The Secret Energy Price War – why now is the perfect time to switch

This week the last of the big energy providers announced price cuts for gas of up to 9%. That’s the headline that has been getting all the press, but the truth is that a much more significant price war has been waged for the last six months. If you really want to save, online tariffs are where the real savings can be made.

The average standard annual bill is still around £1,150 – £1,200, but the cheapest online tariff is around £900. The potential savings from comparing and switching is huge. Doing this takes a few minutes and could save you hundreds of pounds.

Last month we blew the lid on the scandal of how energy companies are sitting on £1.3 billion of your money. Want to get some of your money back? Read on…

Millions of us have been overpaying on our energy bills, and the providers have built up a nice £1.3 billion cushion in their accounts at our expense – so what are you waiting for? Ask for it back now, and get the benefit before the summer.

Two in five overpaying in Britain’s coldest winter for 30 years

An unbelievable two in five householders are overpaying on their energy bills, with the average amount owed reaching £124.34. One in 10 of us is owed as much as £500.

Who is at fault?

One in three think energy companies deliberately keep their bills complicated to make it hard for us to see what we are being charged. Yet the same number of us fail to check our meter readings when we get a bill. This simple step can prevent you from being charged more than you should for your energy. It only takes a minute, and will save you a packet in the long run.

Don’t be shy, ask for your money back

One in five of us have not even bothered to ask for our money back, around half just let the balance ‘rectify itself’ and one in 10 people are too embarrassed to ask for their overpayments back. Or they can’t be bothered.

Is this you? It is your money, they have to give it back to you, so just ask. If you want to wait until you have cleared the last bill for the winter, then ask for any money back that is outstanding after March. Your bills will go down in summer, so get that money into your bank account – rather than leaving it in your energy provider’s account – so you can benefit from the interest.

Get a better deal for your energy

Whether you get your money back or leave it for your provider to even things out, you should pay less for your energy if you can. The big six providers have all cut their bills now, but it is at the end of the winter so you benefit less. Even with the cuts, there are much better deals out there.

So compare utility prices to get a better deal. For a homeowner in Edinburgh with Scottish Power and paying £100 a month for both gas and electricity on the company’s standard tariff could save £290.52 a year by switching to EDF Energy’s Online S@ver Version 6. It does not matter where you live, you can usually save around £250 on average by switching.