Ask our Expert

What should I do when I move house?

Dear Chris, my wife and I will be downsizing to a smaller house in the same area at the end of August, and I have been advised to tell all our service providers that we are moving house.

How do we go about doing this for our gas and electricity? We want to make sure we are only billed for our time in the house.

Also, we don’t know who the energy providers are supplier is for our new house either, as the old tenants have already moved out. Clearly we don’t want to end up paying for their energy bills as well, how can we find out who our new supplier is and inform them when we have moved in?

Tom Cowan, Sandhurst, Monday 13 October, 2008

Our expert says...

Firstly, when moving home you will need to cancel your existing arrangements with your energy supplier, and decide who you want to supply your new home. Follow my six simple steps below to make sure you do everything you need to before and after moving:

Before you move

1. You’re moving - Tell your gas and electricity supplier that you’re moving at least 48 hours before you do. The supplier will arrange for your meters to be read or ask you to do it, so they can calculate your final bill. Make sure you give them your new address to send the bill to. Any remaining credit on your account should be reimbursed by your supplier, simply check what their policy is to find out how long this may take.
2. Take note – Keep a note of your gas and electricity meter readings, and the dates on which they were taken, in case there are any discrepancies with your final bill.
3. New homeowners – If possible, tell the people moving into your old house who your energy supplier is, and give them the house Gas Meter Point Reference Number and Electricity Supply Number (both of which can be found on your bills) as well as their customer service number.

After you move

1. Moving day – On the day you move in to your new home, make sure you take a gas and an electricity meter reading, and keep a copy of these as well as giving them to your new supplier. This will allow them to send you an accurate first bill.
2. Who supplies you? – If the old occupants of the house haven’t been kind enough to leave you with the supplier details, it’s easy to find them. To find out who supplies the gas to your new home, or your Gas Meter Point Reference Number, contact the meter number helpline on 0870 608 1524. To find out who supplies the electricity to your new home, or your Electricity Supply Number, contact the local electricity distribution company. The number will be in the telephone directory under ‘Electricity’. You should ask for the company’s Meter Point Administration Service (MPAS).
3. ‘Deemed contract’ – When you move into your new home, your energy supply will be under a ‘deemed contract’. This means that the gas and electricity supplier for the previous owner will automatically become yours. This may not necessarily be the best supplier for your usage, or the area so check using our Energy Comparison tool. If you don’t know how much energy you’re likely to be using in your new home, because it is either bigger or smaller, our tool can estimate it for you - just select the number of bedrooms in your home. This will provide you with an indication of which suppliers may be cheapest.

For prepayment meters

If your new home’s energy supply is through a prepayment meter, either for gas or electricity, you will need to ensure that you obtain your own prepayment card or key from the supplier, they may also need to visit the property to reset the meter (to ensure you only pay for what you use). Do not use the previous homeowner’s prepayment card or key as any money you pay will be credited to their account.

Consider changing to a credit meter, as this will allow you to take advantage of cheaper payment methods and tariffs. We recommend that you do this with the existing supplier/s first, then look into switching your supplier and tariff after a month, to save money.

Remember, if you don’t tell your existing energy supplier you are moving, you may have to keep paying the bills, even after you have moved.

Good luck with the move Tom!

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