How I saved £140 a month during ‘Awful April’ with Utility Warehouse

Gareth used a company’s online quote service to see if he could save some money | Jacob King/PA Wire

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Consumer writer Gareth Butterfield has managed to find savings of £1,680 per year by using a firm's free switching service

This month is being dubbed "Awful April" by the tabloids, because households are set to see a barrage of price rises, with everything from energy bills to council tax going up.

Water bills, car tax, broadband, mobile phones, and even TV licences are going to conspire against us in April, so we're all going to feel the pinch.

It's not as if there's nothing we can do about it though. There are ways to save money on some of our monthly bills, and we're always being told to switch suppliers - so I thought I'd put this to the test.

Utility Warehouse is one of the few companies that actually guarantees you'll save money if you switch. If you don't see savings, they'll double the difference back and let you leave without exit fees.

But exactly how much would I save if I switched? By how much would I reduce the bills that keep arriving at the door of my average three-bedroomed house?

I used the free quote pages on the Utility Warehouse website to find out. This quick online system is one of the other reasons I picked Utility Warehouse for a comparison, because it only took a few minutes, and I didn't even need to enter my email address. Try it for yourself by clicking here.

Gas and electricity

Current bills: Around £300 per month

New bill: £208 per month

Staying on a variable tariff wouldn't normally be a good idea, but this is a huge saving | Utility Warehouse

This is the big one. My wife and I work from home, we often use electric cars, and we have to keep a heated vivarium warm for our pet lizard. This is the one I need to save money on.

I've worked out that we pay, on average, close to £300 per month for our two utilities. We're with Octopus, which has been a great company, but our bills just keep going up.

This is largely because of the energy price cap, but I can't see it getting better any time soon, so I'm interested in a better deal.

According to Utility Warehouse they'd knock £50 off the government price cap straight away, and if I go onto the variable tariff, I'd have no exit fees.

I'm not sure a variable tariff is the best idea at the moment thanks to all the volatility, but I can't argue with the saving. The best part of £100 per month.

Broadband

Current bills: £70 per month

New bill: £38.50 per month

For such a complete package, it's a surprisingly good price | Utility Warehouse

I'm with BT at the moment for my broadband, and it's such a good company. But I'm aware it's frighteningly expensive.

We don't have fibre or anything fancy like that, but we do have "whole home WiFi" and a few other extras, and I'd honestly forgotten how big the bill had become.

I was almost not surprised, then, to see Utility Warehouse could save me so much per month. I've excluded a landline service, but opted for the faster broadband package with two Eero discs, and there might be a few things I have to discuss if I take the plunge, but the price is remarkable.

Mobile phone sim

Current bill: £40 per month

New bill: £23 per month

This is already a big saving, and the extra sim deal is tempting too | Utility Warehouse

This is another big investment for me. If I exclude the EE television package, and two extra data sims I have for complicated reasons, my mobile phone is costing me around £40 per month for my unlimited data package. And apparently, that's going up this month. I haven't dared to look at how much it'll be yet.

But Utility Warehouse has come up trumps once again with a quote for £23 per month for an unlimited data sim. I'd even get more money off if I added my wife's sim on to it, which is tempting.

It's a really decent saving and I'm looking forward to finding out more about the package.

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Conclusion

Overall current bills: £410

Overall new bills: £269.42

Total saving with Utility Warehouse: £140.58

I can't argue with the results, especially if they're guaranteed | Utility Warehouse

Hats off to Utility Warehouse, according to my quotes which, admittedly might need refining, I’d save £140 per month if I switched all my bills over. And even if I don't, I'd be quids in thanks to the guarantee.

I also haven't factored in Utility Warehouse's clever cashback scheme, which gives me up to 10% on my spend with a selection of big retailers. The bonus comes off your monthly bill.

Apparently I'd also save £100 off the annual bill if I "find a local Utility Warehouse Partner" to set it up through, whatever one of those is.

And Utility Warehouse offers to cover the cost of any termination fees when I switch, up to £400. That'll be handy for my energy package. I even get a 30-day cooling off period.

I've done the maths, and I'd be saving at least £1,680 per year, potentially a lot more, and it's risk-free because, if I don't, I'll get double the difference back.

I guess April's not looking so awful after all, is it?

Utility Warehouse’s full terms and conditions can be seen by clicking here