Suppliers
You do have a choice and believe it or not, it is worthwhile making one! Whilst there is little difference between the best deals there are still some shocking options available. In particular be wary if you are being supplied by the local company. We strongly recommend that you invest a few minutes to seek out a good deal as the chances are, as a new customer, you will get a better overall deal. Inertia will almost definitely cost you!
Just to make life difficult for you, it is not possible to arrange for your new supplier to supply you from day 1. However you can take steps to change your supplier before you move in. We recommend that you should contact your chosen supplier about 3 weeks before. Your new supplier will need to know who is currently supplying the property so add this to your list of questions to ask the current tenants. Otherwise just wait until you move in.
You probably find that getting both services (and may be the phone as well) from the same supplier will be in your interest. Having tried many different suppliers over the years all of us in the office have now settled on a company called Telecom Plus to supply gas, electricity and phone. Frankly it is convenient, very cheap and reliable.
If you want to ignore us though then try Uswitch. This will compare prices from almost all suppliers and also allows you to sign up with most of them. It will also show you if a dual fuel deal (electricity and gas from one supplier) will be in your interest or not. (You will not find mention of Telecom Plus as they source their supplies through intelligent purchasing and bulk buying from other suppliers.)
(A 3 bedroomed house with gas central heating and double-glazing typically costs £600 a year (£350 gas, £250 electricity)).
A list of the main utilities' phone numbers can be found by clicking here.
Gas and Electricity Bills
Potential problems with utility bills include how to split the bills with your flat mates, please read our article on managing the bills in a student house.
A further problem is not actually receiving a bill from your gas or electricity supplier. This is now a remarkably common problem and unfortunately it is a problem. It might sound great to get away without paying but they will invariably catch up with you. Having to pay off massive bills in one go is not fun (talking from personal experience!).
If you do get a few months into your tenancy and find that you are not receiving your bill, we would urge you to resist your instincts and to take steps to ensure that you start receiving a bill. You should probably do the following:
- Find out who your supplier is,
- Write to them (they seem to have an amazing ability to lose their phone records) and keep a copy of the letter,
- If you get no response to the above then get Energy Watch to take up your complaint.
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