Now we’ve just come out of the other side of another cold snap, the dreaded energy bills will soon be arriving. Each winter they become a serious worry for thousands of consumers, and 6.5 million homes in Britain experience fuel poverty – where more than 10 per cent of household income is spent on energy bills.
Figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) reveal that in 2011, the average UK electricity bill was £455 and the average gas bill was £720. Those figures are up £38 and £62 respectively from 2010 prices and mean that last year, UK consumers paid on average £1,175 for energy.
With prices generally on the up and continuing to rise – figures from Energy Helpline reveal that typical gas charges are 18 per cent higher than last winter – it’s hard to know how to make any real savings on your bills.
Happily there are ways and means to cut the cost of heating your home.
Top 3 ways to ensure you’re not overpaying
1. Change the way you pay your bills
If you get your gas and electricity from two separate suppliers, chances are you’re paying over the odds. Those in this situation will see pretty hefty savings by switching to a dual fuel tariff, as suppliers usually apply a discount for having both gas and electricity with them. Not only that, but it’s a lot easier to keep track of your bills when you only have to deal with one company.
You should also make sure you pay your bills by monthly direct debit as opposed to any other method. Providers save money on administration fees if you pay this way, so they can pass on some of those savings to you.
Lastly, opt to take your own meter readings if possible. It only takes a couple of minutes to do yourself and enter the readings online, and it will also cut the cost of your bills as your energy provider won’t need to send someone out to read the meter for you.
2. Don’t end up on a standard tariff
A whopping 46% of households are on what’s known as a ‘standard tariff’ despite online tariffs being considerably cheaper – often by hundreds of pounds a year.
This usually happens when your current deal comes to an end and your supplier automatically moves you onto their standard tariff. So make sure you know when your deal ends, and switch to a better one before you find yourself paying over the odds.
3. Don’t pay exit fees or put up with increased prices
If your supplier puts up their prices (which unfortunately they do quite often) you should start looking for a cheaper deal and you should not have to pay an exit fee to switch away from them.
The price change is effectively a break in the contract you originally signed up to, so if your supplier tries to charge you an exit fee or tells you that you have to pay the increased prices until your switch goes through you should make a complaint.
Which? recommends referring your supplier to Ofgem’s Standard Licence Conditions 23 and 24, which clearly set out these rules.
Don’t forget…
If you’re thinking of switching supplier, you can sign up to the Big Switch with Which? It’s free to join and aims to get a better deal for energy customers everywhere. Register before 31 March and Which? will try to negotiate a better deal from energy suppliers and let you know the outcome. Then it’s up to you whether you switch to the offer or not.
{Image: Chuck Coker}
