Help with first time dealing with Gas/Electric bills

neo1607

Sorry if this is the wrong section but I need some advice. I am moving house tomorrow, (moving from my parents to a private rent).

I have discussed with my landlord and I am free to swap suppliers when I move into the house if I choose, however the landlord hasn't lived in the house for about 6 months as he plays for a football team further up Scotland now and lives up there full time which means he doesn't have any recent electric/gas bills to hand for the house, the house does have a combi boiler installed if that makes a difference?

Just 3 questions I have:

1) When I move in tomorrow and the landlord informs his suppliers I will be taking over the bill paying will I automatically be tied into any long term contracts or is this illegal as this was done when I took out a lease on a shop property, a third party broker jumped in and tied me into an expensive 12 month contract and I don't want the same happening again

2) What would be my best way of going about getting a good deal with a new supplier without any old bills to go by in terms of estimated usage

3) Is it worth going for a company that will install one of these smart energy meters?

macman

It's you that needs to register with the existing suppliers, not your LL-nothing to do with him who you use. Call them with your opening reads on day one and open an account, once that's done you are free to commence a switch if you wish, which wil take 4-5 weeks Unless you request a different tariff, you will be placed on Standard, which has no ETC's. Some tariffs have lock ins, others do not.
Use estimated kWh figures on any comp site to find the best tariff, or ask the existing provider for the last year's usage on each fuel.

neo1607

Ok so I moved into the property this morning and found out that British Gas provide my gas and Scottish Power provide my power.

My landlord has no reference of previous bills as he said his previous tennant switched suppliers so much and wasn't very organised.

What is my next step to getting a good deal, I assume I am probably better switching to a Dual Fuel tariff?

From what I've been hearing my next step is to phone them up in the morning and register for an account with them and go for a few weeks to see my rough usage, will this tie me into any contracts at all? I wouldn't want to get tied into any year long contracts as I need to save all the money I can

patanne

You really MUST ring them with meter reading urgently. If not, you will be held responsible for any outstanding bills. Do that first then look at whether you need to switch. If you don't make it clear to them now when you take over the account you could land up with a debt and not be allowed to switch because of the debt.

neo1607

I moved in this morning but have been busy all day. I have an accurate reading from the moment my landlord handed me the keys and he has the same reading so I will phone them up in the morning about it

macman

neo1607 wrote: »

Ok so I moved into the property this morning and found out that British Gas provide my gas and Scottish Power provide my power.

My landlord has no reference of previous bills as he said his previous tennant switched suppliers so much and wasn't very organised.

What is my next step to getting a good deal, I assume I am probably better switching to a Dual Fuel tariff?

From what I've been hearing my next step is to phone them up in the morning and register for an account with them and go for a few weeks to see my rough usage, will this tie me into any contracts at all? I wouldn't want to get tied into any year long contracts as I need to save all the money I can

You can't estimate annual usage from a few weeks in winter, because you'll use maybe 80% of your annual energy total in the coldest 3 months. Ask the existing suppliers for the annual kWh figure when you register, or use UK averages. There is no ETC on Standard tariff.
Then use any comp site to find the best tariff for you.

neo1607

Turns out both Gas and Electric are with British Gas who have put me on their standard tariff at the moment until I want to switch.

However they seem really expensive. 26p per unit for both gas and electric. Direct debit per month is £47 for Gas and £35 for electric. I think I will look at cheaper options tonight

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

neo1607 wrote: »

Turns out both Gas and Electric are with British Gas who have put me on their standard tariff at the moment until I want to switch.

However they seem really expensive. 26p per unit for both gas and electric. Direct debit per month is £47 for Gas and £35 for electric. I think I will look at cheaper options tonight

There is no way 26p is the cost per unit, it must be standing charge. That's about average for the industry.

I believe ebico are the only supplier left with 0p standing charge - however they obviously have a higher unit rate, so only benefit lower users.

Enter a rough estimate of the consumption into a price comp site, that's the only way to establish who will be the cheapest. BG should tell you the previous occupants annual consumption.

£82 per month is very much on the lower end of the spectrum, most people pay more.

neo1607

Yeah that was the standing charge. Which seems expensive. The rates are:

Gas: 4.49p
Electric: 12.45p

I think I might switch to Scottish Hydro as they offered me over the phone

Gas: 4.02p
Electric: 12.45p

But standing charge is 15.66p over British Gas' 26p

Seems like a good deal to me.

Are there any company's that offer to replace the meter with a smart meter for free if you join?

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

neo1607 wrote: »

Yeah that was the standing charge. Which seems expensive. The rates are:

Gas: 4.49p
Electric: 12.45p

I think I might switch to Scottish Hydro as they offered me over the phone

Gas: 4.02p
Electric: 12.45p

But standing charge is 15.66p over British Gas' 26p

Seems like a good deal to me.

Are there any company's that offer to replace the meter with a smart meter for free if you join?

I believe BG are by far the keenest to roll out smart meters; although one of the metering guys that comes on here will know more than me.

Why go with what Scottish Hydro offered you over the phone? It's unlikely to be the cheapest, you can find the cheapest tariff on a price comp site in about 30-60 seconds.

Then make the switch via a cashback site and earn the commission that the Scottish Hydro man/woman would have otherwise earned.

macman

As above. Armed with your annual kWh figures, a comp site search takes 2 mins. Unit costs are irrelevant, there are too may other variables to take into account because of the various discounts and tiers. The only figure that matters is the annual cost.
Similarly, SC or NSC tariff is a red herring. Unless you are a very low user, the difference per year will be a few pence.