spouse of scouse

We're moving to the UK in the next 6 weeks. We've bought a house over there, and family members who are checking on it have given us our British Gas reference numbers for the gas and electricity supplies (previous owners used BG, we decided it's easier to stick with them until we're in a position to do some tariff comparisons).

I've been able to create an online account with BG, and want to arrange direct debit of our bills. I'm being asked to choose between 3 types of tariffs for the gas -
Fix & Reward January 2017
Fixed Price March 2018
Fix and Fall January 2017

I have absolutely no clue which one to choose. It's nice to have a choice, but as we don't get a choice here and just have to stump up whatever amount is billed, I have no experience in determining which tariff is best.

Is there some sort of science to working out which tariff is best for you, or is it just a case of eenie meenie minee mo?

Any clues would be really appreciated, thanks

Tr1boy

We are not on a fixed tarred as far as I am aware. We are with BG for gas and electric. We are family of three, use a ton of hot water and live in a big open plan 2 bed townhouse with central heating. Our combined bill is about £180 per qtr in summer and £280 in winter.

Not sure if that helps?

Editha

I can't help on those particular tariffs, but there are comparison websites, such as uswitch, Money supermarket, and Go Compare, which will give you the best deal for both gas and electricity.

For the time being, I'd look at the small print, and make sure that you are not tying yourself to a long term contract with penalties for withdrawal. It doesn't look to me as if you are being offered a variable rate without penalties, so check again.

spouse of scouse

Yes it does, thanks Tr1boy It's only the two of us (except when the hordes of visitors who've gleefully promised to lob on us are there!), but it's a 125 year old house with 3 stories and 5 bedrooms so I'm a bit scared of the utility bills

spouse of scouse

Thanks Editha, I didn't think of GoCompare so I'll give that a go now. I've tried uswitch and money supermarket but I need to input my current usage and tariff, which I won't be able to do until we've been there awhile.

Ta for the reminder re the small print/penalties too. Although I'm usually fairly meticulous about such things, there is so much to organize at the moment that I'm tending to rush things.

BritInParis

Just switched to British Gas and Fix and Fall is the one to go for. The price you pay won't go up until January 2017 but if the price falls your tariff will go down too but it won't rise again so you'll always pay the lowest price. The girl at British Gas was trying to push me towards Fix and Reward as that's a better deal for British Gas because you pay the same even if prices fall but for the sake of a £50 Amazon gift card or whatever they were offering it wasn't worth it.

spouse of scouse

BritinParis, I could kiss you Fix and Fall it is (I wish BG would explain things as clearly as you)

Pulaski

How well the house is insulated will have larger impact on your heating bills than the tariff you're on. If it doesn't have good quality insulation and windows, make those a priority. Also cavity wall insulation can save a lot, but not everyone likes it, not least becuase once it is installed it can't be removed if it causes you a problem.

robin1234

My strategy in the UK has been to go with the simplest default, on the assumption that after a year or so, I'll have more clue as to the rationale of the choices, and I'll also have some credit profile.

The comparison with the U.S., where there's basically one provider, one tariff, no choices, is amazing! (My rural, sleepy, corner of the U.S., anyway!)

formula

The other thing to think of is how much you will use at it may not be worth your while having a standing charge. Or rather, you might want a standing charge of 0.00 (the government tried to make it easier to understand and now they all have to put a standing charge). For those who don't use a lot of G/E, some companies get around the new rules by offering discount (i.e. if you pay by direct debit) which they then take off the standing charge and bring it to 0.00.

Some offer fixed contracts but with no cancellation charges.

Over the last 2 years I have found it is cheaper to have Gas and Electirc with different companies, instead of dual fuel with one company. If you haven't signed up yet you might want to do that?

The other thing you have to watch is how they split their useage. Some companies like to give you less Kwh at the cheaper rate in the winter and then you are on the higher rate per Kwh quicker, which means they are more expensive at a time when you use G/E more. Some only do that with one fuel while they keep the other fuel fairly cheap.

Tr1boy

I'd agree with this. We rent as we are returning to Oz at some point (or buying here) but there is no way in hell I'd buy the place we are in. It's in a conservation area in Winchester city and doesn't allow double glazing ( we were in too much of a rush when we viewed to notice) but I wouldn't say it's crazy cold at all, even with hardwood floors downstairs.

Wood swelling up and making doors and windows stiff is a bigger issue in inter really. Our roof and attic are insulated but not really modern stuff. We do benefit by being in a group of 4 townhouses so get some warmth from that because we are arranged like three sides of a square and we are in a corner.

We had an ultra modern top floor flat in Surrey before this with electric underfloor heating, two bathrooms and triple glazing and amazingly, the bills were similar, and that was pre kiddie!

Efficient hot water is the biggest area for us, due to training for me and baths for little one, we use a lot of hot water.

christmasoompa

If it helps at all, we're in a 300+ year old house with 3 stories and 5 bedrooms, and our electricity bill is £275 pcm. We're not on mains gas, so that's for everything, underfloor heating throughout and an electric Aga.

Ours is listed, so we're single glazed windows etc.

HTH.

Editha

I was in Winchester last week. How lovely to be in the centre of the city! I was staying at Giffard House which has been beautifully restored. I've stayed there a couple of times before and always love it.

Editha

Surely, that will be partly because of the electric Aga? They are horrendously expensive to run.

Tr1boy

haha, I wish I'd had a pound for every tourist I've heard say that! It looks lovely when you come in the middle of the day. At night it's a bit tricky. There are an extraordinary amount of homeless people in Winchester, mostly harmless at night, couple of dickheads, one or two I've had a word with about aggressive behavior. Biggest hassle in the city though is drunken students late at night heading back to their digs. Sometimes they bang on the windows and from this time of year onward we watch tv with lounge room lights off after 9pm, so the light doesn't attract them (we have an easement alleyway running past our window.) Little one sleeps in the back bedroom and tends to be able to sleep through a hurricane anyway (thank goodness) but our townhouse faces the street one side (although set back a bit) and the alley on the other. A couple of residents on our street have been involved in full on fights with the students as they can be really inconsiderate sometimes. Shouting and hollering at 2am etc. It's not every night, usually Thurs (cheap drinks) and it's not all throughout the year. The worst time of year is from Halloween to Xmas break. It is incredibly handy for shopping and Mrs TB taking Flipper to the myriad things to do in town for toddlers, and the people are generally nice as long as you avoid the try hard snobs. We have resident on street parking, it can be a nightmare, especially during the Christmas Market period. If we go away fro the weekend, we always make sure we arrive back home after 4pm on Sunday, so we can park without having to move the car before 8am the next morning. I don't like Winchester that much and preferred Godalming in Surrey, much more. Mrs TB likes it though and once we decide what we are doing, if we did stay then we'd probably move to Kings Worthy or somewhere like that. I don't know why but I can't seem to put paragraph breaks in this post?