News in brief

News in brief

Turning down your gas bill can save you £200 a year

Householders on the most expensive gas tariff are paying 45 per cent more than if they were to sign up to the cheapest one.

The findings, based on an analysis of all gas tariffs in the UK by utilities-switching website energyhelpline.com, show a growing discrepancy between the best and worst deals for gas.

A typical household signed up to Utility Warehouse's 'low user' tariff paying by quarterly billing is spending £670 a year on gas. The cheapest deal, Atlantic's Domestic Standard Online tariff paid by direct debit, is more than £200 cheaper at £462 a year.

The difference between mainstream suppliers' prices is also vast. The same household would pay £617 a year on a prepayment meter with British Gas, but only £505 by direct debit with Scottish & Southern.

'UK gas prices differ wildly, but at the end of the day it's the same gas,' says Mark Todd, director at energyhelpine.com. 'Suppliers may have different costs coming at them along the delivery chain, forcing them to price gas differently, but there's no reason for consumers to miss out.'

Householders are also paying what switching website uSwitch.com describes as a 10 per cent 'local loyalty tax' for electricity if they stick with the provider that used to be the monopoly supplier in their area.

Npower is the worst culprit, says the website. It charges customers.....continued below

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in its 'home' regions £398 a year on average, £54 more than its customers in other parts of the country on the same plan and using the same amount of power.

It's a tough transfer market for Isas

If you are looking to transfer your existing Isa elsewhere to earn a better rate of interest, you may have a long search on your hands. New research by Abbey shows that one in five Isa accounts do not accept transfers, meaning that you may not be entitled to higher-earning accounts.

Susan Hannums, savings manager at financial adviser AWD Chase de Vere, says: 'The better the interest rate on an Isa, the less likely it is you will be able to transfer money in. There is a real lack of transfer accounts, especially since the amounts you can pay into an Isa have increased. The best rates are really only for new money.'

According to Hannums, only three out of the top 10 Isas allow money to be transferred in. Some providers may charge you to transfer - Portman building society charges customers a £30 administration fee for transferring money out of its 15-day notice Isa into any other Isa with a different bank.

One of the three top accounts that allows transfers is Abbey's Direct Isa, which pays 6.25 per cent interest on balances over £9,000, including a 0.5 per cent bonus rate until May 2008. On balances under £9,000, it pays 6 per cent. Hannums says: 'This isn't bad if you fall into the top tier of interest, but you could find better rates if you haven't got £9,000, and I would recommend switching when the bonus rate ends.'

She prefers Kent Reliance building society's Direct Easy Access Isa, which pays 6.21 per cent on anything over £1. 'This is one of the best Isas to transfer into if you feel you're not earning enough on your existing account,' she says. The account can only be managed by post.