MARTIN Lewis has warned that 11million households are paying over the odds for their energy - and could save £280 by switching deal
It applies to those who're on a standard variable tariff by one of the big six energy providers, including British Gas, E.ON, EDF, Scottish Power, nPower and SSE.
Martin explained: "If you're on a big six company and you haven't switched for over a year, you're overpaying.
"And even if you're not with them, you could make quite big savings as prices have come down in the last six months."
For example, customers with an average consumption on British Gas' standard variable tariffs currently pay £1,177 per year - roughly the rate of the price cap.
Yet they could save £280 by switching to another British Gas' tariff, which is £897 a year.
This tariff comes with the same service and is fixed, meaning you don't have to worry about prices rising over the next 12 months.
But, Martin added, if you're willing to switch to another energy provider then you can save even more.
The cheapest deals on the market are currently around £830 for typical usage, meaning you could cut your yearly energy bills by a sweet £350.
Overall, customers who are on pricey standard variable tariffs can save 25-30 per cent by switching, Martin said.
To quickly slash your energy bills, simply put in your details into a comparison site and find the cheapest deal for you.
It's worth doing as the cheapest tariffs are only available through these sites.
You'll need to fill in your name, address and who your existing provider is.
If you're also able to put in your usage too, even better. If you don't know this, the comparison site will simply estimate it for you.
Should you want a supplier you've heard of before or one with a good service record, just scroll down the results until you find it, Martin suggested.
comparison websites: Customers can use websites such as Migrate, Switch'd and Look After My Bills, to compare tariffs and find a cheaper deal. You could save up to several hundred of pounds a year if you’ve never switched before!
I was always wary of switching, I was expecting it to be a hassle, time consuming, with the potential for a disruption of service... I couldn't have been more wrong!
I was recommended a switch to Bulb Energy, and so did a quote online. The pricing/ quote was most certainly cheaper than my current provider, plus the energy was green, which was something that we, as a family, were interested in getting into, and so signed up!
The switch took about 4 weeks to complete, I didn't have to lift a finger! Bulb did everything for us, and kept us in the loop via email, as to what stage the transfer of supplier was at. We were given a transfer date, and low and behold, the day came, we switched, and were none the wiser... the lights still went on and the gas flowed... no headaches at all!
But what about the pricing? I had heard horror stories of prices suddenly shooting up, but now , 18 months on, I've had no massive price hikes and no service issues... I've conducted several quotes with the switching sites, and Bulb still is the cheapest for me. I saved just under £300 in the first year of using Bulb, based on what I was paying with my previous supplier, and so it was a worthwhile 20 minutes of my time, looking at my swopping options!
If you want to see if Bulb is cheaper for you, then use our referral link to get a quote. If you do sign up using our link, then you will receive a £50 account credit, plus we get a thank you bonus too, which helps us keep our website free for you to use!
Once you decide on a deal, it's worth checking cash back websites including Top Cashback and Quidco whether you can get some money back from them. It can take a fair few months to received any cash back on energy switching deals, but still worth doing!