13 July 2023
Before you move out of your old home
So you don’t get stuck paying for the gas and electricity in your old home, there’s a few things you need to do before closing the front door for the last time.
Step 1 – Notify your current energy supplier you’re moving
Give your current energy supplier at least 48 hours’ notice that you will be moving out. You’ll need to let them know your moving out date and your new address so they can forward you any outstanding charges or bills on to you. The supplier will also organise an energy metre reading or ask you to take and submit one on the day you move out.
Step 2 – Take your energy metre reading
The reason you need to take one last reading of your energy metre on the day you move out is to avoid being charged for energy you have not used. You supplier will then send you a bill to settle any outstanding payments. It’s also a good idea to let the people moving in know who is supplying the property with energy by telling the estate agent or simply leaving a note.
What you need to do when moving in
There are also a few simple steps you need to take when moving into your new home to ensure you don’t pay for energy you haven’t used and aren’t being overcharged.
Step 1 – Find out which energy company supplies your new home
In order to submit your metre readings, you will need to find out which energy company is the current supplier of your new home. If the previous occupiers haven’t let you know, you can ask the estate agent who sold you the property or find out online via the findmysupplier website. If your new home is on a prepayment metre, you’ll need to arrange for a new payment method to be sent to you.
Step 2 – Take gas and electricity metre readings
Once you have found out who is supplying your home, you will need to take gas and electricity metre readings on the day you move in and submit them to your current supplier. This is to ensure there is no dispute over usage and bills at a later date.
Step 3 – See if you can get a better deal
The energy company who is supplying gas and electricity to your new home will automatically place you on a ‘deemed contract’ when you move in. You do not need to stay with the current supplier and are free to shop around different energy suppliers and their tariffs to see if you can get a better deal elsewhere. There are lots of comparison sites online that make this easy, and they’ll often switch you over on your behalf.
Looking for a dream new build home? Morrish Homes has a variety of homes for sale on our most prestigious developments across the South, including Poundbury in Dorset, Oakwood in Somerset and Nansledan in Cornwall.