Now that you are settled in the United Kingdom, you will need various service providers for things like mobile phones, broadband, tv, electricity, gas etc.
To make it easier we have put together a list of various service providers which have been put into the different categories.
Mobile phones
Phone contracts
Having a contract phone means that you pay a single monthly fee for a fixed period of time. Most mobile phone contracts are set at either 12 or 24 months and provide mobile customers with a handset and a monthly allowance of calls, data and texts.
What happens when your phone contract ends?
What happens if you do nothing? You don’t actually have to do anything when your contract ends, but if you don’t then you’ll typically keep paying the same price for the same allowances. Depending on your network the phone payments may automatically stop, bringing you down to a lower monthly price.
Phone contracts are usually the most expensive option. If, on the other hand, your phone is still in good working order, a pay-as-you-go SIM may be a better option. 12-month deals tend to be slightly cheaper than 30-day rolling plans, but not by much.
Check the signal strength where you live or work.
Here you will find a free tool if you need to make a complaint about your network.
Why do you need to unlock a phone ?
Unlocking it means you can use the phone with any compatible Sim card, on any network.
When you get a new phone through a mobile network, the chances are it’ll be locked to that network, and if you try to put another network’s Sim card in, it won’t work.
Pay as you go
A pay-as-you-go (PAYG) deal, as the name suggests, means you pay upfront and are not tied into any contract or commitment. You’ll also have to have your own handset to put the Sim (the little chip that slots into your phone and gives you your allowance of minutes, texts and data) into already, or buy one separately.
Sims
SIMs are computer chips that hold information and allow you to connect with your network. This means you can make calls, send sms messages and connect to mobile internet services like 3G, 4G, and 5G. They’re also transferable and you can choose to save messages, contacts, and emails to them.
The sooner you can organise a SIM card, the sooner you can be contactable by friends and family as well as adding the number to your CV and giving it out to employers.
You need to buy a airtime credit in the form of a top up before you can make any calls or texts. This credit is used to pay for the texts and calls you make – when you run out of credit you need to top-up your phone again before you can use it.
Broadband
Broadband is actually a high-speed internet connection to enjoy everything the internet offers. It is a permanent internet connection. It brings an internet signal to and from a device through a traditional telephone line.
If you want broadband, you’ll need an active phone line, but not every house or flat is set up with one already. In those cases, you’ll need to get a new line installed.
It comes in a variety of forms, and their availability usually depends on the provider you choose as well as your location.
Many providers also offer other services alongside broadband, including phone and/or television packages. It can sometimes be cheaper to combine services into bundles as your provider might offer a discount or certain incentives if you go for this option, however it’s always worth comparing your choices.
- Compare broadband deals, phone line & TV to create your perfect package
- Haggling is also one of your price cut weapons which may get you a better deal.
- How to improve your broadband speed, and free speed test tools.
- Top tips to boost your internet speeds
Broadband service providers
- Sky
- BT
- U switch
- Money supermarket
- Broadband choices
- Compare the market
- Virgin media
- Plusnet
- Talktalk
Streaming services
An online provider of entertainment (music, movies, etc) delivers the content via an Internet connection to the subscriber’s computer, TV or mobile device.
The main advantages of streaming: Streaming is immediate, and streaming content starts to play more or less instantly, regardless of how large the audio or video file is. There’s no need to wait for it to download in its entirety. Streaming doesn’t require storage space.
How Now’s TV streaming service is changing
Check if you need a TV licence
Electricity and gas
Most houses in the UK use either just electricity or electricity and gas. There are often good deals and it is worth reviewing every year to see what offers are on.
If you choose the monthly direct debit option to pay for your electricity and gas, the payment will be taken from your account at around the same time each month. It’s calculated by your provider, which estimates your entire year’s usage and divides it across 12 months.
If you choose to make quarterly direct debit payments, it will work in exactly the same way as monthly payments – however the payment is taken from your bank every three months. As a result the payments will naturally be higher, but the overall cost will be similar to a monthly scheme.
A dual fuel tariff simply means that you receive both your gas and your electricity from the same supplier. It is more common for people to purchase their gas and electricity from two different energy companies. However dual fuel tariffs can be a great way to save yourself money on your gas and electricity bills.
- What to do if you’re struggling to pay your energy bills
- Another option you have for paying for energy is to use a prepayment meter.
- How do prepayment meters work?
- Where to go for free one-on-one energy and debt advice
- Check if you can get free insulation or boiler grants to make your home more energy efficient
- Compare energy deals
- What are smart meters?
- Can I switch with smart meters
- How do I get ‘free’ smart meters?
- Cheap green energy
What uses the most electricity in a house ?
- Cooling and heating: 47% of energy use.
- Water heater: 14% of energy use.
- Washer and dryer: 13% of energy use.
- Lighting: 12% of energy use.
- Refrigerator: 4% of energy use.
- Electric oven: 3-4% of energy use.
- TV, DVD 3% of energy use.
- Dishwasher: 2% of energy use.
Ways to save electricity and Gas
With a lot of the family budgets being spent on energy bills, it makes sense to look for ways to reduce the amount of gas and electricity you use, and with a little extra effort this can be achieved.
But despite owning more appliances nowadays, we still use roughly the same amount of energy as we did two decades ago, which means that our appliances and gadgets have become more energy efficient over time.
There are a few changes you can make around the home that could help cut down your average electricity usage.
Ways to save on electricity
- Turn off unnecessary lights. How many times have you left lights on in a room without anyone being in the room ?
- Don’t switch lights on in a room if you don’t need to, try and rely on natural daylight as much as possible.
- Use task lighting, which provides increased light for specific tasks in a room that may already have some ambient light. Task lighting is especially useful for seeing small objects or objects of low contrast. Plug-in table and floor lamps are also commonly used to provide task lighting for reading.
- Energy-saving light bulbs can help you to cut your energy bills easily.
- Hang dry your laundry where possible
- Switch off at the wall. This is because, when you leave devices like TVs or stereos on standby, they still use power. Turning them off at the wall stops this happening.
- Checking the temperature – the ideal temperature for your fridge is between 3˚and 5˚C, while for your freezer it’s minus 18˚C. Making sure they’re at the right temperature will make sure they use no more energy than they need to.
- Don’t put hot or warm food in the fridge. It’s better to let hot food cool before putting it in the fridge, otherwise it takes extra energy for the fridge to cool it down.
- Be more efficient when cooking. If it takes less time to cook something then it also uses less energy too. Heating water in a kettle rather than on the hob helps speed up the process. Also keep the oven door closed as much as possible so that less heat escapes and food cooks faster.
- Try and wash clothes on a lower temperature if you can. Washing clothes at 30C will use less energy than it does if you wash on higher temperatures. Nowadays, modern detergents are able to get good results at lower temperatures.
- Don’t overfill the kettle. Only fill the kettle with the amount of water needed as this stops any energy being wasted.
- Microwaves are good for saving energy. A microwave can tackle some tasks just as well as the oven or the hob, and your microwave uses far less energy to do it. For instance, if you’re reheating something, there’s no need to use the stove. It’s much more efficient to use the microwave.
- Try and investing in smart home technology. Smart home technology can help save energy. By getting a smart thermostat, for example, you can make sure you never heat an empty home – and you can sync your heating up to the weather.
- Time-based tariffs are another handy way to cut down your electricity bills. They have off-peak periods, where it is cheaper to use electricity, so you can time when you use appliances, to save money.
Ways to save on gas
- If you only need to heat one room in your home, it may be cheaper to use a portable electric heater and keep the thermostat turned down. For those who live alone or work from home, investing in an electric heater could save on heating bills over time as you’re not heating your whole home unnecessarily with central heating.
- Your heating is responsible for more than half of your energy bill each year. So replacing an old, inefficient gas boiler with a modern energy-efficient one will make a big difference to your bill.
- Draught proof as much as possible. Use draught-proofing strips around window frames and door frames.
- Though you might only use your heating in winter, you use energy year-round to heat your water. So heating and using it wisely will help to keep gas costs down.
- Spend less time in the shower.
- Insulate your hot water tank and pipes so that water can stay warmer for longer.
Other tips to keep your energy bills and payments in check
- Choose paperless bills and manage your account online (some companies charge extra for paper bills)
- Pay by direct debit. This is usually cheaper than paying when you receive a bill
- Send regular meter readings to keep your bill accurate. If you have a smart meter, it will do this automatically
- Question any direct debit increases that seem too high. Your energy company should be able to explain the changes. Your usage and payments should balance out over a year.
Electricity and gas suppliers
Water
Find your local water supplier
You can check who provides your water and sewerage services by entering your postcode here.
Ways to save water
- Turn the water off when shaving, washing hands, brushing teeth
- Fix leaky faucets
- A dripping tap can waste more than 5,300 litres of water a year, so make sure your taps are properly turned off and change washers promptly when taps start to drip.
- Take shorter showers
