Revealed
Switched on
From switching suppliers to bagging the best deals, here’s clever ways to save money on your energy bills
Make sure you're not spending too much on your energy with our expert advice
GREEDY British Gas stuck two fingers up at their customers this week by hiking bills for the second time in under a year.
But today we will show you how you can do exactly the same to them — by switching to a better deal with another supplier.
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The latest rise of £60 a year for a typical dual fuel customer — of which the firm has 4.1million — follows a £76 rise last September and comes despite a string of pledges by the firm to clean up its act after years of ripping off families.
But nothing has changed. Power giants such as British Gas continue to lure new customers with teaser rates, normally lasting a year, then whack up prices.
Two thirds of British Gas’s customers are on these pricier standard rates and will next month see their bills rise to £1,161 a year.
Around 1.3 million EDF customers were also told this week that they must pay more from June as the cost of the standard variable electricity tariff is to rise by 1.4 per cent, or £16 a year.
Suppliers lure new customers then whack up rates
Never pay over the odds
The hikes make it all the more important to switch. According to price comparison website , British Gas customers could save up to £369 a year by moving to the small supplier Utility Point, which has a tariff charging £792. Those savings could be spent on home improvements, holidays, Christmas or saving for the future.
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There are three main ways to get a better deal — including a new one that promises to ensure you never overpay again.
Switching to a new energy company or even to a new tariff with your current supplier are the two best-known ways, and the only ways until recently. But now so-called auto-switching services, aided by clever technology, promise to make sure families never pay over the odds again.
They will not necessarily put you on the cheapest deal, since some of the very small suppliers should be avoided for customer service reasons, but they do put you on close to the best. What’s more, these services do it for you automatically every year, so you don’t have to.
Take a look at our guide to get you plugged into a better deal.
Switch supplier
ONE way of switching is by using a price comparison website. The most impartial is .
You can try commercial sites, such as and uSwitch, but they take kickbacks from energy firms so might suggest pricier deals.
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To get quotes, you only need your postcode, a recent energy bill, or to answer questions on the size of the home, its heating and how many people live there. You need not know how many units of energy you use.
Make sure you ask to see all deals on the market. Some sites show only ones they can switch you to. Look for a button which says “show all deals”.
Having got your quotes, check customer service records on watchdog Ofgem’s website.
Then contact your new supplier who will fix the switch. You will need to submit meter readings and settle bills with the old firm. Get a bonus payment by using cashback sites for signing to certain suppliers or using comparison sites. See or .
Stay with supplier... but save
FAMILIES who have been with their energy supplier for more than a year should be able to get a better deal by calling their firm.
It is an easy option if you don’t want to switch supplier, or you don’t have the time to shop around for quotes which could save you money.
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Long-time customers of British Gas could save themselves at least £100 a year by going down this route.
Instead of paying out the standard £1,161 annual rate for gas and electric, they could ask to be switched over to the firm’s one-year HomeEnergy Plus Cover May 2019 fixed deal, which includes boiler cover, at £1,055, saving more than £100.
Sticking with the same energy provider is very unlikely to secure you the cheapest deal on the market, but it would still help you to save if you don’t want to take the other options.
If when you call up the firm states the cheaper deals are only for new customers, then threaten to leave – because telling you that is no way to reward your loyalty.
Auto-switching
IF you forget to switch, or can’t face price comparison websites, try the free automatic switching service . You sign up in two minutes, with basic information, then it scours the market for top deals. Once your fixed deal ends, it automatically puts you on to a new, cheap tariff.
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The idea is that you never worry about bills and won’t get hit by a big hike. The service, launched in January this year, has 5,000 people signed up, saving more than £250 each every year by not being caught out by price hikes when their deals end.
Will Hodson, founder of Look After My Bills, adds: “It’s a disgrace how many people get ripped off. It’s usually because they are so busy.
“But Look After My Bills ensures you’re always on a cracking deal.”
The company plans to expand into broadband, phone and home insurance.
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Perry: my autopilot for bills is just great
FORMER black cab driver Perry Denn signed up to new online service Look After My Bills because he often forgets to switch suppliers.
The company is taking care of his energy bills and has pledged to switch him on to a good-value deal at the end of every fixed contract.
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For Perry, 47, from Sutton, South London that means a saving of £60 a month. The dad-of-two was previously paying £130 a month to E.on but has since been switched to a £70 tariff with small supplier The People’s Energy.
He says: “Bills creep up and you just forget to do anything about it or are too lazy.
“I had an e-mail from this new company Look After My Bills and it said, ‘Let us take care of your deals for ever.’ I thought that sounded good. Now I don’t have to think about it again. It has already reduced my bills.”
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