Beat the Ofgem price cap by £200-£400 this year

The Ofgem price cap is a quarterly limit on the unit rate and standing charge that a supplier can charge a typical customer on a default tariff paying by direct debit. It is not a maximum bill: heavy users still pay more than the headline figure. Ofgem reviews it on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October every year, and publishes the new level around six weeks ahead of each change.

Always start with the supplier’s own complaints team in writing. If they fail to resolve the issue within eight weeks or issue you a written “deadlock letter”, you can escalate for free to the Energy Ombudsman. The Ombudsman’s decisions are binding on the supplier (not on you) and can include refunds, goodwill payments, apologies and bill corrections.

You do not pay for it, but you are entitled to receive one. Every UK landlord must arrange an annual Gas Safety Record (CP12) from a Gas Safe registered engineer, and provide a copy to the tenant within 28 days of the check (and at the start of any new tenancy). The maximum fine for landlords who fail to comply is £6,000 per appliance and prosecution is possible.

A collective switch is a group-buying scheme where a council, charity or comparison site pools thousands of households and asks energy suppliers to bid for the whole pool with one bespoke tariff. The winning bid is offered to every household that registered. Done right, the resulting tariff typically beats the price cap by £100 to £200 a year, but you should always compare against the best individual fix before accepting.

Yes, in most cases. If you owe less than £500 per fuel and have been with your current supplier for more than 28 days, your supplier cannot block a switch under Ofgem’s Debt Assignment Protocol: the debt is transferred to the new supplier with you. Prepayment-meter customers have even stronger protections. Above £500, or for newer accounts, you may need to clear the balance first.