Bills

baileythepuppy

First time buyer moving into new build house, get keys tomorrow. Who is the best provider ATM for me to go with for all utility bills? I do t understand usage, watts etc??

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

baileythepuppy wrote: »

I do t understand usage, watts etc??

Usage: The more things you switch on, the more electricity/gas you use.
Watts: The measure of how much power you're using. e.g. Phone charger: not much. Incandescent light bulb: middling. Electric heater: oodles.

Get the idea?

HTH

Wolf3

Your property will already have a deemed supplier, probably the same for gas and electricity, depending on the builders. As a guideline for you shopping around i think the average annual usage is 3300 kWh elec and 15000 kWh gas for a 2 bed property. but that is a very basic guideline as energy usage can vary greatly. Might be worthwhile shopping around using the comparison websites or look at it after your first few months bills to get a idea of your energy usage, bearing in mind it will be winter in 3 months time so your usage will be higher. You will also want to decide if you want cheap prices now or pay a small premium to fix your prices for a set period of time, protecting you from any further price rises during that period.

matelodave

The first thing you must do the day you get the keys is to read and record the gas, electric and water meters.

Find out who the suppliers are and phone through your meter readings. They should put you on a standard tariff which will allow you to at least get sorted out.

Don't let it drift or forget it, do it as soon as you get in the door - there are horror stories where new tenants or owners have forgotten to do it and ended up having to pay for what the previous tenant or builders have used. A friend of mine had a split underground water pipe in a new build and got a water bill for £11,300 - it did get sorted out in the end but it did put the wind up him for a bit.

Get yourself into the habit of regularly reading and recording the meters so you know what's being used and can identify any abnormalities. It also helps if you send a monthly reading to the suppliers so that you get bills that reflect your usage rather than estimates. Always check your bills carefully and correct any estimates with accurate meter readings to avoid racking up any arrears or over payment

When you've got yourself sorted out you can look around for a better deal, but make sure the initial readings are phoned in tomorrow.

baileythepuppy

Got the keys and metre readings took, the suppliers the house builders used were British gas for electric and gas and that's now who my provider automatically is unless I switch. Who currently has the best rates to switch too ? Thanks

keith1950

Who currently has the best rates to switch too ? Thanks

It all depends on your type and amount of usage.

For me, on my usage , the cheapest current tariff was M&S Fix and Save.....its a one year fix and at present you can get £46 cashback by going through quidco/topcashback... plus £20 of M&S vouchers.

Some suppliers are cheaper for gas , some for electricity so its hard to generalise.

If you have gas central heating then enter average figures as suggested by Wolf3.

If you are considering switching make sure BG don't put you on a tariff with exit fees, safest just to go on their standard tariff for now.

macman

baileythepuppy wrote: »

Got the keys and metre readings took, the suppliers the house builders used were British gas for electric and gas and that's now who my provider automatically is unless I switch. Who currently has the best rates to switch too ? Thanks

It's a meter. There is no universal 'best' rate, it depends on region and usage. As previously advised, any comp site wlil find you the cheapest tariff in a couple of minutes.