Poll: Do you get good value for money from your energy supplier?
More than a third of energy consumers have never considered switching tariff or supplier despite the potential for it to save them an average of £160 a year, the competition watchdog has found.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found consumers often failed to switch because of a lack of awareness about deals, confusing and inaccurate bills and worries about the difficulties of changing supplier.
But consumer groups and political leaders are united in their advice to consumers that switching is the single most effective course of action to get a cheaper deal.
Switching is relatively straightforward but consumers need a certain amount of information to hand and to know how to find the cheapest prices.
Before switching, it is important to check whether moving will incur a fee for cancelling your current energy deal.
Exit fees are common with fixed rate tariffs if you switch early, but the good news is that all suppliers should now allow you to leave up to 49 days ahead of your tariff's end date without incurring a penalty.
To start switching energy suppliers, you will need your postcode, your current gas and electricity supplier, and the name of your tariff. This can be found on your latest bill, or contact your supplier.
You will also need to know how much you spend (or use in kilowatt hours - kWh) on gas and electricity. This information can be found on recent bills or the annual energy statement sent by your supplier.
Even if you do not have a recent bill to hand, you can still compare and switch energy deals using estimated energy figures.
At this point it is best to speak to your current supplier and ask them for the cheapest tariff you can sign up to, if you are not already on it. This is a helpful benchmark for comparing prices with other suppliers.
It is then worth searching around comparison websites, which are now legally required to show all tariffs available in the market unless customers actively choose to see a smaller number.
It is then a simple matter of contacting your chosen new supplier. You should have your bank details to hand if you decide to switch and want to pay by direct debit.
Your new supplier will organise the switch. You will need to submit meter readings to them when requested, and settle outstanding bills with your old company.
The process takes two to six weeks.
