First time buyer HELL!!!

guymetcalf

Hello all, hopefully someone or some people will be able to give me some advice.

My wife and I have just bought our first home, moving in in the next 2-3weeks. We have now got the monumental challenge it seems, of trying to find a decent deal for our gas and electric (let alone, phone, broadband and tv).

It seems that every website you go to for quotes on gas and elec, asks you to put in your current tarif and rates to then get a better quote hopefully. Not one site have I found yet, actually is there to help first time buyers and people who dont actually have a current account with a gas or electricity company. Surely somewhere in this daft world there is somewhere where first time buyers can get 'starter-rates' or some good advice on what to choose.

We currently have a BT account and BT broadband, but looking at that paying for line rental and then £18 or-so for broadband, there are much better deals out there too.

Anyone who is in this position or can give me some realistic advice, more so on gas and elec, it would be VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.

thanks everyone for reading, (sorry its a bit long)

Guy Metcalf :eek:

Lesley_Allan

Guy,

I just bought my house in middle of september and by the time i got work done to it etc it was the beg of Oct before I actually moved in, in saying that on the homebuyers report it had the current supplier of gas/elec, previous houseowners were with eon for both, i had heard that you have to stay with twhoever the current providers are for a certain period of time before you can switch.

I actually just contacted eon, and they were very helpful in explaining, etc,
i just told them date of exchange etc, explained the days i would be working etc, and they looked at previous usuage for the house and used that for a rough guide for my monthly diret debit.

i asked them what would be the best tarriff for me as i wanted to keep gas/elec both at same company and they advised me of the best dual fuel tarriff, i also told them i wanted to pay monthly direct debit, wanted to manage my account online and enter my monthly readings to cut down on the amount of estimated bills.

so far (touch wood) everything has been so smooth with them, i havent had any problems, the website and updating my meter readings is a piece of cake and i also earn clubcard points on the tariff i am on.

I am very pleased with eon so far but me being a FTB i have no experience of other companies etc and I know that others have had bad experiences with EON, but i can only speak from experience so far.

hope this helps a little bit.

Premier_2

What is good value for 1 person may be poor for another based on how much energy they use. It's that basis that the tariffs are usually set ... to attract those customers the supplier really wants.

See the ebico site for more information on pricing strategies.
http://www.ebico.co.uk/history.php

The issue with not knowing how much energy you will use means you could be jumping out of the frying pan if you decide to switch supplier/tariff. Why not wait a while, see how much you actually use and then do a comparison. It might mean you pay a few quid extra ... but it could equally mean you save a few quid too.

If you really do wish to switch supplier, uSwitch (as an example) makes an estimate on what might be the best option for you based on details such as property size, occupants, etc. But it will only be an estimate based on assumptions/averages.

tstodart

Guy,

As Lesley_Allan says, you should know who are supplying at the moment.

Once you move in (and get meter readings) you can call them up and start up accounts with the current suppliers. Maybe you can ask them to put you on their 'best' deal (online only, monthly DD, etc).

Once you get a bill you should be able to at least try to use the comparison sites to see if you are at least not getting ripped off too much.

When we moved in a couple of years ago our house was on different suppliers for gas and elec and fairly sure not a good deal. We switched fairly quickly to a better one.

Cardew

tstodart wrote: »

Once you move in (and get meter readings) you can call them up and start up accounts with the current suppliers. Maybe you can ask them to put you on their 'best' deal (online only, monthly DD, etc).

When you move in you have no choice of company as you are on a legally binding 'deemed' contract with the current supplier(s). You can then start the process of switching, but it takes several weeks to complete.

You can go to any comparison website and enter any tariff you wish(use BG standard) as it is only used for comparison purposes.

The UK average consumption is 20,500kWh gas and 3,300kWh electricity. Enter that and then variations of that consumption and a pattern will emerge.

guymetcalf

Thanks every for your replies so far, thats a GREAT help to make it a little clearer for me. I was not aware that you are 'obliged' to stay with the current supplier when you move in. THey are currently with Scottish Power, so I will stick with that tariff and see how it goes. If you have anymore advice please aim in my way!

Many thanks again
Guy

ronald208

Remember to take meter readings

Cardew

guymetcalf wrote: »

I was not aware that you are 'obliged' to stay with the current supplier when you move in.

Guy

Just for clarification, you are only obliged to stay with them until any switch you have requested takes place - normally a few weeks.

You will almost certainly be placed on Scottish Power's standard tariff(regardless of the tariff the previous occupant is using) which will normally be their most expensive. If you do decide to stay with them you might wish to request a cheaper internet tariff - although that might have conditions - a 12 month tie in?

You can check the various tariffs before you move in, using the method I suggested above.