This coming weekend (Nov 14 – 16) is the Great British Switch when comparethemarket.com is encouraging those aged 65 and over to see how much money they could save on their energy bills this winter by switching to a new supplier. Research suggests that around 90% of those aged 65 and over have never tried to switch energy supplier, despite the fact that a typical household can save up to £350 a year by switching energy suppliers. My husband switches regularly as the best deal one year doesn’t mean you’ll be on the best deal next year when the deals change.
Yesterday, my husband popped by his mums to help her to check her energy bills. It seems she was also another statistic as she hasn’t changed supplier for over 10 years now! It must be hard on her as she is a widower who can read and write basic English but when it comes to the multitude of plans out there and all the fine print that comes with it, it must be bewildering. She does get help from her daughters and Mr C, but with her energy suppliers, she had just opted for convenience of keeping the status quo, evening though it has been costing her hundreds of pounds extra.
Before you log onto the website, always have your supplier bill to hand for easy access. There are only a few questions to answer like the suppliers, how much do you spend per month and postcode. There is not much personal information to key in. You will be required to put in your email address though. If your elderly don’t have one, you would probably need to set one up for them.
Within seconds, the site will show you a list of suppliers and how much you could save when you switch! I was so surprised when he told me she could save up to £163 with prices fixed for a year. Now she will definitely be switching suppliers to save her money!
So to help keep the elderly warm this winter campaign, for every switch, comparethemarket.com will donate £5 to Friends of the Elderly. As a thanks for taking part in the campaign, comparethemarket.com will also donate £50 on my behalf to Friends of the Elderly. So what are you waiting for? Go and check your elderly neighbour to see if they need any help switching and you could also help the Charity.
Disclosure: This is a featured post for Tots100/CTM.
My Nan I think has been with the same supplier for a long, long time!
Always good to check your energy prices, I’ve managed to reduce some of mine this year after staying with the same providers for years!