– and could win a year’s supply of energy!
Following on from hundreds of York residents saving money by signing up to a free service last year, even more York residents can now benefit from big savings on their gas and electricity bills by switching tariffs.
City of York Council is partnering up with energy switching experts iChoosr again to make it easy and simple for residents to consider switching their energy tariffs.
iChoosr is also offering resident’s (aged 18 and over, T&C’s apply) the opportunity to win a year’s supply of FREE energy worth up to the value of £1,200. To be entered into the draw residents must have referred at least five new registrants to the scheme and they must go on to switch supplier.
The competition runs from 5 August to 11.59pm on 24 November 2014. Participants must have signed up for the iChoosr collective switching scheme before the end of the competition.
Supported by York’s Citizens Advice Bureaux and Age UK York – the Save Money by Switching Energy campaign launched in December 2013. The scheme enables York residents to register for the assisted scheme through these four easy steps that can result in them being offered potentially cheaper alternative tariffs to consider switching to.
Step 1) Anyone who pays a household energy bill and who is interested in saving money by switching energy suppliers can register for FREE from the 5 August. Registration is easy but they will need a copy of their recent energy bill to complete the process.
Step 2) Registration closes on the 13 October 2014 and then the council’s switching partner iChoosr will gather everyone who has registered together and invite energy companies to offer their best prices for energy to everyone in the scheme.
Step3) Residents will receive tailored details on the new tariff offer secured by the scheme from 24 October 2014. They will also see exactly how much money they could potentially save by switching if they accept the offer.
Step 4) At this stage residents can choose to accept the offer or not. There is no obligation to accept and there are no fees or charges if they don’t switch. They simply get a new offer that could potentially save them money on their energy bills.
In total 751 residents signed up to the scheme last year locally and over 36,000 people registered across the UK as part of the wider national Big Community switch.
In York, 242 residents switched which resulted in an average saving per person of £169 over the year. That’s a potential saving of over £40,000 across the city.
Similar switching schemes run by other councils have seen yearly savings of between £60 – £200 per household. The council also piloted a similar scheme in 2013 which helped over 300 people consider switching. On average those that did switch were set to save £140 from the scheme.
George Vickers, Chief Executive of the Citizens Advice Bureau in York, said: “We’re finding that a lot of people are coming to the CAB for advice because they’re struggling to pay all their bills. It’s really important that people get the best deal and shop around for their fuel. The switching scheme is one of the great ways York residents can benefit from finding a cheaper energy tariff which in turn will now help them to cut the cost of their monthly outgoings and save money.”
James Player, Deputy Chief Officer of Age UK York, said: “We think it’s great that people in York are beginning to get behind this scheme. Energy bills are amongst the biggest and most worrying that any of us have deal with every year. Many older citizens are surviving on very limited incomes and are also suffering various health problems which are frequently made worse in cold conditions. So saving on energy bills is not only crucial to their health and well being, but could, of course, lead to savings for our care and health services. We really hope that many more people will have lower fuel bills thanks to this scheme and thus be able to keep warmer and healthier during the winter months.”
To find out more or to register go to www.york.gov.uk/switchingenergy . If residents do not have access online please visit City of York Council’s customer service centre at West Offices or call us on 01904 551550.