How to sort utilities as a FTB?!

soplum

Hi all,

I am a First Time Buyer so sorry for (another) simple question…

Obviously when I move into the house I am supposed to take photos of all the meters, then what? 

1. I know what energy provider the current owners are with, am I meant to go with them? 

2. If I do have to go with them initially, can I then switch to a cheaper plan with another provider? 

3. Also, after we completed, do you think we can organise broadband/WiFi so the engineer comes in just after we complete? Or do we have to wait for the current owners to be ‘disconnected’

Thanks all!

Monsternextdoor

You can set up with whoever you want !

They will get you on a cheaper tariff to being with anyway then put it up after a year or so.

Give it a day or so for them to transfer the last residents stuff over.

[Deleted User]

I can understand it's not easy as a FTB to know how to go about it. From my experience:

1) You generally get a letter from the previous utility company a few days in to your ownership. You will then have a number to contact them and you can get a quote from them along with other quotes. If you choose to stay with them they will arrange back pay from day 1 and just continue. If you choose another provider then the existing company will just send you a bill for the period of time they have supplied you.
2) As above. Yes you can go with anyone else you want to.
3) This is always one to try and look at before if possible. I've never had a problem with having to wait until a previous supplier. You just choose who you want to go with and try and contact them asap when you know your completion date. You then tell them what date you are moving in and they will try and connect you asap to your move date.

soplum

Deleted_User said:

I can understand it's not easy as a FTB to know how to go about it. From my experience:

1) You generally get a letter from the previous utility company a few days in to your ownership. You will then have a number to contact them and you can get a quote from them along with other quotes. If you choose to stay with them they will arrange back pay from day 1 and just continue. If you choose another provider then the existing company will just send you a bill for the period of time they have supplied you.
2) As above. Yes you can go with anyone else you want to.
3) This is always one to try and look at before if possible. I've never had a problem with having to wait until a previous supplier. You just choose who you want to go with and try and contact them asap when you know your completion date. You then tell them what date you are moving in and they will try and connect you asap to your move date.

Thanks!!

back on point 1. - 

When I move in I will take pictures of the meters, do I then wait for Eon (their provider) to contact me? And then whatever I use between moving in and then contacting me (and possibly switching) they will bill automatically?

or is it a better idea to get in touch with them before they get in touch with me?

[Deleted User]

soplum said:

Deleted_User said:

I can understand it's not easy as a FTB to know how to go about it. From my experience:

1) You generally get a letter from the previous utility company a few days in to your ownership. You will then have a number to contact them and you can get a quote from them along with other quotes. If you choose to stay with them they will arrange back pay from day 1 and just continue. If you choose another provider then the existing company will just send you a bill for the period of time they have supplied you.
2) As above. Yes you can go with anyone else you want to.
3) This is always one to try and look at before if possible. I've never had a problem with having to wait until a previous supplier. You just choose who you want to go with and try and contact them asap when you know your completion date. You then tell them what date you are moving in and they will try and connect you asap to your move date.

Thanks!!

back on point 1. - 

When I move in I will take pictures of the meters, do I then wait for Eon (their provider) to contact me? And then whatever I use between moving in and then contacting me (and possibly switching) they will bill automatically?

or is it a better idea to get in touch with them before they get in touch with me?

It doesn't matter too much. I think I've done both. It's generally pretty quick when you get a letter and then you will have a reference and number to call them up which makes things easier and they will talk you through everything. Absolutely to getting photos of meter readings - that's perfect. They will then just talk you through what kind of house, whether it's gas & electric, how many people etc to give you a rough quote.

If you know the provider before hand as you do, you can easily phone in advance and say you are moving in to the property and can they quote you.

It's normal if you stay with the provider then you will go on to a standard D/Debit but if you choose someone else then you will be sent a physical bill to pay instead.

RAS

Get in touch with the current utility supplier ASAP and provide them with the meter readings you took when you moved in. Otherwise you'll end up paying for the vendors usage.

soplum

Deleted_User said:

soplum said:

Deleted_User said:

I can understand it's not easy as a FTB to know how to go about it. From my experience:

1) You generally get a letter from the previous utility company a few days in to your ownership. You will then have a number to contact them and you can get a quote from them along with other quotes. If you choose to stay with them they will arrange back pay from day 1 and just continue. If you choose another provider then the existing company will just send you a bill for the period of time they have supplied you.
2) As above. Yes you can go with anyone else you want to.
3) This is always one to try and look at before if possible. I've never had a problem with having to wait until a previous supplier. You just choose who you want to go with and try and contact them asap when you know your completion date. You then tell them what date you are moving in and they will try and connect you asap to your move date.

Thanks!!

back on point 1. - 

When I move in I will take pictures of the meters, do I then wait for Eon (their provider) to contact me? And then whatever I use between moving in and then contacting me (and possibly switching) they will bill automatically?

or is it a better idea to get in touch with them before they get in touch with me?

It doesn't matter too much. I think I've done both. It's generally pretty quick when you get a letter and then you will have a reference and number to call them up which makes things easier and they will talk you through everything. Absolutely to getting photos of meter readings - that's perfect. They will then just talk you through what kind of house, whether it's gas & electric, how many people etc to give you a rough quote.

If you know the provider before hand as you do, you can easily phone in advance and say you are moving in to the property and can they quote you.

It's normal if you stay with the provider then you will go on to a standard D/Debit but if you choose someone else then you will be sent a physical bill to pay instead.

That’s great thanks so much! 

Irishpearce26

You cant change current utility providers for 21 days from when you take over the account (when you complete), you can within this time find a better deal and instruct them to switch over from the current provider (your new provider will do this for you).

EDIT: Its worth noting that within these 21 days you will be on the standard rate which is usually higher than other rates that will be available to you.

Water supplier cant change so just make sure you have a meter reading, always best to take a picture of the meters when you move in as proof.

Broadband i would sort before you complete as it can take up to 4 weeks for a time slot to be available for the engineer to switch over. You can stipulate what your completion date is so that it wont happen before this.

Swasterix

If you can’t ask your vendor who their gas supplier is, you can use this website to find it;

https://www.findmysupplier.energy/webapp/index.html

I did this then phoned the company, gave them the meter readings and then used a comparison site to find the best deal. 

I did it a few days after completion. I wouldn’t recommend doing anything before hand, just incase there are issues. Likewise with things like broadband, tv, etc. 

Greymug

Most suppliers will take care of the switch without you having to do much. You just supply your address and the meter readings to your chosen supplier.

They will do the switch.

The old supplier will then send you a final bill.

Easy and minimum stress.

Jaybee_16

When I moved into a rental property in January, I asked the letting agent who supplied the gas and electricity. His reply was that he didn't know so I contacted the provider I wanted and they did everything else concerning the change over. Letters from the previous gas and electricity providers arrived a few weeks later.