Save on your Energy and Phone Bills

Lowering your gas and electricity bills

Changing your energy suppliers is a good way to save money. Changing is as easy as filling in a simple form, and waiting. The process takes about a month, and then you start saving.

The best bet, is to try an online comparison site, to get a feel for how much you could save. Try the following links, and have your recent bills handy, to find out how making a simple switch could save you lots:

• uSwitch - Great bill comparison site for fuel, phone and digital TV. Site accredited by Consumer Focus
• EnergyLinx - Make an average saving of £150 with this Energywatch accredited comparison site, and save estimates for 90 days

It's also worth looking at London Energy as they're currently offering Nectar points on new signups, and 150 points for every quarter that you remain a London Energy customer. You can switch to other providers for free at uSwitch.com

Lowering your phone bill

TalkTalk is receiving a lot of press at the moment, partly through recent Big Brother sponsorship, and partly as a result of their "Free Broadband" launch in April 2006. They're also offering some solid home phone tariffs... you can talk for free, for as long as you like, to other TalkTalk customers. For other calls, the rates are guaranteed lower than BT's, and there's no signup or rental fee on their standard Talk1 plan. No catch - no minimum contract, and free calls to other customers.

We've been with them for some months now, and have noticed considerable savings on our BT bill. Hard to see how you can lose! Also, from August 2005, they started offering Nectar points
Take a look at their site for more details... www.talktalk.co.uk.

Skype - Voice Over Internet (VoIP) is the next big thing in telecoms - using this service from Skype, you can route your phone calls over the Internet - the upshot of this is that if you're calling long distance or overseas, your call cost drops drastically, as the long-haul part of the call goes over the Internet, and drops down to standard phone service for the final leg of the journey. Prices for calling the US equate to 1.4p per minute, versus 9p-15p on BT Together. No contracts or line rental.
The basic Skype service is free, so why not download the Skype application from www.skype.com, and give it a test drive. More on our sister site FileSaveAs

uSwitch is another site that you should check out. Their UK telephone suppliers calculator is the first and only website to get Oftel accreditation. By entering your postcode and a few details, get an independent view on who is the cheapest residential phone provider for you.

Try their calculator at www.uSwitch.com

Lowering other bills

Changing supplier isn't just limited to your gas or electricity supplier. Changing mobile phone supplier (to, say, o2 online), your bank (to the Lloyds TSB Classic plus), or your Internet Service Provider (to Virgin Media), can also bring great savings.

General tips

• It's usually cheaper paying by direct debit
• Don't forget, when estimating your bills, look at a full years worth of bills, not just your last one. This gives you a true picture of seasonal changes.
• It's not always cheaper getting your gas and electricity from the same place
• Shop for the best deal, and don't be afraid to move again when a better offer comes along
• See our top tips page for some other useful suggestions
• Moving house is a great time to reconsider changing suppliers. Instead of sticking with your current provider, make the break when you move

	Looking to get your credit card bills down? See our UK Finance Information page.
	Mobile phone bill too high? See what mobile deals we recommend
	Can you save money on your digital TV? See uSwitch.com

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