Check your bills to make sure you are getting best deals for heat and light

Have you checked your household bills lately? With 60% of bills now paid by direct debit, many people leave the bills to pile up in the hall without even opening them.

Even even those that do bother to look inside are left bamboozled!

More than half of people struggle to understand their bills, a new survey from Switcher.ie shows.

A third of people can’t work out if there has been a mistake and half of us just trust our suppliers to get it right.

That could prove a costly mistake. Over a quarter of people claim to have been overcharged on at least one household bill last year.

The average amounts involved were €54 for electricity, €36 for broadband and €30 for mobile phone.

And that could be just the tip of the iceberg as more than a third (35%) admit they wouldn’t even know if there was a mistake while only 52% say they are likely to spot an error.

‘If you don’t check your bills, you could miss whether the bill is based on an estimated meter reading, if the account is in credit, whether an introductory discount has ended or if a cheaper tariff is available,’ said Eoin Clarke of price comparison site Switcher.ie.

Ask a supplier about anything you don’t understand – it’s their job to explain.

And keep track of your bills either through your online account or with paper copies, if that’s how you’re billed. When reviewing your bill: Use a calculator Check personal details are correct.

Check the billing period, the name of your tariff and the unit rate. Do they match what you signed up to?

MPRN and GPRN numbers identify the electricity and gas meters at your property. Check both are correct on your bills.

Check if your consumption is an actual meter reading (denoted as A on your bill) or an estimate (E). If estimated, ring your supplier with the correct reading. You could get a refund or, if it’s an underestimate, avoid a painful correction later.

Once you’re on top of how your bill works, you can save even more by watching out for better deals.

Only 15% of people switch their gas, electricity and broadband providers every year.

Yet not doing so could cost dearly as the marketing goodies on offer are aimed at new customers. The juicy discounts and special offers are also usually only for a limited period.

So make sure to keep track of when that lucrative deal expires – usually after 12 months – so you can avail of another.

According to the Energy Regulator, the average Irish household uses 13,800 kW-h of gas and 5,300 kW-h of electricity per year.

The cheapest deals are for ‘dual fuel’ – i.e. for gas and electricity. Here (see table below) are the top five lowest basic prices based on average consumption from Switcher.ie.

Check out the ‘freebies’ at the bottom of the table. But watch out for early exit fees too. Energia and SSE charge €100 and BGE €50 for exiting 12-month contracts, while Electric Ireland have no contract or break-out fee, which is a big advantage if a better deal comes along.