Student housing variable or fixed tariff?

joecmorgan

Hi,

I've recently moved into a student house with 4 others (5 in total). After extensive searching and comparing I finally decided to join Flow Energy on their fixed tariff. Whilst joining Flow they estimate my energy usage, after I told them I lived in a 5+ person terraced house with frequent energy use. I was quoted £1,455 pa, which was very similar to other energy providers I also checked (but slightly cheaper).

Just a couple of questions... Firstly, is there a possibility I will end up paying more than £1,455 pa, due to using more 'energy' than they first estimated?

Secondly, would it be more suitable to change to their variable tariff, as because they estimated for a 5+ bedroom house they may have estimated a little too much?

I lived in a house of 9 last year and was provided by EDF Energy. We ended up paying around £1600-£1800 for the year for both electricity and gas. Why am I paying £1,455 for a 5 bedroom house and only around £200 more for a 9 bedroom house?

I hope someone can clear this up for me.

Many thanks,
Joe

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.


A fixed tariff is not like an 'all you can eat' buffet!


All it means is the price per unit(kWh) and daily charge is fixed for the length of the fixed term.


If you use more gas/electricity you pay more. e.g. if electricity is 12p/kWh and you use 5,000kWh a year you will pay £600, if you use 10,000kWh you will pay £1,200. The only thing that doesn't alter is the Daily Standing Charge.


Therefore any monthly Direct Debit monthly payment you have been quoted is meaningless. They could quote you £10 a month and still turn out be the most expensive supplier.


I wonder what methods you applied to your ' extensive searching and comparing I finally decided to join Flow Energy on their fixed tariff.'


The ONLY way to ascertain the cheapest supplier is to go to a comparison website and enter the annual kWh for consumption. As you obviously won't know that figure, all you can do is estimate - I suggest you start at 30,000kWh gas and 10,000kWh electricity.


As it happens for that level of consumption Flow Energy are quite competitive(in my area) but not the cheapest. Also their fixed tariff expires next March and there are cheaper tariffs that have a longer period until they expire.

Nada666

[STRIKE]Biting my tongue about admission standards nowadays [/STRIKE]The 'fixed' in 'a fixed tariff' is a separate use from the 'fixed' in 'paying by fixed monthly direct debit'. The sum you have been quoted is not a quote for a job - it is a starting guess at a possible usage and how much that usage would cost. You pay for each and every kWh you use plus a standing charge. How much you end up paying will be adjusted - it is essential you monitor the meters each month and compare as they may not adjust the instalment very often (hence 'fixed'). Fixed versus variable tariff is irrelevant - it is the price per kWh that is fixed for a time - your monthly instalment can be adjusted. You do want a fixed-price tariff as this will be far cheaper (especially for high usage.)

You are also quite likely to want to consider a separate supplier for gas and electricity - with a high consumption of each that can also make a big difference.

[Deleted User]

Also the OP should consider who s names are going on the account as the supplier will be chasing that name for any unpaid bills.Its not unusual for individual students to be vanishing without paying their share

naedanger

sacsquacco wrote: »

Also the OP should consider who s names are going on the account as the supplier will be chasing that name.Its not unusual for individual students to be vanishing without paying their share

To the OP I would echo the above comment.

If you were not aware of what a fixed contract is then I think there is a fair chance you are also not aware of "joint and several liability".

Basically, as sacsquacco has said, although you are sharing the house the energy supplier can hold you responsible for the full bill. So if one person does not pay their share of the bill then the supplier is very unlikely to chase that person for payment. Instead they will chase payment from the person they will find it easiest to get payment from e.g. the account holder.

joecmorgan

Thanks for the replies. As I said I shared a house last year with 9 people which was a nightmare when it came to bills. I agree that having the bills solely in my name does mean I can be liable if someone doesn't pay up, but I'm lucky enough to live with 4 people that I trust to pay the bills and never had a problem with last year, so that should be fine.

Regarding the searching, I used many different price comparison websites as well as review websites to find the estimates cost of energy per annum compared to the company's reputation; Flow had very good reviews and was one of the cheapest.

As you said Cardew, they estimated my usage as I do not have bills from the people that lived there previously (unfortunately), so that's all I could do. You mentioned the following:

"Also their fixed tariff expires next March and there are cheaper tariffs that have a longer period until they expire"

Which tariffs are these? When I asked for a quote I was only shown 2 options; the fixed or variable tariff?

Many thanks,
Joe

Cardew

joecmorgan wrote: »

Regarding the searching, I used many different price comparison websites as well as review websites to find the estimates cost of energy per annum compared to the company's reputation; Flow had very good reviews and was one of the cheapest.

As you said Cardew, they estimated my usage as I do not have bills from the people that lived there previously (unfortunately), so that's all I could do. You mentioned the following:

"Also their fixed tariff expires next March and there are cheaper tariffs that have a longer period until they expire"

Which tariffs are these? When I asked for a quote I was only shown 2 options; the fixed or variable tariff?

Many thanks,
Joe

From what I can see they appear to have just two tariffs both fixed:

Flow Energy’s Connect tariff prices will be fixed until 31st March 2016. This is an online tariff payable by monthly Direct Debit.

Flow Energy’s Together Online Fixed March 2016 prices will be fixed until 31st March 2016. This is an online tariff payable by monthly Direct Debit, in advance. The first direct debit will be collected on the first day of supply. Customers signing up to this tariff needs to manage their account online or by phone, however for an extra charge of £1.50 (exclusive of vat) per fuel per month there is an option to receive a regular paper bill instead (not included in your savings figures).