Moving house - do I have to continue with the current supplier?

PeteW

Hi,

I moved house a week or so ago and took opening readings on the day. I sent these to the previous owner's utility supplier and they are asking for more details to open an account with them.

I doubt they are the cheapest for me and would like to open an account elsewhere, however I guess they have been supplying services to me for a week, so I suppose I owe them for that and need to open an account to settle it? Would that mean I am them tied to a 12 month contract with them?

Or can I just go open a new account wherever's cheapest and have them backdate the billing to when I moved in - can that be done..?

Cheers

Pete

t0rt0ise

Just open the account and then start the moving to another supplier process. Don't join a tariff with a certain term and you can move immediately. When you have chosen your new supplier you might want to choose a cheaper year long tariff or something.

[Deleted User]

Yes you have to register with the current supplier and stay with them for a few weeks, 28 days I believe, then you can get a switch going . Theres a really good MSE BG collective ( with £30 cashback ) at the moment which ends in late December .

t0rt0ise

Whenever I've looked at these collectives they've always been more expensive than the cheapest for me so I'd suggest checking it out carefully.

[Deleted User]

t0rt0ise wrote: »

Whenever I've looked at these collectives they've always been more expensive than the cheapest for me so I'd suggest checking it out carefully.

I ve checked it and gone for it t0rt0ise. Its rare to see pricey BG coming out with a market leading tariff, plus £30 cashback. Its worth looking at.

HappyMJ

sacsquacco wrote: »

Yes you have to register with the current supplier and stay with them for a few weeks, 28 days I believe, then you can get a switch going . Theres a really good MSE BG collective ( with £30 cashback ) at the moment which ends in late December .

You can start the switch as soon as you know the property is yours. i.e if you're purchasing you can start switching when you exchange contracts and switching should be complete when you take possession of the property.

If you're renting as soon as you sign the tenancy agreement you can start the switching process. If you know the property is yours a few days earlier you can start switching.

You do not have to stay with the supplier for 28 days. I was with the previous supplier for 3 days....this was 6 months ago. I still haven't had a bill for those 3 days.

undaunted

As above there is no reason whatsoever that you should be forced to stay with the last occupiers supplier though some unscrupulous firms may try to give you the impression that this is not the case.

jbainbridge

The reality is that switching takes time - so you need to sign up with the current supplier when you move in - then switch as soon as you can. Just make sure you don't get tied in.

[Deleted User]

jbainbridge wrote: »

The reality is that switching takes time - so you need to sign up with the current supplier when you move in - then switch as soon as you can. Just make sure you don't get tied in.

Why not ? getting tied in for a year gets the cheapest prices eg BG MSE Collective 2016 fix. I m tied in with a £60 exit fee. Thats how to get the best deals. The last thing you want is a standard/variable deal which allows you to move at will.

undaunted

But you're talking about tieing into a deal of your choice from across the market. Jbainbridge was talking about not allowing the encumbent supplier to tie them into a deal that they may not want beyond a few weeks as it may not be the best of deals in comparison to the whole market