To think it cant be £54 (bills!)

[HJWT]

Its come to that dreaded time again switching gas and electric, currently paying £70 for both with british gas, they want to put it up again (it was £62 at the start of the plan)

Iv gone on uswitch and E.on want £54 a month! How is that even possible?

Christ do you all live in the dark?! Mines triple everyone's bill! Ergh

I just switched to that very tariff OP. I had been with Shell Energy paying £67/month, although they were lowering that as we had built up a massive credit, and are now paying £49/month. That's for a 3 bed detached with 2 adults, 2 children and in Scotland so the heating is on a lot

I was on £207 pcm for Gas and lec with SSE and switched to bulb in Aug 2018. Initially Bulb set my monthly rate at £140 but then upped it to £166 3 months later. At that point I thought oh here we go, lure me in with a cheap price and then ramp it up. That's not been the case though. They actually suggested I could reduce my monthly payment by £15 a few months ago but I left it as is to give me a bit of a buffer in the account. They've recently written to advice that their gas prices are going down by a good bit but a slight increase in electric, net I'll be paying less.

TLDR: I've been pleasantly surprised by Bulb who are significantly cheaper than my previous supplier. I would recommend looking at them.

I'm with Octopus, on their "green" tariff, so not the cheapest they do. It's still a lot cheaper than any of the big suppliers. I like the smart meters and all being online (no phone queues), but appreciate that some like to talk, but having contact centres and 24/7 contactability will push up prices.

I'd also check some of the smaller supplier "sweeteners"; most offer £50 for you and £50 for whoever you recommended when you use a code, so nearly a free month.

My step-dad rates Octopus, I rate Bulb, the green suppliers are actually pretty good. The worst thing you can do is stick with NPower or SSE for years on end, the prices are hugely inflated- you can save a large amount a year if you are a higher end consumer if you shop around. I think I used Uswitch last time and my bills have got even cheaper with Bulb as energy prices have dropped.

I'm currently paying £120 a month for gas and electricity (4 bedroom, 3-storey house). I'm with Bulb and I bloody love them - by far the best energy company I've been with. Not just because they're good value but their website and customer service are ace. I don't work for them by the way

I fell for that too! It’s an estimate - I got £96 estimate based on my current usage and ended up paying £127. It’s just to hook you in.

Another very satisfied Bulb customer here.

When I submitted my readings, their bot suggested that, instead of the current £130, the monthly payments should be £101. Going on the past figures and current situation, it looked sensible to me, so I took 20 seconds to reduce it online.

After that, I had that email about the electricity going up a tiny bit and the gas coming down a lot, to reflect changes in the supply market tariffs and I was told I should save approx £129 a year. I don't know if it was already taking these changes into account when suggesting the monthly payment reduction, but an effective free month a year suits me just fine (and can I pick January, please? )

Everybody knows that energy is expensive, but Bulb's seems to be significantly less expensive than the others - plus, they actually seem to deal with you honestly rather than the hoodwinking and smoke-and-mirrors of the big companies. I always used to shop around (and still keep checking from time to time), but if things continues as they are, I really can't see us leaving Bulb in the foreseeable future. I so hope they don't do an Extra Energy and go from brilliant to appalling in a matter of a few years - absolutely no sign of that atm, though.

Why do all of the big boys persist in having their multiple tariffs and reeling you in with a 'special' reduced one, forcing you to have to keep switching not to be ripped off. It's a particularly nasty and calculated tactic when it comes to some of the elderly and vulnerable who aren't online and/or may not be quite as savvy about the modern tricks. My PILs got slammed a couple of times with lying unrealistic promises that it would be a lot cheaper - it actually turned out to be dearer when the true figures were used, and then their 'special' reduced deals ended, so it went up again more. They aren't online, so all of their switching has been done in person or over the phone via salespeople on commission. They've told me that there's just no point, they refuse to bother wasting time changing again and the result is that they'll now end up staying on the standard (rip-off) tariff with one of the big boys.

And their unicorn advert was fantastic

IF you do decide to give Bulb a try, following the positive feedback on here, ask around to see if one of your family or friends is already with them. If they officially 'recommend' you - Bulb will pay an incentive, so you could both make a few quid from it!

I'd gladly send you a code myself, but I'm just a random stranger on the internet!

StarUtopia I know! I thought I was the only one thinking this TBH! Have 3 bed 2 rec room 30s style detached house .Costs £156.00 P/M gas and electricity combined . Dont use heating excessively and completely replaced windows /doors ! Do use TD a lot in this weather and have 2 TVS and our own laptops (4 of us ) I dont know where these bills are from unless these people live in a flat or something!

Ive just switched to Eon. The daily standing charge is half the price of Npower (20p a day each at Npower!)

Mines triple everyone's bill! Ergh

How much do you pay? We leave lights on a lot for security reasons when we're away/asleep (owing to previous unpleasant experiences) and I have terrible circulation issues and work from home, which mean that our heating is on a tremendous amount. None of the Mumsnetty-standard 'we get the boiler man in to disconnect the heating completely for 11 months and then put it on for 10 minutes a day in the depths of Winter to take the chill off')

We pay 119 a month for 4 bed detached with ovo on a smart meter so I know it's right and up to date. After being caught out I always put the effort in and enter our annual consumption and make sure that the quote makes sense.

Bulb have just reduced my bills as well. Currently £65 ish, which covers both

If anybody wants a £50 bulb new sign up code, pm me. I'll get the bonus too.

Do you have a record of actual meter readings (not estimates, not direct debits, not amount you paid) for a twelve-month period?

If not, we're just guessing.

I've joined the Martin Lewis energy club and change suppliers each year.
Currently paying £57 pcm gas and electricity and have already built up a surplus.
However the house is not heated when we're out at work/school.I only goes on for an hour in the morning so the bathrooms are warm.We don't heat the spare bedroom(or mine,I prefer a warm duvet).
We do use a tumble drier a few times a week.
Electricity usage is constant it's the gas that goes up and down dependant on the weather.
I have a 3 bed semi with draughty double glazing.

I'm not sure there's really much point switching if you just go to another big-six supplier. It's hard to believe e.On would be the best alternative. Have you looked at Octopus, Bulb, Tonik, etc.? I've been with Octopus for 3 years and haven't needed to switch during that time because none of the others are offering anything better.

Having had nightmares with nPower and British Gas (undoubtedly the worst company operating in any sector in the UK: it's completely incomprehensible how they are still in business), I wouldn't go near a big-six again. My run-in with British Gas was when they were masquerading as Sainsbury's Energy, so look carefully at which company you would actually be dealing with: it's not always obvious from the name on the advert.

I can recommend Bulb too - with them last year £100 per month for gas and electric - and a £96 reduction for the whole year this year.

Use the dragons den change my bills website - cuts all the hassle and my bills by £280 pa

It's what they do. Give you a low estimated price so you switch, and then bump it back up. Scottish Power did this to me and I ended up paying more than I did with the previous provider.
Tbh £70 is quite low for gas and electric.

My bill in a 3 bed semi is between £55 and £80 depending on heating and didn't realise that was cheap particularly. I work part time and have two toddlers so I'm home a lot. The TV is on in the background all day pretty much. The girls share a bath every other day, my husband and I have quick showers. We only have one light on in the living room through the evening really. We don't use tablets or computers, so just charge two phones once a day. We only cook at home 3 times a week which may be my biggest saving. I'd never really thought about it before.

Pp on here with large bills should switch. The days of switching lights off etc and wearing jumpers indoors etc are over.
I use plenty and love lots of light and heat, at least 18deg often 21. Four sources of light in lounge etc. Practically 24/7. And appliances etc.
Combined bill £63 per month in three bed house.
I can't stand the switch lights off/ no heating March to October rationale. It boils my bones.
It's quite a small bill compared to other household bills as I only realised once I started running my own home as single mum. Yolo.

Even if it were £54 x 2 = £108 that is quite reasonable I'd say.

We pay over £100 a month for both and my elderly parents are paying around £100 a month with Bulb.

You must be using very little if your current bills are £70 for gas and electric.

what sort of property do you have and how many rooms and do you use gas or electric for cooking?

I am in a 2 bed house and pay less than £50 a month for gas and electric with Octopus. I am out a lot during the day so heating is only really on at the weekends.

We pay around £50 a month for both with British Gas. Never, ever had a problem with them and I've been with them for six+ years in various different locations. It equals to about £60/month in winter and £30 or so in summer.

However lots of prices like that are designed to hook you into a 24m contract, then they can increase their prices and there's nothing you can do about it unless you pay an extortionate exit fee. By all means switch if you want, but don't be surprised if the prices don't stay that low for long!