How to slash hundreds off your energy bill MARTIN LEWIS
ARE you ripping yourself off?
At least 11million 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. Even if you’re scared of switching firm, right now you may be able to save £100s and stick with your existing provider.
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) could be overpaying. Even if you’re not with them, as prices have dropped rapidly in the last year, you can still save.
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. Better still both 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.
The right way to getting these deals is all about using a comparison site like my cheapenergyclub.co.uk.
It also gives £25 cashback per dual fuel switch, which you wouldn’t get direct, or from any ofgem.gov.uk approved comparison sites.
There are two reasons to do this. Firstly, there is no one cheapest provider.
Your cheapest depends on where you live and how much you use.
A comparison site works it out for you and tells you the exact saving.
Secondly, some (though not all) cheap tariffs – including the cheapest from British Gas, EDF and E.on, are ONLY AVAILABLE via comparison sites. You can’t just call up the firm and ask for it.
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.
But scroll down, there are lots of mid-sized firms with really good ratings and really cheap prices.