Other Moving house: providers and utilities

I'm moving from my current flat to a semi-detached two-bedroom in London. I'm losing Hyperoptic but my wife wants TV so I'm covered with a decent Virgin connection.

I've always stuck with whatever the current utility providers were when we moved in but now I would like to look into getting a better deal. I found that if I Sign up to any First Control tariff with First Utility and get a Nest Thermostat E at no additional cost. Are they any good and do other utility companies also have this kind of deal? I really want to be able to control the heat and hot water from my phone.

I've read that the comparison sites don't always list the best deals.

 

Try topcashback and Quidco before ordering whoever you end up selecting, even Virgin Media sometimes has offers. Bit of extra money on top for buying with whoever you were going to makes sense.

As for utilities they can be a muchness but I try uswitch and I think moneysupermarket do one too.

I’d honestly say you should order that one above with the free Wi-fi thermostat and then switch when your term is up if you can save some money.

 

One word of warning, don't attempt to switch the energy supplier until you've moved in. If you do try before you move in the supplier thats already there will object to the switch, especially if the property is empty as they will have a vacant occupier account. You'll be with them from when you move in up until you switch to your chosen energy supplier and it takes around 3 - 4 weeks.

 

Thanks, I've never switched a supplier before and don't know how it works in the UK.
I've read some bad reviews about First Utility, but I've read bad reviews about most companies and even worse about smart meters (not smart thermostats).

 

I work in customer services for OVO Energy. To be honest, they are all the same. They all want your money. I used to think OVO were different, but to be honest there have been quite a few changes within the company that make think we are moving towards a less than customer focused service and more gearing towards our profit margins.

Clearly I'm not going to say whats going on within the company, if caught they could rightly give me the sack. I don't think my partner and the children would like me out of work though.

 

No need for specifics. I've heard of smart meters giving significantly higher readings, rates being charged that didn't correlate with meter readings, bad customer support and compare sites not showing the best deals.

 

Somebody linked an article on smart meter inaccuracy in my smart meter thread in this subforum and delving further into it, it was in the Netherlands and in order to replicate the issues, they had to significantly alter the local RF environment - and this was a fair while ago. I think modern smart meters, particularly the SMETS2 standard which the big suppliers are now installing, are far more accurate. I certainly haven't noticed any anomalies in the readings so far and my daily usage is certainly on par with what it should be for this time of year & weather conditions.

 

Just remember that "smart" meters don't actually do anything to save you money, they're installed so the energy companies can "streamline" the number of meter readers they have to employ.

 

Well, I'd half-agree with that. Because you can see your real-time electricity usage and a running total for both fuels, you can use them to help you figure out where you can save money.

 

As long as it does not cost me more.it what is ll also save me the trouble of self reporting.