Dual fuel for a rented property

PJBDerby

Hi all,

Recently moved into a rented property where gas and electric is supplied by British Gas. Phoned them to switch billing info to myself and was put on what I am told is the standard £65 monthly direct debit for their standard tarrif. Had a look at the rates for these and immediately I can save by switching to their WebSaver 4 tariff.

I've had a look on uswitch and the deals which can save me the most are Scottish Power Online Saver 7, EDF Online V5 or nPower Go Fix.

Are there any providers which people would recommend to give a miss? Several people have told me that energy prices are rumoured to be going up significantly in the next year, so I'm half tempted to switch to a fixed plan until Dec 2010 which I would do with nPower. Both SP and EDF offer a guaranteed discount against their standard rates until Dec 2010, but that doesn't help if the rates go through the roof!

In people's experience (this is the first time I've had to look at energy providers) is there any real benefit in tying yourself to a deal? If so then is it worth looking out for those with no cancellation fees (nPower Go Fix)?

Cheers in advance,
Paul.

Premier_2

If you read these forums, you'll see lots of people having had problems with every supplier, whilst at the same time others will ring the praises of those same suppliers.

Unless you have a reason not to go with a paricular supplier, go with the cheapest.

Whether you fix (and therefore usually tie in) is a risk you take. It depends what your cystal ball tells you will happen to prices. If they rise, you'll be on a winner. If they fall, you'll lose (unless you are not tied in).

Consider 2 things:
(a) government/watchdog etc is calling for suppliers to reduce their prices as oil price has fallen from last years highs when they said they had to increase.
(b) a couple of years ago, when prices were probably going to rise, the suppliers charged a premium at the time to fix. Most fix deals today do not have any premium attached.

PJBDerby

Thanks a lot for the quick reply. I did think as I wrote that like most things some will have had great experiences and some not so much.

As we don't really know our annual spend at the minute having only just moved in together for the first time, it seems to me that the most sensible thing to do would be to find the lowest rates going with no cancellation fees and hope for the best with price shifts.

Thanks again.

Premier_2

PJBDerby wrote: »

...
As we don't really know our annual spend at the minute having only just moved in together for the first time, it seems to me that the most sensible thing to do would be to find the lowest rates going with no cancellation fees and hope for the best with price shifts...

The problem you will experience is that what tariff is good value for a certain usage may be poor value for another. And if you lock in, it might be an even more expensive mistake.

Why not stick with the current providers for now and ask their advice waht they think might be the best tariff for you, ensuring there are no early exit fees.

Once you gain an idea of your likely annual consumption, you can start using the comparison sites. Otherwise it could be a case of out of the frying pan...

EnergyInsider_2

Do a comparison on MoneySupermarket.com (other comparison sites are available but we won't mention them here) go with whatever comes out best.
You will need to have an idea what your consumption is - 2 bed flat or house should be 700 - 900 year, 3 bed c900 - 1200, 4 bed 1200 - 1400. Obviously the number of occupants will have an affect and teenage children can add typically 50%!
Usually Whatever company took over from the old electricity board that supplied a given region will turn out to be most expensive.

Good luck
EI

999pez

Don't forget £110 quidco cashback if you transfer to scottish power.:T