If you’ve stayed loyal to the same energy supplier for years and years in the hope that you’ll be getting the company’s best deals, you may, in fact, have been wasting your money. Research from moneysupermarket.com, the price comparison website that allows users to compare gas and electricity prices across a wide spectrum of British suppliers, has shown that some UK consumers could save as much as 25 per cent on their energy bills by switching to the cheapest provider.
On average, people in Britain who have never switched energy provider could save £265 per year by moving from the region’s most popular provider to the supplier offering the best deal, according to moneysupermarket’s research. The company is well placed to comment on the industry, given that it delivers millions of energy price quotes each year to consumers who enter their details into the website.
Moneysupermarket Utilities Manager, Scott Byrom, advised consumers to go online if they wish to find the very best deals.
He said: The best value deals available are the energy companies’ online tariffs. They enable consumers to pay monthly installments, record actual meter readings with an online account and cut out the need for estimated billing.
Paying by monthly direct debit allows consumers to spread the cost of their energy evenly throughout the year and avoid the ‘bill shocks’ that come after the costly winter months when energy usage is at a peak. If households aren’t on this kind of deal they really need to act now. Times are still tough and even though the warmer months are on the way, there is never a bad time to start saving money on your energy bills.â
The British Gas Websaver 11 product was found to be the best value tariff in Moneysupermarket’s research, although the price comparison site predicted that British Gas may soon up its prices after many competitors withdrew their lowest cost products.
Mr Byrom added: In the days before the energy market opened up to competition, British Gas provided gas to all energy regions while electricity was provided by one regional supplier, for example London Energy in London which now falls under EDF Energy. Despite the greater choice available to consumers for both gas and electricity, the majority of UK households remain with the providers who traditionally provide their gas and electricity.
Anyone still loyal to their incumbent supplier is over paying for their gas and electricity. At a time when all UK households are feeling the pinch from the rising cost of living, people are still burning money by not shopping around, using comparison sites and switching to a much cheaper deal. Finding the right tariff for your consumption level and region means bill payers could save on average £265 per year.â
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