Many people are paying more than they need to for their gas and electricity without realising.
The good news is that you can switch your provider to save money, and most customers find switching supplier to be a straightforward, easy process.
It can take as little as ten minutes to find a new supplier and tariff online, and the new supplier will then take care of the switch for you, which usually takes up to 21 days to complete.
What You’ll Need to Switch Energy Supplier:
You can use a comparison site like Quotezone to compare electricity and gas prices available for your home and choose your new supplier based on who is offering the best services for the best price. To get gas and electric quotes on here, you will need to provide some information to ensure that the site can work out the best deals for you. This includes:
● Your full address: Prices can vary by region and some deals are only available for certain postcodes. You’ll need to provide your full address to ensure that you’re being shown the best quotes for your home.
● Usage: You can find out how much gas and electricity you use in a year on your annual statement. Your most recent bill will show how much you have used in kilowatt-hours (kWh) for the last month.
● Your current supplier information: You’ll need to provide information about your current supplier and energy tariff. If you’re unable to provide details of the tariff, you can still go ahead but the comparison will be based on the supplier’s standard tariff, so the amount you can save might be slightly off.
If you’re not sure how much energy you use, you can estimate using the type of property, the number of bedrooms in your home, and the size of your household.
How to Compare Prices:
Once you have all the necessary details, you’re ready to start comparing energy prices. There are several ways to do this, including using a price comparison website, which is the most popular approach. Price comparison sites show you all currently available deals making it easy for you to compare costs and choose the supplier and tariff that you prefer from the list.
You can also:
●
Auto-switching services are a fairly new service that you can sign up for in order to make sure that you’re always getting the best deal. The service will continually check prices on your behalf and switch you to better deals automatically to ensure that you’re always paying the best prices
Energy Tariffs:
Regardless of how you choose to switch your energy supplier, there are different tariffs to choose from. Some of the most common options are:
● Duel-fuel: This tariff includes both electricity and gas.
● Fixed: The amount that you pay for each unit of electricity or gas is fixed for the term of your contract, which usually lasts for up to two years.
● Variable: The amount that you pay for each unit of electricity or gas will change along with your supplier raising or lowering prices.
● Time-of-use: Your electricity rates will differ depending on the days and times that it is used.
● Paperless: Also known as online-only, you’ll need to manage your account online and won’t get posted bills. Some suppliers offer a discount for this.
There are several things that are worth checking while choosing your tariff. These include:
● If you are paying for your gas and electricity by Direct Debit, figure out whether it is fixed or variable. If your Direct Debit is fixed, the yearly cost of your energy will be balanced out with the same payment each month. Some suppliers offer different fixed payments in the winter and summer so that you can pay less during the times of the year where you use less energy. Variable direct debit payments will differ on a monthly basisdepending on how much energy you use.
● Smart meters: Some tariffs are only available if you have a smart meter at home. If you don’t already have a smart meter, check if you will need to have one fitted before you can move onto a certain tariff.
● Exit Fees: Some suppliers will charge you up to £50 per fuel if you leave before your contract has ended. Exit fees will only apply to fixed tariffs and usually do not apply for the last month of your contract.
Switching your energy supplier is an ideal way to save moneysince prices fluctuate a lot and there are usually always better deals to take advantage of.
