, Confused.com and Comparethemarket.com.
“Simon and I built the software that the UK comparison companies run in certain categories, specifically gas and electricity.
“Our heritage in comparison shopping and helping people to avoid waste led us back to Ireland, a country we believe as being ready for comparison shopping.”
Kerr agreed the Irish consumer’s awe of banks and utility companies has been changed forever by the recession and now consumers want access to accurate, high-quality data on services they are going to commit to.
“Irish consumers are very much ready for switching from service providers – you saw that last year when Bord Gais entered the electricity market – they are open and hungry to make savings and use the power of the internet to realise savings.
“Consumers have learned that the banks aren’t loyal to them. It’s not like the days you opened your first savings account for your communion money. In fact, banks today should be paying consumers to put their salary into a current account. The reality is people realise they should be smarter about dealing with banks and they are willing to shop around. People are ready to deal with them as a service and nothing but a service.”
Kerr explained that the new Bonkers.ie service will initially offer comparisons on savings accounts, electricity, current accounts, credit cards and personal loans and eventually will add in car insurance, TV and internet services.
By John Kennedy
Photo: The Bonkers.ie website
