Eastlife Spring 2020

CONSUMER
Martin
Lewis
on Energy Bills
At least 11m people in the UK are overpaying on
their energy bills, usually by £100s a year. Sorting
it is one of the biggest and easiest savings you can
make – yet the majority still don’t do it. More so,
even if you’re scared of switching firm, right now
you may be able to save £100s and stick with your
existing provider.
Are you one of the 11m massively
overpaying?
Anyone who’s with a big 6 company - British Gas, Eon, EDF, Npower,
Scottish Power and SSE - and is on their standard tariff (which is
almost everyone who hasn’t switched in the last year). Even if you’re
not with them, as prices have dropped rapidly in the last year, many
can still save.
One big issue here is many people assume energy companies have
one price. They don’t. They can have lots of different tariffs – yes
that does literally mean they charge different people totally different
amounts for the same thing. So, the key is to ensure you’re one of
those being charged less not more.
To prove the point, those on British Gas and EDF standard tariffs
as I write this, are paying around the price cap figure of £1,178 a
year – for typical use (if you use more or less, you’ll pay more or less
roughly in proportion).
Yet both providers, have another tariff at under £900/year, for the
same use, and they’re fixed deals – so you know for a year the rate
won’t rise. That means it’s £280/yr cheaper for the same gas, same
electricity, same safety and same service – just a different price. And
better still both these tariffs allow not only new, but existing
customers too, to get them – as long as you do it the right way.
Of course those willing to move company can save even more.
Currently, the cheapest deals on the market are around £830/yr for
typical usage. So, if you’re willing to switch firm, move to that and
you could be paying £350/yr less.
You can’t just get these deals – you have
to do it the right way.
Energy firms don’t just move you to its cheaper deals. These are
generally reserved for pro-active switchers. This is all about using
a comparison site like my www.cheapenergyclub.co.uk which
is whole of market (and includes a ‘stick with my existing provider’
filter). It also gives £25 cashback per dual fuel switch, which you
wouldn’t get direct, or any www.ofgem.gov.uk approved comparison
sites. For Northern Ireland use www.consumercouncil.org.uk
Switching and saving tends to beat
sticking and saving.
My point here isn’t that you should stick with your existing
provider. Generally, the best thing is to do a comparison. Often,
you’ll find it’s firms you’ve not heard of with no customer service
track record that come top as they’re trying to build market share.
If that worries you, you can scroll down to find the cheapest company
with a decent customer service reputation (or use ‘good
customer service’ filters if the site has them). There are lots of
mid-sized firms with really good ratings and really cheap prices.
Don’t worry if you’re short of info to do a
comparison.
Even if you just know you address and existing providers name
you can do it. Of course, it’ll be more accurate if you have your
exact tariff details and can plug your usage in too. But overall the
sin of inaction is usually bigger than the sin of inaccuracy – so if
you don’t know the comparison site will estimate it for you. This
will only take you a few minutes. Then it’s switched over in 17
days.
And if you’re worried about the practicalities of switching - well if
you’re sticking with the same company, very little changes. Even
if you do switch to another company, while it’s the same pipes,
gas, meter, safety – you don’t lose supply – the only difference is
price and customer service.
Martin Lewis is the
Founder and Chair of
MoneySavingExpert.com.
To join the 13 million people
who get his free Money Tips
weekly email, go to
www.moneysavingexpert.
com/latesttip
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