Bills package—would you take it?

[Bobthecob2]

DD is currently sorting out private uni accommodation for the next academic year. There’s the option of a bills package. This means the five of them pay £23 per week each. This covers gas, electricity and broadband. I think it’s steep, but coming around to the idea as it will take away the stress of arguing over whether the heating is on, who has long showers etc. It’s an old building with single glazing and probably not much insulation in the roof. DD similarly unsure. Has anyone else done this?

Ds has done both. With a big house deffo easier to have the package. He had one flat with just one mate and I think they got their own bills there but it was a bit of a pain. Tbf he is a bit hopeless at being on top of spends so package works well. Dd paid separate bills but she and one of her housemates were v organised re £££.

Meant to say, be clear on what it means. One house ds was in, they all lost their deposit money on leaving bc they had spent ‘too much’ on utilities even tho they were covered. This may just be bs from ds tho haha

I had flat rate bills at my house at uni but it was significantly cheaper - £28 a month! That was only 15 years ago so double that seems reasonable not almost quadruple! I think it’s a good idea in principle as we never argued over anything or had to sort out suppliers, but in your case it sounds like the organiser is making a bit of profit.

Many thanks.

@clary I didn’t think about there being a limit. I’ll look into that before they sign up.

Hi @Bobthecob2 . My DS will be doing this. I worked out (or rather AI worked out) that it is approximately double what we would otherwise pay, but they are 5 relatively disorganised 19 year olds who barely know each other yet, so I was happy for him to go along with the suggestion. They meandered into it rather than taking a collective decision, but the comms are set up to encourage that. Shortly after they all signed the contract they were encouraged to upgrade their broadband for 'just' another few pounds more each a week.

DD and her 5 house mates had the package at their student house. They lived it in for 4 years and it was a large house with high ceilings.

I do think it's potentially more expensive but it meant there were never any disagreements over when to have the heating on, and they were never cold, trying to make do. Also meant budgeting was easy.
I think it covered a TV licence too.
Personally I think it's a good idea when so many individuals are involved and you are also paying for a bit of peace of mind.
Might be different in a house of just 2 people perhaps though.

Ds took one as well and it just made everything so much easier and no conflict on heating on high etc. it might cost a bit more but it lessens the stress.

Yes, be wary of the £23 bills package that may have quite modest limits, meaning high excess charges if they go over, thinking 'we can turn the heating up to tropical and spend all day in the shower'.

Is £23 x 5 x 4.333 = £500 pm reasonable for gas, electricity and broadband (no water rates??) for this 5 bedroom house? It sounds like quite a lot.

Unlimited Fibre broadband can be had for under £30 pm, so £470 for gas and electric? It does sound on the high side but like PPs have said, it might be worth it for lower stress.

Also look at the account arrangements. Does this mean they just pay the money to the landlord who has the account with the supplier? That might be better than them all sharing a supplier account themselves as it creates a financial relationship that could damage their credit history if one of them doesn't pay off debts on time.

If its Unihomes (which it sounds like) then it doesn't have defined limits but if their bills are unusually high their contract can be cancelled.

The bigger risk is that, if one person's direct debit fails, the other students' direct debits can be increased to cover the deficit.

I would for the reason that often the best offers, especially on broadband, tie you in for a period of time, usually a minimum of 8 months and the person named on the bill has the responsibility, even if they leave the property. In my daughter's shared house one person offered to pay for the broadband to be upgraded as he gamed a lot and then when he left the house-share the contract still had 12 months left to run.

@coolaNcoola yes, it’s unihomes that they’re looking at.

@Bjorkdidit it says it includes water, but I believe that students don’t pay for water in Scotland as it’s part of the council tax, which they don’t pay.

🤔 jt seems there’s a 12 month contract. They’re probably going to be leaving in the following May so they’ll have to pay early termination fees (in Scotland so they can leave before 12 months). I can see how the bills could be close-ish to £500 per month during the winter, but they’ll be paying well over the odds during the summer.

Yep, Unihomes will need to adapt their business model to the demise of fixed term rentals under the Renters Rights Act.