Increases in electricity prices means UK debt for energy bills is still too high
Recent reports have shown that despite a slight drop in levels since 2009, there are still many people in Britain who owe money to their energy suppliers. At the moment, 19 people in every hundred owe money to their energy suppliers, and although the average amount owed has dropped slightly from 2008, the figure is still over ten percent higher than it was in 2008. At the moment the UK owes around 624 million pounds, which is obviously a considerable amount of money! The concern at the moment is that this level of debt could increase significantly in 2011 with a hard cold winter continuing at present and recent rising costs in energy bills.
This information is a stark warning to most that we all need to think very carefully about our heating and energy use, and of course, the way in which we source it. Everybody needs to think about their electricity prices because of the rising costs. when you start to look at all of the different options available to you regarding different equipment and different suppliers, it is very clear to see that the prices we all pay must fluctuate wildly.
It is never a bad idea to start to play the market a little bit to find out what else is out there. If you are interested in finding out if you could get a cheaper energy deal you should use the price comparison sites on the internet so that you can assess the difference in price per unit of the larger suppliers. This will give you a good idea of whether or not you are at the moment paying the right price for your energy. There is no doubt that central heating is one of the most important things that we have in our homes, and very few homes can do without it, but it is also clear that we could all do without astronomical bills too!
One thing that often makes people reluctant to switch their energy deal to another supplier is the fact that they are in debt to their current supplier. This seems perfectly understandable, but when you consider the fact that some people could save nearly five hundred pounds by switching, it makes a lot of sense to try to pay back the money you owe so that you can take advantage of the great deals out there. Since the average debt to energy suppliers is about £125, it will make sense for most to get the debt paid off and find another deal.
Of course, there are other things that you can look at to reduce the overall costs of your energy bills.
There are many people out there with outdated and inefficient systems that cost them money, and if you find yourself a new boiler, it could make all the difference to your bills. It is worth investigating all possible avenues when it comes to reducing your energy costs, so that you don’t add to a worsening statistic in 2011.
Finding the best breakdown cover could soon become even more critical
New proposals put forward by the new government could see breakdown cover become a legal necessity when it comes to motoring insurance. As we stand, car insurance is a legal pre requisite when it comes to getting a car on the road, but having a decent breakdown policy is purely optional. The Coalition government would like to make a change to this, and it would appear that the British Insurance Brokers Association is keen to back the government in their plans. This legislation is not due to go through anytime soon, but it is food for thought to all of those without breakdown cover. With colder winters every year and ever older cars, a decent breakdown policy could be worth its weight in gold at the moment.
Bearing in mind that the government are likely to bring in this new policy in the not too distant future, it might be a good time for anyone who doesn’t currently have a breakdown policy to start to think about getting one. It is always important to find the best breakdown cover you can, and if you get in the habit of finding decent breakdown cover now, it will hit a little less hard when the new rules come in to play.
Obviously whether you drive a car or a motorcycle, you really should investigate the possibility of getting breakdown cover. In recent times there have been more breakdowns than ever before. The winter time is always a busy time for the breakdown companies, but at this time of year it is particularly common for them to be called out to problems with motorcycles and the last thing you want at this time of year is to be stranded at the side of the road in freezing conditions. This is why you have to consider finding motorcycle breakdown cover, particularly for this time of the year. You may not use it during the summer months, but when it is winter time you will be grateful!
Of course, when it comes to searching out the right cover, you have to be careful to find the right company. You should always make sure that you compare breakdown cover by using one of the price comparison sites so that you know that you have found the most appropriate and affordable deals for your circumstances. Whether you are hoping to find something to cover you for your bike or your car, be sure to find the best deal online.
BT phone line offers include calls to mobiles
We have all done a double take at our phone bills in the past when we have spotted those rogue calls to mobile numbers which can really cost the earth, but a new offer from BT promises to consign those occurrences to distant memory with a new offer which includes calls to mobiles. The phone giant, who is the largest home phone provider, wants to offer all in one services so that customers can be confident of what their bills will be. The focus is on all you can eat packages. At present, a ten minute call to an O2 mobile from a BT landline could cost you over four pounds, but under the new price plan it would be free. BT is awaiting an announcement from Ofcom regarding cuts to the prices of landline calls to mobiles. It is thought that BT will roll out the new deal shortly after these announcements.
This is great news for those of us who use our home phone lines with any regularity. It is often difficult to remember not to call a mobile phone from a home phone line, and it is also not always helpful to have to keep in mind the cost of a call to a mobile phone. The only thing that is stopping BT doing this immediately is that the mobile phone companies currently charge a significant amount of money to connect calls from landlines to their mobile phones, which is partly where the large fees come from. However, Ofcom plans to make announcements which will mean that mobile phone giants have to reduce this figure, and it is thought that the new regulations will mean that the mobile phone companies have to reduce their charges from an average of 4.3 pence a minute to 0.5 pence per minute by 2015.
Once this legislation comes in it is quite conceivable that prices will drop across the board for the average telephone line. We will see prices for all calls at a relatively low rate, but whilst this is all happening, it will obviously be a great opportunity to be able to take on a new landline contract which says that you can make as many calls as you want to any numbers for as set fee. This should see a swathe of cheap landline deals from all the suppliers, but it appears that BT will be leading the way. As the largest supplier of home phone lines this is to be expected, but once BT does it would be very surprising if other companies didn’t follow suit.
Bristol acupuncture clinic leads the way in cutting costs to patients.
A Bristol acupuncture clinic is responsible for coming up with an innovative and workable means of providing inexpensive, professional acupuncture to a greater number of patients. They have achieved this by adhering more closely to the received wisdom of China, the birthplace of this ancient healing practice. By adopting the practice of an open-plan, multi-bed system with privacy screens, more patients can be seen and a lower price can be charged.
It is often the case that a break with tradition allows for a refinement in the delivery of services, ultimately offering improvements of one kind or another. It is therefore a little surprising that this new development bears a closer resemblance to Chinese practices, where acupuncture has been practiced for thousands of years, than it does to anything that has been previously dreamt up in the UK. But, perhaps it is the fact that Chinese culture has had such a tremendous head start that it has left Western practices trailing behind?
UK acupuncture practitioners, whilst adopting the healing practices of the Chinese, have done so by trying to mould the overall delivery of treatments to conform to the prevailing set-up of healthcare provision in the UK. This means that they have traditionally offered one to one treatment, despite there being the need to allow time for adjustments to take effect, something that often occurs several times within one session.
This model works perfectly well within the confines of conventional medicine as patients have grown used to waiting, sometimes for considerable stretches of time. As anybody that has ever had a barium meal, or who has had to wait for results whilst their samples are being analysed, will know that there is a tacit acknowledgment that there is often more waiting than treatment involved where conventional medicine is concerned.
The key difference is however, that acupuncture therapists will not insist that patients retire to the waiting room whilst they treat another patient. To do so would be at odds with the fundamental basis upon which acupuncture lies. Acupuncturists treat the individual using an holistic approach, whereas conventional medicine treats the illness. It is therefore easier to adopt a ‘production line’ approach to healthcare when using modern medicine, but it would be unthinkable for an acupuncturist to do the same. The subject needs to be relaxed and open to healing, necessitating that they remain in repose. And, as acupuncture deploys the use of needles, retiring to a busy waiting room is out of the question.
Open plan treatment spaces that deploy the use of several therapy sections are therefore an ideal way of optimising healthcare provision whilst freeing the therapist to treat other patients simultaneously. For individuals that require inexpensive professional acupuncture, Bristol obviously has the answer!
About Bigroom Acupuncture:
Bigroom Clinic operate a multi-bed, open plan treatment space in Bristol and Oxford. For more information please go to: www.bigroomacupuncture.co.uk
BRITS CAN SLASH THEIR PHONE BILLS WITH UK’S CHEAPEST LINE RENTAL
EXCLUSIVELY WITH HOMEPHONECHOICES.CO.UK
• Primus Saver line rental deal costs only £6.79 per month
• Low-cost calls to UK landlines: just 1p per minute evening and weekends; 6p per minute in daytime
• Price busting package available exclusively through Ofcom-accredited comparison site Homephonechoices.co.uk until 4th April
Brits can slash their phones bills with the latest Homephonechoices.co.uk exclusive offer in conjunction with with low-cost home phone and broadband provider Primus Saver.
The Primus Line Rental Saver package costs just £6.79 per month and offers evening and weekend calls at 1p a minute, whilst daytime calls cost 6p per minute. This package would be ideal for light phone users who make the majority of their calls in the evenings, or for those who simply need a phone line for their broadband connection. Compared with other costlier line rental deals, consumers could save themselves over £80* per year by switching to Primus Saver.
In addition to Primus Line Rental Saver, Homephonechoices.co.uk continues to offer the Primus Home Phone Saver deal available exclusively through its site. Also incredibly good value, this line rental package includes free evening and weekend calls to UK landlines for just £7.99 per month.
Michael Phillips, product director at Homephonechoices.co.uk, commented:
“As an Ofcom-accredited price comparison site, we are committed to securing the cheapest possible deals for visitors to our website.
“There have been a number of line rental price rises from major providers over the past year with more undoubtedly on the way, so households need to review their monthly bills carefully to see where costs can be reined in.
“Line rental, in particular, is often overlooked in this respect. The Primus Saver package offers excellent value; households who haven’t switched in the last year should compare prices to ensure they are still on the cheapest deal.”
Homephonechoices.co.uk top tips on cutting your phone bills:
1. Pay by direct debit – Nearly all providers discourage payment other than direct debit and impose charges of anything up to £5 per month for dealing with cheques. However, The Post Office accepts payment by various means with no additional charges.
2. Go for paperless billing – Some providers offer useful savings if you receive your statements online, not by post. You’ll also be doing your bit for the environment.
3. Check the small print – If you’re tied to a 12 or 18 month contract, you may be faced with exit fees if you want to switch before the contract term ends, but new rules may mean this is less of a problem going forward. So check any fees and switch to a better deal.
*Saving based on switching from BT Unlimited Weekend Calling (£13.60 per month, total annual cost £163.20) to Primus line rental saver (£6.79 per month, total annual cost £81.48). Total first year saving £81.72. Terms and conditions apply. Information correct at 07/03/2011
About Homephonechoices.co.uk
Homephonechoices.co.uk was founded in March 2005 and the UK’s only Ofcom-accredited home phone comparison calculator.
It is the UK’s largest website to offer price comparisons of line rental and calls packages based on a postcode search. Our search results let consumers easily compare line rental prices, package costs and pence per minute call charges.
Results can also be sorted and filtered to compare tariffs for calling landlines, mobile networks, and non-geographic numbers (0870/0845). Each package listed shows detailed supporting information on additional extras like minimum call charges, contract lengths and caller features (1571 / Caller display).
Established online brands including Confused.com, Comparethemarket.com and GoCompare.com rely on Homephonechoices.co.uk to power their home phone comparison services.
Homephonechoices.co.uk – working hard to save you money
BROADBANDCHOICES.CO.UK COMMENTS ON TODAY’S OFCOM BROADBAND SPEED REPORT
Michael Phillips, Product Director for Broadbandchoices.co.uk, commented:
“Our own independent consumer research has been unequivocal in highlighting that broadband speeds are a major source of dissatisfaction for UK broadband customers and our 2011 customer survey indicates that year- on-year satisfaction is down for the third year running. This is disappointing considering providers continue to market their services on speed-led messaging.
“Broadbandchoices.co.uk has been pushing for ‘typical speeds’ to be made the gold standard for speed measurement since 2007 – in the same way that banks use ‘typical APR’ percentages.
“To date, consumers have effectively been misled by broadband providers’ claims of what speeds are technically feasible compared to what they will receive in the real world. We want Ofcom to implement a much clearer – and more prescriptive – marketing message policy for all broadband providers.”
“The continued roll out of BT Infinity should give consumers a viable alternative to Virgin Media when it comes to super-fast broadband packages that can actually live up to the advertised messages – Virgin Media’s fibre optic service continues to fare well in this respect.”
For tips on speeding up your existing broadband connection, read the guide below:
http://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/speeding-up-your-broadband-complete-guide.html
About Broadbandchoices.co.uk
Broadbandchoices.co.uk was launched in 2005 and is the UK’s leading Ofcom accredited broadband comparison calculator.
We offer comprehensive and impartial advice on broadband, mobile broadband and bundled packages (broadband with home phone and digital TV) saving our users over £200 when they switch.
The Broadbandchoices.co.uk calculator compares thousands of different combinations of packages and provides results in a clear, intuitive table where users can rank and compare services according to their individual needs.
Users can switch online or by calling our sales team on 0800 232 1279.
Broadbandchoices.co.uk powers over 20 leading comparison services including Confused.com, Comparethemarket.com and GoCompare.com.
Broadbandchoices.co.uk – working hard to save you money