How to find best energy provider for first time buyer?

wannaberich41

Hi,
My daughter gets her keys to her first house on Friday. How do you find the best energy provider as a first time buyer as you don’t have kwh usage figures as you’ve not lived anywhere else. So you won’t know what to put in on the comparison sites.
Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Browntoa

Sign up with bulb , no contract so she can switch again at any time once you have more accurate readings.

Robin9

She must contact the existing supplier and give them meter readings - she will become their supplier.

To find the "best" some details of the house please- newbuild, how old, heating, number of bedrooms.

wannaberich41

New build, 2 bedroom end of terrace house.

matelodave

As said she must read the meters as soon as she moves in (dont forget the water meters either) and then open an account with the existing supplier on their standard tariff. Make sure she takes photo's and records the meter readings and meter serial numbers and SAVES them somewhere safe.

It's easy to make a guesstimate of what she might consume - use about 12500kwh for gas and aroun 3500kwh for leccy. (you could also try 10,0000kwh for gas and 3000 for leccy as well)on a comparison site to find out what's available. You can do that before she move in if you like.

That will give her a reference point and good estimate of what she'll have to pay.

As soon as she's opened an account with the existing supplier, she'll be able to initiate a swap although she'll have to pay the existing supplier for the energy that she uses from the day she moves in to the day of transfer to the new company

She then need to get herself into the habit of reading the meters once a month and sending the readings into the supplier (I'd advise that she does it even if she has a smart meter) and most importantly that she check's her on-line bills/statement to ensure that they are correct. It's also a good idea to download a PDF copy and SAVE it (she doesn't need to print it out but save it somewhere safe).

She can then monitor her consumption and see whether her direct debit etc is keeping up with her consumption.

It only takes 10 minutes once a month but it will give her peace of mind, she'll understand what is going on and most import she'll have records in case anything goes wrong in the future.

Robin9

Is she moving out of rented ? If so read/photo those meters as well and give them to her supplier.

wannaberich41

No leaving my house

macman

Basics: how is the property heated and hot watered? Once that is established, average kWh figures can be used.