Switching supplier can save you cash - says Swindon Borough Council

By Ben Fitzgerald - 22 September 2017

Community

Swindon Borough Council’s Swindon Energy Matters tariff switching campaign is now well underway, and one Swindon resident has made the switch with no regrets.

Developed by the Council to help people take control of their energy bills, Swindon Energy Matters currently has an autumn drive to help Swindonians better manage their fuel bills, whether they have a credit or a pre-payment (Pay As You Go) meter.

Swindon Energy Matters provides free and impartial advice about energy saving options with the chance of saving money but with no obligation to switch. Latest figures show that switching energy supplier could save people up to £616 a year, with an average saving per home of at least £300, and it only takes minutes to switch online.

That has been the experience of Maisie Burrows, who successfully switched providers. Living in a flat in Old Town, she is highly  enthusiastic about the scheme, which is already on course to save her money.

Maisie heard about the service from the Council and had already seen leaflets about it. She jumped at the chance to take advantage of the scheme, which has saved her money and made her more energy conscious.

She said: “I checked out the website to get an idea of how to go about it and then phoned up the helpline to explore the options further. On the whole it was straightforward and I got great service. I quickly got put through to the contact centre and, although they were busy – a good sign in itself – they took my details and said someone would call me back, which they did, just 10 minutes later.

“The advisor went through the switching process with me and checked whether I wanted to stick with pre-payment or go to credit – it was clear that credit would save me more money in the long run so I went for that. The next step was to decide which energy provider to go for, and I selected my preferred energy provider since they were happy to change over the electricity and gas meters cost-free.

“This meant I could save approximately £150 per year. Although the advisor did refer to saving per Kilowatt (KW), which was slightly technical language for me, it was clear it was a good scheme and the monthly costs seemed much lower!”

When Maisie heard that this particular energy provider would send her a sign-up pack this clinched it since it helped her navigate through the process.

“I was advised that I would need to remain on pre-payment with my new provider for 28 days before I could request a monthly Direct Debit and a credit meter to bring the cost down even more, which it did,” said Maisie. “The correspondence from my new provider came through in about two weeks, and they sorted everything out with my previous supplier to close the old account and re-open the new one. I was impressed with the way they completed all the paperwork on my behalf. I have since got both meters changed to credit and have a direct debit set up.

“Overall the system has worked well, I am set to save a lot of money and am glad I made the switch.”

Want to find out more about switching?

To find out more about switching, simply go to www.swindon.gov.uk/swindonenergymatters or call 0800 093 3218 to speak to an Energy Advisor. Don’t forget to have a recent bill or statement handy, as well as checking in advance who supplies your gas and electricity,  how much you pay, and how often.  If you are still not sure about using the comparison service, or think there will be barriers to your switching suppliers, you are welcome to contact our Warm and Safe Energy Advice Service for more general advice on 0117 934 1964 or email [email protected] .

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