First Time Buyer

Joeread

Hi Guys

I am a first time buyer so im moving into a 7 year old flat, when it comes to gas and electric am i concidered as a switcher as the flat i am moving into has gas an electric bills already? or am i just starting from scratch?

Thank You

JJ_Egan

You are in a deemed contract with the current supplier .Register with them asap and you can then move off their expensive standard tariff .
Switching use a comparison site and estimated usage .

Joeread

Thank you for your reply, So i should register with all of the current suppliers that the old owners were on, like Tv,Broadband, gas, electric, phone?

Sorry for all the questions i am new to this

D_M_E

You only have to register with the electricity and gas suppliers - and also the water company for your area - the rest of them, such as broadband and phone you can choose who you like and register with them from day 1.

As for tv, you can also choose who you like - Sky or Freeview or the Iplayer - Freeview is, well, FREE, Sky you pay for and the Iplayer is a catchup service over the internet. Any and mostly all other tv services are internet based, with the exception of the likes of Virgin Media who use fibre, although they do use internet to deliver some of their services to households where there cable services are not available.

If you are intent on having a tv then you should also buy a tv licence which can be bought either online from tv licencing or from any shop with a Paypoint terminal - note that if you watch tv as it is being broadcast (it's called live tv) then you need the licence but if you use the Iplayer then at present you don't need the licence but you will from next year, the rules are being changed then.

For gas and electricity - after you have registered with the existing supplier, ask to be immediately be put on their cheapest tariff without exit fees (this may well be the standard most expensive tariff anyway) then go on a comparison site and look up the cheapest provider for your expected usage.

If you don't expect to use much electric or have much heating on, I would suggest using a figure of 1800Kwh for annual electric and 8000Kwh for annual gas.

If, however, you expect to use a lot of electric and gas then double the above figures. Remember these are only estimates.

Also, when you move in, read the meters and take photos of the readings.

When reading the meters, don't forget to also read the water meter as well.