General UK Info / Utilities

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Paying bills

How to pay bills

 

Direct Debit - you allow the money to be taken out of your account automatically when the bill comes in. You should be told how much is going to be taken out in advance. This is an easier and cheaper way of paying, however maybe not the best option if you want to work out a budget

Payment plans - you organise with the company how often you will pay the bill (every week, fortnight or month) and either you go to the Bank or Post Office to pay it, using a card or payment book or send in the post. It means you can spread a bill over time, rather than paying it all at once

Prepayment for gas and electricity - you buy cards (or top up a special card) from a local shop to insert into a meter, which is fitted in your house. This is an easy way of buying gas and electricity and you can monitor how much you are using. However if your card runs out of credit, you will have no power!

Guide to costs

If you're in a house share, each person in the house needs to pay a share of the gas, electricity and water bills. Make sure you ask what the normal costs for these are before you move in.

Gas - normally runs your heating and cooker. Costs can get high, so if you can put a warm jumper on rather than the heating you can save on costs!

Electricity - covers fridge, freezer, dishwasher, washing machine, hairdryers, computers.

Water - in 2006-07, the average household water bill was £294 for a year. If you are sharing a house, you will have to divide this between you. You will probably receive an annual bill, which you can pay in installments if you wish.

Mobile phone - If you're going to use the phone a lot, you should consider getting a mobile phone contract. You will need a UK bank account for this. Find out how long the contract is, how much it is each month and how many text messages and calls it includes. Otherwise, a 'Pay as you go' phone may be cheaper, and they often offer bonus minutes or texts when you top-up.

Landline phone - Remember you will have to pay for a phone line as well as for your calls. Shop around to get the best deal for you.

Internet - Research different options to find the best deal. Remember you'll have to have a landline phone. You could save money on internet access by using the computers in your university library or computer rooms.

Comparing prices. You can compare different options for utilities at the USwitch website

TV Licence – If you have a television at university then you must pay an annual TV Licence. This is £145.50 per year. If you are sharing a house, then you only need one licence to cover all the TV's in the house and you can share the cost of this. More info at the TV Licensing website: http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk

Contributors to this article: danrubbaglove, guye1, Nikki, StephMod, Markmod, InternBU

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