Ultimate Guide to Changing Energy Suppliers When Moving Home

Moving home is the process of uprooting your lives and moving elsewhere.

It should come as no surprise then, that complications arise, and difficulties unearth themselves as time goes on.

One of the biggest problems many people face is what to do about their energy suppliers when moving from one home to another.

There are a few things that you should be doing throughout the process of moving house to make your life that little bit easier.

If your looking for some advice, you’ve come to the right place. Here are the top ways to change energy suppliers when moving home:

Before Your Move

1. Contact Your Current Energy Supplier

This is the first step you should consider before doing anything else. Each energy supplier is different, but common consensus shows you should leave no less than 48 hours before contacting your energy supplier and telling them of your move.

The optimal time to contact them would be two weeks before your moving date. This gives you enough time to address any questions or problems with previous bills, as you still have access to your energy meter.

2. Supply Your Current Energy Supplier with New Contact Details

Often overlooked or forgotten, is supplying your current energy supplier with your new details: address, home phone number, etc.

Make sure you supply these to your energy supplier; otherwise, they may end up forwarding the final bill to your old address. This could lead to many problems and fines if you do not pay the final amount for your energy bill.

Moving Day

Take A Final Meter Reading When You Move

On your moving day, you need only remember one thing relating to energy bills.

Take a picture of your final meter reading and send this on to your energy supplier. You needn’t send it on the day, but if you have the reading or a picture of the reading, make sure to send it within the next few days following your move.

Keep a copy of the meter reading for yourself. This means that should your final bill have a different or incorrect reading, you can call them and dispute the bill.

After Your Move

1. Contact Your Current Energy Supplier at the New Home

Your first port of call after moving home is to contact your new energy suppliers. Inform them you have moved in and provide them with all the details necessary to contact you should they need to.

As well as providing your details to them, make sure to give them the new metre reading in the home. This ensures that both you and the energy company are aware of the metre reading upon your move-in date.

Many people believe they start paying the energy bills once they move in, however, if you have owned the house for a period of time before move-in, you will be charged since the day you took ownership of the property.

2. Automatic enrolment on a tariff

When you first move into the property, you will be put into a ‘deemed contract’ with the property’s current energy supplier.

Unfortunately, these contracts are usually the most expensive type on the market. The longer you leave finding a new energy supplier/finding a better tariff with your current energy supplier, the more expensive it will be in the long run.

The good news is that you can change energy supplier from the day you move in / take ownership of your property. This is definitely something that should be addressed very quickly after moving in.

3. Conduct a home energy audit of your new home

Nowadays, an energy certificate is standard when moving home. If the house you are moving to does not have one, then your next move should be to get an energy audit.

This will show you your energy efficiency levels as well as where improvements can be made in the house to improve energy efficiency. Whether that be through heating systems, insulation or energy-wasting ovens.

4. Pay your final energy bill of your old house

Within the first couple of weeks living in your new home, you should receive either an e-mail or a letter in the post detailing your final bill and how much you owe.

If the final energy meter reading on the letter is incorrect, then you can refer back to the energy reading you took when you left and contact the energy supplier and dispute this.

As energy bills are based on estimates, you may find that you are actually owed money due to incorrect energy usage predictions. Therefore, there should be either a cheque alongside this letter or a refund in your bank account. If it is refunded directly to your bank account then make sure to check that this has gone through.

5. Does your new property have a prepayment meter?

If your property has a prepayment meter, then make sure to get in touch with your energy supplier ASAP. Avoid putting money on to the meter, in case the previous homeowners have debts on the meter.

You may, unfortunately, have to put money on the meter. Make sure you mention this to the energy supplier and ask that they void all previous debts on the meter so that you don’t end up out of pocket.

If you plan on keeping the meter, then make sure you’re aware of the local top-up spots. The last thing you want is to run out of money on the card and not know where to go to top-up.

6. Upgrading from your prepayment meter

A prepayment meter is slightly outdated when compared with modern technology such as a smart meter.

Many stick with them primarily because it helps them keep track of how much they are spending each month on their energy.

Unfortunately, whilst this seems reasonable, in retrospect, it’s actually more expensive than signing up for a tariff. The cheapest prepayment meter will almost certainly cost you more than the cheapest direct debit deal.

On top of this, you will find yourself going to the shop to top up your meter far more regularly in the winter than you first thought.

Finally, you risk running out if you don’t top up the card regularly. Running out of electricity can be very problematic for some, especially those who work at home and have a desktop PC.

Contact your energy supplier and see if you can change either to a smart meter or standard monthly tariff. You’ll be able to find a far better deal than the prepayment meter allows for you to have!

7. Look for a new supplier

The current energy supplier will rarely offer you the best prices. Changing energy supplier when moving home is very common and is often the best course of action.

Utilising an energy comparison tool is both free and impartial, making it the most efficient way to find a new energy company.

There are plenty of variables that you will need to consider when finding the right energy company for you. These include standard tariffs, duel tariffs, as well as special offers that companies offer throughout the year.

Property Types

Rented Accommodation

Instead of supplying your details to the energy company, the likelihood is that you will be contacting your landlord with your energy meter reading upon moving in.

As a tenant, you are allowed to switch energy suppliers as you are the one fronting the bills. You do not need to get your landlord’s approval to switch energy suppliers.

Source: Businesselectricityprices.org.uk

Business Premises

Just like energy supplier when moving house, you will be automatically enrolled into a deemed contract. These are costly rates and it’s worth trying to negotiate a better tariff or deal with the current energy supplier.

If thy cannot offer you anything better, then your best move is to look elsewhere (refer to above sections of this article).

Doing this may require you to have certain documents at hand such as a recent energy bill, the current contract end date, the registration information of the business and the serial numbers of the energy meter (MPAN and MPRN).

Moving Home and Ready to Change Energy Suppliers?

Changing energy supplier when moving house may seem daunting at first, but hopefully, this article has helped ease your mind a bit. Are you now looking to move?

GoodMove are here to help. We have over 35 years’ experience handling removals throughout the UK and Europe.

Our customer-driven approach to removals has earned us critical acclaim. We believe our written testimonials, found on Reference Line, are our testament to the service we deliver.

We also offer flexible self-storage options to our customers either as part of a tailor-made removals package or as a standalone service.

To find out how GoodMove’s removals service can work for you, don’t hesitate to contact us on the number listed above or use the quick quote form.