I am buying a house - how do I know which supplier to choose?

salbot

Hello,

I am buying a house and I am not sure how I know which supplier to pick. Do I just have to wait for a few months to know how much gas/electric I use and just stick with the supplier that the previous owner used and then change in a few months time? Help! I don't want to be spending loads on gas and electric!

Thanks
Sally

Ken68

You need to monitor your usage, Salbot, after first registering with the existing supplier.
Read the stickies up top, the national average p.a. consumption is mentioned. Put these figures into your comparison site of choice, e.g. Energyhelpline and they will give you something to work from.
You may well be below the national average, depending on insulation type of heating etc.
Electric consumption tends to be more level throughout the year and heating by gas fairly winter orientated with the lowest bills in summer quarter.
Do you know your type of heating yet .To use the comparison sites you will need postcode and possible usage. Just possible your present supplier can give you the existing usage.

Terrylw1

On the day you take legal ownership of the property, you are liable for payment to the current Suppliers. So, you need to contact your distributors local MPAS for elec and National Grid (Transco) for gas. Call them and they will tell you your Suppliers. Then you can set up accounts. If you have both fuels with the same one you may get a duel fuel discount. You will also get discounts for payment by DD.

Read your meter to work out your consumption. It's easy enough right now to take a reading 7 days apart and then multiply it to get your average usage. It will be an estimate, but it might help until you get a good feel for the true consumption.

You can also make some cashback off people like Quidco.

Mike_by_the_Sea

Hi Salbot

Welcome to MSN

Have you asked the current owners for copies / info on their usage?

salbot

Hello

Thanks for your replies, I am unsure of the current suppliers of the gas and electric (I know the water is Yorkshire water). I guess I could ask the vendor who the current supplier is. We are hoping to complete in the next 2 weeks so I might just wait until I get the keys to find out.

I will have to keep an eye on the meter readings and work out the average I use in a week/month and look at the national average. But the other issue is, the house hasn't got central heating, but I am going to install this within the first few weeks so my usage will change after that.

It's just not going to be as simple as I first thought!

Salbot

Farway

<i>We are hoping to complete in the next 2 weeks so I might just wait until I get the keys to find out.</i>

I would find out now, it is winter and should you move in & find it all disconnected & house in darkness [unlikely] then it would be a bit late to find out details

Remember to take a reading as soon as you get there, this will prevent any arguments later about estimated readings etc

Same for phone, is it BT or someone else, who is any line rental paid to?

SwanJon

In the find out now camp.
If you find you have a PP meter, you may find yourself without gas/electricity for a couple of days until you get a card.
If you find out now, you can call up and geth them to set up an account ready for you, and get the card there waiting for you.
You can also change now, as it takes over a month you'll be responsible by the time you swap.

Terrylw1

Hi Salbot,

It's very easy to find out.

Look at this site - MPAN tab for the elec dsitributors. Call the one that relates to your area (see second link for the map) and the MPRN tab will give you National Grid's (Transco) for the gas side.

Just call them with the address and they will tell you your Supplier. Then you could consider calling them to set up an account closer to when you move in.

http://www.energylinx.co.uk/mpas_online.htm

http://www.energylinx.co.uk/electricity_distribution_map.htm

salbot

Thanks everybody,

I have found out who the current suppliers are - Scottish Power for both gas and electric.

Still a bit unsure how I can find out what the national average consumption is so I can enter it in the comparison sites, but I know on some of the comparison sites you can select options such as low usage, medium usage or high usage instead of actually putting in a figure. I will have a go and see what it says!

As soon as I get a definate completion date I will also inform Scottish Power.

Thanks for everybody's advice, this site is so useful, I am on it everyday!
Salbot.

ps. Not sure about the phone line - another question I should have asked! I don't want a home phone but I suppose I will need a line to get broadband? I don't want cable or sky, am going to get a free view box.

hollydays

if you go with British Telecom at all- search problems with getting through to this company on this site-then you will not be surprised at waiting 2-3 hours (am not joking honestly-read the complaints).Some companies offer you free phone calls to all local and national numbers (not o870 or 0845 etc) which can be useful.

loobylou2

I work for BG and agree with all the previous posts but you might like to think about these things as well before you decide which supplier to choose. Just for info though we view average annual gas consumption as 20,500 kwh per annum and electricity as 4,200 per annum. When choosing who to supply you though I"d think about:

1: How you are going to pay. Some energy companies offer discounts on their tariffs if you pay by monthly direct debit and you can also get discounts for having both gas and electricity with the same supplier.

2: Do you want to manage your account over the internet. Again many companies now offer discounted tariffs to customers who manage their accounts over the internet and again this can work out a lot cheaper.

3: Do you want to go on an eco friendly tariff?? These are the big thing in the energy industry at the minute but to be honest with some of them you can end up paying a premium even though you are helping the environment etc.

4: Is your property energy efficient? Double glazed, have cavity wall insualtion etc, thick lagging jacket on the water tank etc. Things like this can knock pounds off energy bills. Also think about things like Energy saving lightbulbs and timers etc.

5: Has the boiler been serviced recently and how old is it? These things are a bit like cars, the older they are the less efficient they become so its worth checking that the one in your new home is working properly and has had a recent service because a faulty boiler, thermostat etc can put pounds on your bill!!!

Hope all this helps and good luck in your new home