Looking for a better deal - can anyone advise?

altyfc

Hi folks

A while back, I got a very pleasant surprise when it came to my gas/electricity usage. I am a new build, and there was a complete mix-up between our property and those of our neighbours, meaning that we were getting very wrong bills. This eventually got sorted, and I understand that I'm currently something like £1000 in credit (based on estimated readings which were not wildly dissimilar from our actual current readings).

This aside, I still want to make sure I'm on the best deal possible as we approach winter. I have phoned npower (we're on combined gas and elec with them), updated them with our current readings and will have a clearer idea of exactly how much we're in credit after the weekend when records are updated. I also took a moment to ask what our current deal was, etc. with a view to possibly moving. This is what I was told:

We were on "Fine (? couldn't quite hear) Online 7" but reverted to a standard tariff in May.

For electric, we pay 14.20 for the first block, then 12.54 thereafter, on an annual threshold of 728 units (which I think means that if we use more than 728 units, we move on to the cheaper rate thereafter).

For gas, we pay 7.366 for the first block, then 2.388 thereafter, on an annual threshold of 4572 units.

I'm confused what our typical annual usage is at the moment because of the mix-up with the readings but was told that the average across the board is 3300 for electric and 20,500 for gas. We are a family of four in a good-size house over 3 floors so I would guess our usage would be above average.

I'm not sure if it's relevant but we're in Kendal, South Cumbria.

Can anyone please help advise as to where I might be best off going for a better deal, and presumably I should just be able to get a refund from npower for the unused credit?

Thank you.

macman

First thing you should do is get off the standard tariff, as this is always the most expensive option with any supplier.
Just use a comp site (entering you annual consumption, not your monthly DD amount) and then switch using a cashback site.

altyfc

Thanks. I guessed I needed to get off the standard tariff. Just didn't want to jump into something that isn't necessarily the best deal and be tied to that. At the moment, I'm unsure as to what my annual consumption is for the reasons explained above.

t0rt0ise

If you don't know your annual consumption, use the average you've been given and then do it again with a bit higher and see if the cheapest supplier in the list is any different. I did that with mine as I moved and don't know my annual consumption here but my guesses all came out suggesting the same supplier so I went with that. Be sure to click through from a cashback site to sign up when you've made your choice.. I used Quidco.