Have you received your gas bill yet? Always shocked by the horrendous, and ever-increasing amounts you're being charged for gas? Well you, like thousands of other homes are probably paying over the odds for these necessities. The situation is quite similar in psychology to that of banking - having signed you up at the start of your tenancy or ownership, the big gas companies know that a little bit of consumer inertia and laziness combined with the perceived hassle of switching supplier means that they can get away with giving you a raw deal. Well, if you want to get cheap gas, you're going to cut loose and have a shop around.
Switch tariff. If the idea of moving away from the current incumbent supplier seems a bit daunting there are other things you can look into, namely switching the tariff you're on. British Gas offer a number of different tariffs for gas customers depending on their individual situations. For example, you can get cheap gas if you change on to the British Gas Websaver tariff - you can shave up to 10% off the standard tariff.
Switch supplier. You're likely to get an even better deal on switching supplier, particularly if you've never switched before. That's because your current supplier knows that they can get away with charging you higher prices for your gas without risking losing your custom. The savings can be up to 20% - that's hundreds of pounds over the course of a year! Go to price comparison websites to get an idea of what savings are out there. However, beware that if you're on a fixed-term contract with the current supplier, they may charge you for leaving the contract early, so it may be best to wait until your current contract runs out.
Pay differently. Lots of companies give a small discount to customers who pay via direct debit so it's worth signing up to this payment method if you can. Do make sure you're giving up-to-date meter readings however - the energy suppliers make money off the interest of any overpayments you make, and although if you do overpay you should be able to claim this back, getting it back may take awhile - it would be much easier to simply not overpay in the first place.
