Turn back the energy clock

Building a time machine so we can go back to the past and do things differently has long been the subject matter of science fiction novels.

But what if I told you that when it comes to energy prices it is actually possible to step back in time?

Millions of us already overpay for our energy and a whole raft of price hikes for gas and electricity are set to come into force next month – which means bills will go up even further.

In fact those of us on a standard variable tariff (SVT) with one of the Big Six energy companies will see our bills rise to, on average, a whopping £1,131 per year.

But instead of waiting to find out if the government will, as is speculated, introduce an energy price cap, here at Which? we’ve looked at Energylinx data to work out average tariff values as at March 24th 2017 and found a way that those on an SVT could get their bills back to 2008 prices – a saving of around 25 per cent.

Basically, if you fancy knocking a quarter of the price off your bills, then you need to switch to one of the cheapest available dual fuel tariffs. You could save around £300 a year.

There’s no reason to wait until the regulator does anything about prices – if you’re finding your energy bills a struggle then you need to switch.

To find a cheaper deal, look at Which? Switch, where you can compare energy tariffs and find the best gas and electricity supplier for you. However, at Which? we also believe that the energy firms have a responsibility to ensure that customers are getting the best deal possible – and that they shouldn’t leave them stuck on SVTs.

Because that’s what happens – and it’s why only one in six people trust energy companies to act in the best interests of customers, and just one in five trust them to charge a fair price for their energy.

Yet more than half of customers we asked say it’s difficult to compare the prices of energy deals.

It’s small wonder that more than 500,000 people have joined us in calling for ‘Fair Energy Prices’ and for energy companies to to help them switch to a cheaper deal.

Maybe we also need to turn the clock back to when the customer always came first.

Send me your consumer questions at askalex@ which.co.uk