How to get over electric bill shock
Dear British Gas customer, I’m writing to inform you that you are now a month away from seeing your bills hiked. On September 15, British Gas will increase electricity costs for most customers by 12.5% which, for a typical dual fuel bill, will add £76 a year. Those on fixes won’t see a rise until the fix ends.
This is British Gas’s catch-up price hike. It was the only Big Six energy firm not to raise prices at the turn of the year, and this delayed rise was widely predicted back then. It also means if, as is possible, we see another batch of rises in winter, it’ll feel like you’ve been priceslapped twice in rapid succession.
Of course its freeze did give a little respite from price moves over the highuse winter period. Yet for many the false sense of security, that it wouldn’t move prices, meant you did nothing, when you could’ve cut costs substantially, and frozen your price for far longer, by actively picking a far cheaper one-year PYLON THE AGONY:
fixed deal. So this is a clarion call, for all British Gas customers and anyone on a Big Six standard tariff. Do not sit on your backside, wait for the rise and just take it.
With typical energy use on British Gas’s standard tariff you’ll pay £1,120/year from September. Yet the cheapest tariffs on the market are £840/year. So take five minutes now to check how much you can save.
Switching is no big deal – no break in service, no engineers calling – and it’s the same gas, electricity and safety. Only price and customer service changes. Finding your cheapest deal depends on where you live and how much you use. Whether you’re dual fuel, single fuel, or on a prepayment meter, the easy way to find out is to use an energy comparison site. There’s a list on ofgem.gov.uk.
Yet be careful. When you switch via a comparison site, they normally get paid (roughly £60 dual fuel). This doesn’t add to your price – you still pay the same as going direct to the energy firm. However, a recent rule change means they can now default to showing only the tariffs which pay them, which means you risk having the very cheapest deals hidden.
To be transparent, my www.cheap energyclub.com price & service comparison has always defaulted to showing all tariffs and will continue to do so.
And if we get paid to switch you, we give you roughly half of what we get, so £30 cashback dual fuel.
Sainsbury’s Energy is just British Gas under another name. Its customers will also face a price hike in a month’s time.
QI’ve lived in a cul-de-sac of 14 houses for 56 years. Two are in Band F (including mine) the rest Band E, even though some have additional rooms. The Valuation Office Agency said mine was correct as I had a conservatory built pre-1993. I am taking it to tribunal, but they phoned to say it’s a waste of their time and mine. Should I cancel it? Martin says: Council tax bands depend on a 1991 valuation, often done by people driving past homes with clipboards. No surprise then, there are an estimated 400,000 homes in the wrong band in England and Scotland (Wales revalued in 2003) with some too high and some too low.
You can see your band and compare it to neighbours via www.voa.gov.uk in England and www.saa.gov.uk in Scotland. If it’s too high it’s dropped and you can be due £1000s backdated.
Yet be careful when appealing bands. The result could mean instead of your band going down your neighbours’ go up, which can make you very unpopular.
To help I have detailed a two-step council tax check system you can work through on www.mse.me/counciltax. Only if BOTH steps show your band is too high should you risk continuing.
The council’s call to put you off seems strange. Rely on your own research.