Household bills are set to soar from Saturday (and here’s how you could save HUNDREDS of pounds)
HOUSEHOLDS face a shock on Saturday, as a number of bills are set to rise.
Homeowners are going to have to find an extra £210 a year to pay for the increasing costs of council tax, water, energy, NHS prescriptions and more.
Below, we explain which bills are set to rise from April 1, and how you can save hundreds of pounds by following a few simple steps.
The reason why there are so many bill increases on the same day is because April 1 is the start of the new tax year.
Energy bills - going up by an average £85
Five of the Big Six energy suppliers have announced price increases for customers and many of those come effect over the next few days.
Scottish Power is pushing up gas and electricity costs by an average of 7.8 per cent, adding an extra £86 a year on average to bills.
Npower's dual fuel bills will go up by 9.8 per cent, leaving customers £110 worse off, while E.ON's will go up by an average 8.8 per cent (across gas and electricity), hiking annual bills for customers by £97.
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SSE is increasing bills by 14.9 per cent, or £73 a year. It is also increasing electricity prices for half of its pre-payment meter customers.
Co-op Energy bills will go up 5 per cent, or £58 a year.
On average, customers will have to fork out an average of £85 extra a year if they're with any of the supplier's above.
How to cut your energy bill - and save up to £400 a year
MILLIONS of households could compare tariffs and save up to £400 a year each. Around 70 per cent of people are on bog-standard expensive standard tariffs, when they should be shopping around for a cheaper deal.
If in doubt, call your provider and call other providers to ask them what their cheapest fixed tariff is.
Better still, use a comparison website, like Energyhelpline.com or MoneySupermarket to find the very best deal for you.
By switching providers you could save hundreds of pounds a year. Bear in mind that the amount you pay for your energy varies depending on where you live.
TV licence - going up by £1.50
From April 1, the annual TV licence fee will increase to £147, up from £145.50.
It is the first TV licence increase since 2010 when the government froze the price at £145.50.
The cost of an annual black and white licence fee will rise from £49 to £49.50.
Those buying or renewing after April 1 will pay the new fee.
How to legally avoid paying the TV licence fee
THOSE who do not watch or record live TV – with the exception of BBC iPlayer – do not need to have a TV licence.
It means you can watch on demand services like the ITV Hub, Now TV and All4 and dodge paying the fee.
Last year, the government closed a loophole that allowed viewers to watch BBC programmes without paying the fee by changing the rules to include iPlayer catch-up services.
As part of the shake-up the government said it would enable those on holiday in Europe to watch iPlayer services.
Phone and broadband bills - going up by an average £36 a year
A number of telecoms providers have announced price hikes effective over the next few days.
BT will hike bills by around £36 a year. This includes basic broadband prices, which will rise by £2 per month, while those with top-of-the range Infinity broadband will pay an extra £2.50 per month.
Sky bills are also going up, by around £3 per month for broadband – adding £36 per year to costs.
Aky line rental is increasing from £17.40 to £18.99 per month – adding £19 a year to bills.
How to beat phone and broadband price hikes
IF you’re unhappy with the price rises you can leave BT or Sky - along as you told them you're unhappy within 30 day of getting notification of an increase.
It might be worth calling up and speaking to a customer service assistant to see if they can help reduce your package costs.
Telecoms firms don’t wan’t to lose customers so its worth seeing if they can do you a better deal. If not, then it’s worth using a comparison service to see if there’s a better deal available elsewhere.
Council tax bills - going up by an average of £80
Millions of households are to be hit with higher council tax charges from Saturday, after it was revealed that 94 per cent of local authorities are planning to push costs up by as much as 5 per cent.
This would take the average bill in the UK to more than £1,600 a year, an increase of nearly £80.
By law, local councils can put rates up by 2 per cent. But they are also allowed to up bills by a further 2.99 per cent if the money is spent on social care.
How to cut your council tax bill
- CHECK to see if you're exempt from paying council tax. If you live on your own, or only live with a child and no other adult, you can get 25 per cent off your bill. Full-time students and apprentices don’t have to pay any council tax. People with a severe mental disability are also exempt.
- Check if you're on the right tax band. According to MoneySavingExpert (MSE), up to 400,000 homes in England and Scotland could be on the wrong council tax band. If you’re on the incorrect council band, you could get hundreds of pounds back each year, and you might even get repayments backdated to when you first moved into the property – up to 1993 (or 2003 in Wales).
Water bills - going up by £6
From April 1, households in England and Wales will be charged an average of £395 for their water and sewerage over the coming year – an increase of 2 per cent, adding £6 per year to bills.
Water UK, which represents water companies, said the average 2 per cent increase is in line with five-year plans confirmed by regulator Ofwat in 2014.
Could you save money with a water meter?
UNLIKE other bills, you can’t cancel your water to switch to a cheaper deal. Your water provider is determined by where you live. But there’s still a way you could save money.
As a general rule, if your home has the same or more bedrooms than people then you might be able to save money with a water meter.
It means that you only pay for the water that you use, so you’ll need to be aware of your water usage or your bills may go up.
You can calculate whether you can save by switching using the . Meters are installed free of charge in England and Wales.
Prescription costs - going up by 20p
The cost of NHS prescriptions in England is going up by 2.4 per cent from Saturday – pushing the price of a single prescription up by 20p to £8.60.
Based on three prescriptions in 12 months, that's an extra 60p a year.
Health Minister Philip Dunne said overall prescription charges were expected to rise “broadly in line with inflation”.
The price of dental care will also increase, with the lowest-cost band one treatment rising by 90p and band three treatment increasing by £10.60.
How to cut the cost of your prescriptions
- CHECK to see if you qualify for free prescriptions. If you are under 16 or over 60, aged 16-18 and in full-time education, pregnant (if you hold a Maternity Exemption certificate), or on income support you can get free prescriptions.
- Get a Prescription Prepayment Certificate. These essentially act as a season pass that allows unlimited prescriptions for a one-off cost for a set period of three or 12 months. The three-month costs £29.10 and the cost of the annual PPC costs £104.
- Use the minor ailment scheme to get free non-prescription medicine. The scheme is designed to enable adults and children with minor health conditions, such as a cold, earache and hay fever, to get free non-prescription medicines and treatments.
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