Duel Fuel Switch - little help needed please!

Coates_2

hi all, i use this site all the time to help me keep my money in check (though i'm not very good with money really!) but i don't often do things like switch my suppliers, things like that concern me!

i live in a semi-detached with 3 other housemates and our bills are creeping up a lot so i have decided to do what i can to try and bring them down a notch for a change, there's not much we can do but our sky is getting a trim soon (bye bye sports!) and i think maybe we could get a deal with our duel fuel.

currently we pay £122 a month direct debit for gas and electricity, it's a fixed rate which i like because i know exactly what i'm being charged - i wouldn't want it any other way!

when i check the moneysupermarket comparison site i put in high user for both gas and electricity and it works out at £90 a month which is great but i don't think that's a fixed amount and i'm pretty sure we use a lot of electricty/gas between 4 of us! i don't want someone to leave things plugged in or the heating on while we're at work and then find our bill has shot up. do any of the price comparison sites offer a fixed rate?

i don't really have a clue how to read meters

can someone help me? i don't wanna switch and find my bills go up, i could be getting a good deal now but i have no way of knowing!
thanks for reading all.
Coates

Sagz_2

I'm sure someone wise will respond soon - I just wanted to remind you to check out Quidco if you are going to switch. I got £40 back from them recetly when I switched to npower.

mute_posting

OP, you can only really do a proper comparrison if you state unit usage (i.e Kwh).

By fixed monthly payment I assume you mean monthly DD which basically divvies up your estimated usage over 12 months thus you're OVER paying during the summer and UNDER paying during the winter, but over the 12 months you pay for all.

HTH MP

Coates_2

thanks for the replies, i will look at the meters when i get home and try to figure out what the numbers mean!
i will check out quidco - never used it before so don't really know how it works!
mute_posting - i always get charged £122, i assumed this was a fixed rate, not taken from an estimate. does this mean i am paying more than i should be and i haven't gone over my 'estimated' usage or can i expect another bill for anything i've gone over later in the year? i just don't understand how it works

mute_posting

Unless you are on the heatsure(?) system whereby you can use as mush as you like for an assessed charge (think is only open to folks with OAP's in their home) the £122 will be based on an estimate of how much you have / will use over the year.

Youe *really* need to provide your supplier with ACTUAL readings AT LEAST twice per year (preferebly monthly if you have a facility online) so that when they do finaly do a meter reading you haven't underpaid and are left with a hugh debt (that "usually" must be settled before you switch providers)

OR find you have overpaid grossly and not only has your hard earned been earning youir supplier interest instead of you, but you could have been paying for units at higher rates than you need to have (assuming prices keep going up and down)

Coates_2

mute_posting wrote: »

Unless you are on the heatsure(?) system whereby you can use as mush as you like for an assessed charge (think is only open to folks with OAP's in their home) the £122 will be based on an estimate of how much you have / will use over the year.

Youe *really* need to provide your supplier with ACTUAL readings AT LEAST twice per year (preferebly monthly if you have a facility online) so that when they do finaly do a meter reading you haven't underpaid and are left with a hugh debt (that "usually" must be settled before you switch providers)

OR find you have overpaid grossly and not only has your hard earned been earning youir supplier interest instead of you, but you could have been paying for units at higher rates than you need to have (assuming prices keep going up and down)

oh dear, i could have problems here couldn't i...
i've been paying this amount for nearly two years now, i think they have done readings in that time. i need to do some serious research into this and also how to read meters and what the numbers mean!
i got a bad feeling about this...

notbritishgas

Coates wrote: »

oh dear, i could have problems here couldn't i...
i've been paying this amount for nearly two years now, i think they have done readings in that time. i need to do some serious research into this and also how to read meters and what the numbers mean!
i got a bad feeling about this...

Yes you could!! However £122 a month is quite high and could cover your usage. Your past bills should give an indication in the bottom line which should show you in credit or debit. This will only be true if most of the bills were based on actual readings.

Coates_2

i'm good with bills really, i pay everything by direct debit and things never bounce cos i always make sure i have enough money in my account but keeping the bills i get sent... that's a different matter. i'm going to take a reading tonight and continue each night for a week or so then do it on a regular basis so i can see exactly what we're using. also going to ring scottish power tonight and get the readings they have taken over the time we have been in the house. hopefully sort everything out.
i shall report back, wish me luck!

notbritishgas

Coates wrote: »

i'm good with bills really, i pay everything by direct debit and things never bounce cos i always make sure i have enough money in my account but keeping the bills i get sent... that's a different matter. i'm going to take a reading tonight and continue each night for a week or so then do it on a regular basis so i can see exactly what we're using. also going to ring scottish power tonight and get the readings they have taken over the time we have been in the house. hopefully sort everything out.
i shall report back, wish me luck!

Oh dear! You may find that SP will send you back bills or at least tell you over the phone whether the readings were actual or estimated and tell you if the balance was in credit or debit.

PS You are not the Coates near Peterborough are you?

UtilityMan_3

Firstly, all price comparison sites, recommend suppliers that pay them the most, so it is best to compare the comparison sites (What a World!)

Ask SP for copy invoices and you can take it from there.

Any meter read with an "A" after it is an actual read, an "E" is an estimated reading.

"Hopefully" you have covered yourself as the DD is rather high, but give them todays reads and they will calculate the bill before your very eyes!

Once you have your actual usage, only then can you compare.

Coates_2

thanks for the advice guys, i'm having a bit of trouble getting in touch with scottish power, there's no phone number on their website :S
i went to take readings yesterday, logging the results and plan on continuing to do this from now every week. not long ago a new electricity meter was put in our house and the man left a wee card saying what the old meter was at and the date the new one started at zero.
the upshot is since 29/02/08 (1 and a half months) the meter now reads 819.
i know we use a lot but is that really high? it could mean anything to me, i don't know what we're meant to be using for our tariff!