Broadband (and TV)
Transferring your broadband package when moving house
The good news is, the majority of broadband providers are more than happy for you to transfer your service across to your new home. Although it varies provider-to-provider, this can still take up to a few weeks, depending on whether or not an engineer is needed.
The best way to approach this is to give your broadband company as much notice of the move as you possibly can in order to minimise disruption to your broadband connection. This is especially important at the moment in lots of cases, with more people working, at least in part, from home as a result of the pandemic. How much notice they require varies from company to company, but just as a guide BT suggests their customers give them six weeks’ notice in order to avoid disruption to their broadband service.
Do you need a new broadband contract to move house?
If you’re in contract, a simple swap as above is probably the likeliest scenario, however, if you’re on minimum contract terms (the terms you default to on a monthly basis once your contract has run out), or you have a few months or less left on your old contract, then your broadband provider may require you to sign up for a new contract with them.
Before you sign on the dotted line, there are a couple of things to think about.
- Does your provider give good coverage in the area you’re moving to
- Is there a better deal to be had with someone else
You can use Ofcom’s Broadband availability checker to see what is available at your new address, and then use this information to find out which provider is likely to be best for you.
You can also use comparison sites online to see what deals are around, and it’s always worth taking a look at Money Saving Expert’s Broadband and TV guides to see the best deals they’ve found, and things like whether it’s cheaper to get Broadband and TV together in a package, or separately. Moving house is a great time to do this when you’re doing things like updating your address with companies anyway.
When changing providers, you’ll simply need to notify your current provider that you wish to end your contract and contact your chosen new provider to see what their process is when setting up at your new address, and how much notice they need.
If you need to cancel with your provider before your contract term is up, you’ll need to check the terms and conditions, as it’s likely that you’ll need to pay for terminating the contract.
Related: Countdown to moving house >>
Changing gas and electric suppliers when moving house
Whether or not you’re thinking of changing suppliers once you’ve moved, there are still steps you need to take to avoid being overcharged for gas and electricity you haven’t used.
Before you move home
Let your current energy supplier know
Ensure that this is at least two days beforehand, and give them the date you’re moving as well as the address of the property you’re moving to so they can send across your last bill.
Take a meter reading
They’ll also want you to take a meter reading on the day you move. A top tip from us, if you’re feeling a bit frazzled and stressed, is to take a picture of the meter as you’re leaving the property. This only takes a few seconds, and you can deal with sending them the numbers when you’re sat down with a cup of tea!
After you move
Find out the energy suppliers of your new home
You might be given this information, but if not: to find out your new gas supplier you can visit the Find My Supplier website, and put in your new address to get details.
For electricity, Energy Network Operators can tell you who your new property is with. You can find your Network Operator using this tool from the Energy Networks Association, and then contact them to find out the details of your supplier.
Give the new company meter readings
Give the electricity company of your new home meter readings and the date you moved in, and they will open an account for you on their standard tariff.
Shopping around for energy deals
Previously, advice for moving home would include shopping around for the best gas and electricity deal. There were often cheap fixed deals to be had, and money to be saved easily by switching providers on a reasonably regular basis.
There’s been much talk of this on the news recently of energy companies going bust, and price rises expected to hit consumers in April with an increase in the price cap. At the time of writing, there are no deals that are cheaper than the new price cap. With this in mind, it would likely pay to remain with the same company that already covers gas and electricity in your new property, but keep an eye out, and once prices start to fall and deals begin to appear again you can take a look as to whether it’s worth switching.
Again, it’s well worth following Money Saving Expert for more information on this, as it’s an ever-changing landscape at the moment.
It can feel like a bit of a task when you think about everything you need to consider when moving house, but we’re in the business of helping you move home as smoothly as possible – whether that’s via furniture removals or a blog article about other parts of the process. Do you need our help for a stress-free move-in day? Please get in touch.
