New homeowner currently with Bulb - Help

dsingh26

Hi everyone.

I just moved into my new home a week ago and the gas and electricity is currently with Bulb. I received a letter from them saying as I am the new owner of the property, i'll need to create an account so the new tarrif can kick in. I quickly went on their website, clicked 'moving in', filled in my address and was quoted £160 a month. They did say I can leave if I wanted to for free, but need to create an account first.

As expenses need to be as low as possible, can anyone please help on which provided might be better/cheaper and how I could do this?

Look forward to hearing from anyone!

bagand96

You can compare energy tariffs on many comparison sites like MSE Energy Club/Which?/Citizens Advice. 

The tariff Bulb will put you on should be a "deemed" tariff which will be variable but capped at the the Ofgem price cap. You won't find any cheaper fixed tariff currently. Just check that when you are filling in the "moving in" information on Bulb's website they're not getting you to sign upto a fixed contract - that will likely be more expensive. 

Don't think of energy in terms of "£160 a month". It's not like your broadband or mobile contract.  You pay for what you use in kWh, so it's the tariff rates that matter.  The DD is just a payment onto account and the idea is that over 12 months the DD cover the energy cost. Bulb will likely be basing that DD on the previous owner's consumption, if you think yours will be less you may be able to reduce the payment. 

If you haven't already then take meter readings and give them to Bulb. Get into the habit of taking monthly meter reads and giving them to your supplier. Also read and check your statements so you know whether your monthly payments are covering the bills and you're not building up debt, or building up too much credit.  

dsingh26

Thank you, that really helps!

I had a look at the tarrifs and both are types are variable, not fixed, which is good. 

You are right - the £160 month price was based on the previous owners consumption who are a family of 5 whereas it will be me and my partner now! So hopefully this will reduce if I decide to stick with Bulb.

The vendors did send the meter reading to Bulb on their last day so I don't think I need to do anything now, but I do have a picture of the current reading. I got the keys 10 days ago and have been to the house a few times so really need to get things moving as there is plenty to do (skim 2 ceilings, paint all rooms, furniture, broadband) but only have time on weekends as too busy with work throughout the week!

It's really exciting but don't want to be paying a mortgage if i'm still having to live at my parents home for a few months!

worrywart_3

Congratulations on your move bulb only so variable rates although that may change with what’s going on. 

dsingh26

Thank you

So would you guys reccomend I create an account with Bulb, then search energy comparison sites for a better price, if available?

worrywart_3

dsingh26 said:

Thank you

So would you guys reccomend I create an account with Bulb, then search energy comparison sites for a better price, if available?

No there aren’t any better deals at the moment stick with bulb and look again in April , you need to sign up with bulb irrespective as they are your deemed supplier 

MWT

You need to create an account with Bulb whatever else you do, that part is not optional.

You entered into a deemed contract with Bulb the moment you first used energy in the property.

The important thing is that you must remain on their capped variable rate tariff, don't pick a different, more expensive tariff even though they may encourage you to do so.

You will not be able to find a cheaper tariff from anyone else right now, other than perhaps one or two smaller suppliers that are somehow managing to still take on new customers at rates that are below wholesale cost, and have not yet had to cease trading...

EssexHebridean

A word of warning - Bulb will very likely want you to set your Direct debit very high, and will then currently at least be very reluctant to let you drop it. Initially they will say that it’s because it’s winter, so you will use more energy, then subsequently there will be other, vaguer excuses/reasons. Keep an eye on your online account and check regularly whether there is options to drop the amount slightly - they do appear from time to time and you can get it down a few £ at a time, but ultimately you probably will end up with a mahoosive credit balance. We ended up leaving them because of this - they wanted us to pay twice the amount we would use in a year - and from a cash flow perspective it simply didn’t  work for us - if I have spare cash sitting about I want it somewhere earning ME money, not propping up the cashflow of my energy supplier!

For general issues not related to billing their customer service is pretty good, but the billing thing is definitely one to be aware of. 

wild666

Was the quote just on the type of property or your usage? It's better to use actual usage as this can reduce the quote given, in some cases it increases the quote, i.e. moving from a 1 bed flat to a three bed house, moving in with someone with two children. In two years with Bulb I built up over £900 credit, as I just took the price they quoted rather than giving my actual readings. 

wild666

I would stay with Bulb paying them £160 per month if you can afford it then after a couple of months see what the credit, or debit balance is then check again a couple of months after you move in. Their site allows you to decrease the payments if you're paying way too much. I could have gone as low as £17 per month when I was with them but continued with the rates they set. 

EssexHebridean

@wild666 It's changed a lot recently - it used to be that we could set our monthly payments lower and then just top up during the winter if needed - last spring though they suddenly decided that we needed to pay  more than double in spite of having been in credit right through the winter. I spoke with one of their customer service team who agreed that there didn't seem to be any reason for it but was unable to over-ride the system, and eventually we just stopped the DD - we were £160 in credit at that point, in mid-summer! At the time of leaving, several months later, there was still over £70 credit to be returned to us, and that was with us having paid nothing for several months. 

It's a shame - they were a great company to be with when we first joined them, but recently the cashflow issues they have been suffering are becoming more and more apparent.