E7 Supplier - First Time Renting

spurs84

Hi,

I am new to all of this so please bear with me...I am moving in to rented accommendation for the first time this Sat 10/12 but am really struggling to know what to do with the utility supplier. The property is a 1 bed gf purpose built flat with Economy 7 heating only which I am led to believe is now becoming commonplace as more efficent? I am running through all the details on all the comparison sites and OVO keep coming up as cheapest but I have never heard of them, is it best to stay away from the 'familiar names' that you hear have all the problems, is there such a good thing as a good electricty supplier and any advice as to what I do with the current who are British Gas as i hear if you dont inform them then they put you on the highest possible tariff until you switch or change it!?? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated as need to sort in 4 days and I am still unsure as to what to do!!!

dogshome

The day you sign the lease for this flat you are responsible for the Power bills issued by the flat's present supplier - The day you get access phone them to report your occupancy and the meters readings, there will one for the Night use and one for the Day use.

Once you have registered yourself with that supplier, you are free to Switch to a different supplier.
To get accurate pricing from the Switch sites you need to know your annual consumption in Kwh, so ask the existing supplier what this figure was for the previous tenant over the last 12 months and use that

grahamc2003

Spurs, You'll have a deemed contract with the current supplier as soon as you use any of their electricity, which will probably be a few minutes after you move in, or when you become responsible for the rent if for example a fridge is left on at the time. You don't have much choice in that.

My advice would be just to check with the current supplier that you won't be on a standard tariff, and that you're on an E7 tariff. If you will go on a non-standard e7 tariff, Id say there's no urgency at all in switching, or changing tariffs, as savings, if any, will be quite small. Anyhow, you do realise you're stuck with the current supplier ofr 4-6 weeks anyhow, even if you apply to switch straight away. If they put you on a standard tariff, then ask the current supplier to put you on a cheaper tariff with no penalties for leaving.

In comparison sites, if you have no further information on usage, I'd put something like £900 per year in, with a 60%(night) and 40%(day) split, for comparison purposes. Always check the unit prices and discounts you'll be on with the unit prices and discounts of what the comparison site suggests a cheaper tariff, remember they get a rake off if you switch on their advice, so I wouldn't take on trust any comparison site results.

Edit - changed 900kWh to £900 to avoid confusion. Thanks Notbritishgas

notbritishgas

grahamc2003 wrote: »

Spurs, You'll have a deemed contract with the current supplier as soon as you use any of their electricity, which will probably be a few minutes after you move in, or when you become responsible for the rent if for example a fridge is left on at the time. You don't have much choice in that.

My advice would be just to check with the current supplier that you won't be on a standard tariff, and that you're on an E7 tariff. If you will go on a non-standard e7 tariff, Id say there's no urgency at all in switching, or changing tariffs, as savings, if any, will be quite small. Anyhow, you do realise you're stuck with the current supplier ofr 4-6 weeks anyhow, even if you apply to switch straight away. If they put you on a standard tariff, then ask the current supplier to put you on a cheaper tariff with no penalties for leaving.

In comparison sites, if you have no further information on usage, I'd put something like 900kwh per year in, with a 60%(night) and 40%(day) split, for comparison purposes. Always check the unit prices and discounts you'll be on with the unit prices and discounts of what the comparison site suggests a cheaper tariff, remember they get a rake off if you switch on their advice, so I wouldn't take on trust any comparison site results.

If you put that figure in you would get an annual bill of about £10, If only life was that easy.

Scozz

Spurs, in October I moved into an E7 property with British Gas (to further complicate things it was on pre-pay too!) British Gas automatically gave me the E7 rates. Mention that you have storage heating when you call BG to change the name on the account. If you have storage heating, it's possible that it won't actually work without an E7 supply (mine is wired to only come on when the cheaper rate 'goes live').

chris1973

Economy 7 storage heaters are only effective if they are operated correctly, and they are adequate for the building, its also important that the building is well insulated as well.

Storage heaters work, by heating up overnight for a period of 7 hours, the heat is stored in thermal 'bricks' and then slowly convected into the room after the heater has automatically switched off at 7AM - 8AM, from then onwards the comfort of the room is at the mercy of the heat stored in the heater.

If the property is well insulated and the output 'damper' (vent) on the heater operated correctly (open, when at home to get heat - close when out / at work or when the heater is storing heat overnight), then the idea is that it should effectively output the stored heat into the room and adequately heat it comfortably for the 17 hours period that the heater remains off.

In my experience, it doesn't work 100% as intended, and in properties i've rented, the heaters are little more of a trickle by 7 / 8pm. Ok, if you go to bed at 9pm, but not helpful if you stay up to watch the midnight movie on TV. During colder periods, you may need to use supplementary heating, and at daytime rates, this could work out quite expensive, depending how much extra heat you need and for how often / how long you need it.

In a well insulated property they could work, but in poorly insulated one you may as well have it at the bottom of the garden

Storage Heaters are favourite with cheap skate landlords who dont want to pony up the dough for a decent central heating system (which in most properties is considered an investment anyway) or the annual gas safety inspection and boiler safety checks which goes with renting out a property. You can often see this on landlord forums, where landlords of empty properties during the winter are seen from time to time, whinging and complaining about how much they are topping up their empty properties' electricity meter whilst between tenants in order to keep it heated. Sure, its ok and fair game to inflict it on tenants, but an entirely different story when they are footing the bill themselves.

spurs84

Hi All,

Thanks for all of your replys, they are all really helpful! As mentioned already there isn't a great deal I can do until I sign the tenancy (which is this Sat). I didnt know I would be able to find out what the consumption was for the previous tenants so once I am in I'll give BG a call to find out and at least that will give me a rough guide to work from. Asking another question, has anyone heard of OVO energy or experienced being with them, good or bad? Graham you say its not worth moving as savings are few and far between, is this generally because most E7 Tariffs charge similar rates? Once again, thanks for all your advice and sorry if I'm asking 'basic questions' but I need to make sure I get this right as like most I cant afford not to!

spurs84

Chris,

Thanks for your thoughts, it seems that with E7 it's the same old story, operate them correctly and they will save you money, dont and it will cost a fortune. If they are opertaed by timers, so long as the waters heated overnight and the rest is set to only come on for a few hours would it not be best to get a fixed tariff so you never end paying more than needed? Or is that not how it works?

grahamc2003

notbritishgas wrote: »

If you put that figure in you would get an annual bill of about £10, If only life was that easy.

oopse. Yeah, sorry. I meant £900 pa, not 900kWh (even though that's what I wrote).