New Home Owner - Utility Bills

leebarros

Evening all,

Picked up the keys to my (first) house at the end of last week and have taken a note of the meter readings. Having looked up the Home Report the sellers have advised that the utilities are with Npower...

My questions is... What do I do from here. I have had people saying phone Npower and register with them (right onto their standard tariff) and others have said to choose a new supplier and phone them instead to get a better deal...

I have no idea what is the correct thing to do, and want to get it sorted out now to prevent any nasty shocks on the bill. I am aware that the first bill will be higher than normal due to estimates etc...

Any info would be appreciated

-Lee

dj1471

You have to open an account with nPower initially, after that you're free to switch. Once you're setup with nPower you can also change onto a better tariff than standard straight away, worth doing even if you intend to switch (just be careful of exit fees).

leebarros

Fantastic! So its a case of calling them tomorrow, advising them that I am the new owner... give them the meter readings and then asking about getting a better tariff?

GingerBob_3

Yes, register with nPower - BUT ABSOLUTELY DO NOT PROVIDE THEM WITH PERSONAL INFORMATION.


Do not provide your DoB, previous address or anything. Give them your surname only, and maybe initial but that's it. In fact, your best bet is to write to them (recorded delivery) giving the initial meter readings and your surname only as the new resident.


You will no doubt have heard that nPower is Britain's worst company according to just about every assessment. Up and down the land they have made the lives of very many people an absolute misery.


Look for a new supplier immediately. I recommend EDF, for two reasons; they are reasonably competitive on price, but here's the big one - they don't carry out a credit check and don't report your accounts to the credit reference agencies.

macman

leebarros wrote: »

Fantastic! So its a case of calling them tomorrow, advising them that I am the new owner... give them the meter readings and then asking about getting a better tariff?

/

No, because a better tariff may well have an ETC on it (Standard does not), and why restrict yourself to nPower only?. Register, give your opening reads and then you can immediately hit the comp sites armed with your estimated annual kWh usage and your postcode. Pick the best tariff for you and the switch will take around 3-4 weeks.

leebarros

Thanks everyone! Trying to get through just now and its taking a while, just as well the phone call is free!

[Deleted User]

Excellent advice re Npower as a supplier but Scottish Power are catching them up quick and getting ready to overtake them for awful service. Avoid also. Personally I dare nt go with anyone but BG, EDF and EON with some excellent collective tariffs springing up using these three suppliers.You still have time to register with Npower and get on the MSE BG 2016 collective with £30 cashback..dual fuel direct debit, just about the cheapest tariffs in the UK for me in my area.Standing charge a bit high though