Advice for a Student

eboracum10

Hi

Thanks for taking the time to read my post. I'm going into my final year of uni and myself and my long term girlfriend have decided that it would be cheaper to privately rent a house in Pocklington, East Yorkshire. Last year we had a house but it was a student rent and our rent included bulls so I have never had to pay them before.
We got the keys to our new house last Thursday and I want to find the cheapest electricity rate possible as we don't have gas. It is a 2 bedroomed quasi-semi which has storage heaters and and an immersion boiler.
I have looked at various comparison sites but find it hard to price what it will be the cheapest option. I see that many offer discounts when paying by direct debit...however we are only going to be living at our house for approximately 8 months so won't get any rebate after 12months for paying DD. We have an economy 7 meter and the house is currently with Utility Warehouse.
I have looked at the British Gas Clear and Simple tariff with energy smart as I felt this may help us keep our bills down. Any ideas and advice would be greatly received.

Many Thanks

eboracum10

Oh I forgot to mention the last bill for the house is £52 inc VAT...the previous tenants were 2 adults and 2 children.

macman

If you have used a comp site with your estimated annual kWh figures then that should clearly tell you what the cheapest E7 tariff is.
The cheapest tariffs are usually (but not always) the online discount ones paying by monthly DD. Any DD discount is given on each quarterly bill, not at the end of a 12m contract.
Since you are already in a deemed contract with UW, you cannot commence a switch until you have registered for an account with them, so I hope you took opening reads on day one.
Don't forget that you''ll also need to register for water billing and Council Tax too.

eboracum10

The thing is I don't know what my estimated annual kWh figures are. I have the meter reading from day one and have registered with Yorkshire water. As students we are also exempt from Council Tax

macman

Use estimated figures for each rate, or ask UW for the last year's consumption. However bear in mind that your lifestyle may be totally different to a family, so previous figures are only a guide.
Yes, you are exempt from CT if all residents are full time students, but the process is not automatic, you have to prove your right to exemption by supplying the certification of your student status to the LA. If you are in student halls of residence or university run accomodation then the university usually handle this process for you, but they won't necessarily do so for a private let. It's your responsibility to check.