*Sponsored feature with uSwitch*
Ok, Ok I am late to the switching party having only just discovered how much can be saved each year 2 years ago. Prolifically I had been a sorter of bills when it was a necessity only, such as a house move instead of actually looking each year at what I paid and how much.
It seems I wasn’t alone as uSwitch have discovered that around 6/10 British homes are on expensive variable rate energy tariffs and by not switching British householders collectively could be saving £3.5 billion (enough for 10 million family breaks in Spain!) each year!
April is our fuel switch month – having been on a lower fixed rate fuel contact with nPower, in April our contract ends and we are moved onto a variable rate expensive tariff. So, in March I spent 10 minutes of my time on uSwitch and this year I have secured a potential saving of £315.65 this year having switched provider to Scottish Power instead on their fixed rate tariff.
It took me a whole ten minutes to take our current fuel bill and slash its price with just a couple of clicks of the mouse as it has all now been sorted online!
At uSwitch, they have been trying to empower householders to take control of their fuel accounts as they would much rather you spent your money on the things you love in life, meaning if uSwitch uWin.
Recently TV star Rachel Riley headed to the UK village of Winkleigh in Devon, one of the places in the UK with the most to gain from switching as only 6.5% of households there have switched in the last three years.
After Rachel’s visit she managed to help double the switch rate in just one day showing them how they can switch simply and easily.
The average you can save by switching is around £290 with uSwitch — and in some cases, up to £491 — so TV presenter Rachel Riley is calling on the rest of Britain to switch and win more and I have had the pleasure of asking Rachel why she thinks switching is so important.
“A lot of people assume that businesses reward loyalty and often have no idea of the huge savings they could be making in a matter of minutes if they decide to switch. In the majority of cases, once any initial fixed term deal as finished, energy companies will roll their customers onto their most expensive tariffs, quite literally banking on people not realising how easy it is to save.
All you need is an old utility bill and uSwitch cross checks a variety of different companies and tariffs, showing you how much you would stand to save by switching to them. Choose the deal that’s best for you and in most cases the transfer can be done very easily online, with nothing actually changing other than more of your own money remaining in your pocket at the end of each month, rather than going to the energy companies”
Obviously now we all know how easy it is to switch fuel providers I asked Rachel what other things we could potentially switch;
“For anything which has a fixed price for a set amount of time, when it comes for renewal I know big companies won’t reward me for my loyalty so I check out all my options before renewing to make sure I’m not overpaying.
For me that’s home insurance, car insurance, phone, broadband and TV packages. Some of these can be more complicated to work out than just changing gas and electricity suppliers, where you’re being offered exactly the same product, at significantly different prices. With media deals you’re offered different channels, speeds, and multi-packages so it takes a bit of maths and assessment of your own personal needs to work out the best deal for you, which it probably wouldn’t surprise you, I don’t mind a bit!”
uSwitch Competition
Now you have all headed over to uSwitch and found better fuel deals there is even more opportunity to win with their new competition!
The average energy switcher saves £290 moving from an expensive Standard Variable Tariff to a cheaper supplier*.
In order to help customers enjoy life that little bit more, they are bringing the savings to life by giving you the chance to win £290 in vouchers for a family weekend away, dining out and days out and all you need to do is head over to the competition page for full terms and conditions and fill in your details HERE.
And as an even bigger thank you, if you tell your friends and family about the money they’re missing out on by not switching energy tariffs, they’ll put your name in the hat again for a second chance to win £290 of vouchers. There will be two winners each week until the competition closes on Sunday 15 April.
Because when you switch, you win…. And after all who wouldn’t love a £290 saving!
Leave a Reply