First time buyer looking to get cheap utility bills!

Colin_mc

Hi all,
I am just about to buy my first house! Very exciting but also very scary with my outgoings likely to sky rocket! I am trying to find the best energy deal but it keeps asking me to put in my current supplier and consumption. Obviously I have neither. My usage will roughly be 2 adults in the house for 4-6 hours of an evening and about 2-3 hours of heating. I am willing to use the internet and pay by direct debit.

I_have_spoken

If you put in 2,800 kWh for electric and 14,000 kWh for gas as the annual use you won't be far off what 2 peeps use, assuming your new place has gas CH and cooker.

matelodave

When you move in you will have to send your meter readings to the existing supplier and they should offer to put you onto their standard tariff. Do it the day you move in, don't let it drag on otherwise you might find you are paying for someone else's gas & electric.
Once you've done this you are free to start your transfer to your supplier of choice.


To sort out who you fancy before you move in you can use the average consumption figures for UK households which is about 3300kwh a year for electricity and 13500kwh a year for gas. For a supplier just choose one as a starting point - British Gas is as good (or as bad as any) and put in the post code of the house.
What you are looking for is how much it's going to cost per month/year, not how much you are saving as it's irrelevant if you don't know who you'll be with.

Try several comparison site to see which deals are about and I'd guess you'll end up with a price of somewhere around £90-£100 a month for a dual fuel package, anything much less is suspect and that should be your minimum budget until you've got some idea of what your actual consumption will be.
Try to get into the habit of reading the meters regularly so you can work out what your bills should be and to make sure you are paying enough to cover your consumption.

Always check your bills when they come in and any estimates should be corrected immediately. Also check you bank statements to ensure that the direct debit are being taken out.
This forum is mainly populated with people who don't keep an eye on their consumption or their bills and stsements and are then surprised or shocked when they get nasty big ones that they can't pay.


Do the same with your water if you've got a meter. Read it and give the reading to the water company the day you move in. You should also read the water meter frequently to check your water bills, check for leaks and monitor your consumption. A good estimate for water consumption is about 110 cu.m a year for a couple