Switching providers to save money on bills can be tiresome. You need to scour comparison websites for deals, assessing variable and fixed tariffs to work out what is best for you. Inertia causes many households to avoid switching and stick with old deals that may have expired and changed into pricey variable tariffs.
The good news is that there are now several auto-switching services that will take on the boring administration of finding and switching to a better deal for you and save you money.
For a comparison of the top auto-switching services, check out our article 'Compare the best auto-switching energy services in the UK – save money on utilities without even trying'.
What is Look After My Bills?
Look After My Bills, was founded in January 2018 by tech entrepreneur Will Hodson and former government adviser Henry de Zoete. Both were behind energy switching collective 'The Big Deal', which aims to get reduced tariffs for households if it can get enough people to sign up. The pair also became household names when they achieved what was dubbed the “best equity deal” in the history of BBC series Dragons’ Den. They secured £120,000 for just a 3% share of the business from investors Tej Lalvani and Jenny Campbell. Look After My Bills has also had backing from Silicon Valley investor Y Combinator.
It has built up a base of 500,000 eager switchers and promises to save users £253 on average. What’s more, the service is absolutely free. So, is Look After My Bills any good?
How does Look After My Bills work?
Look After My Bills aims to take on all the workload of energy switching. All you have to do is locate and enter your current tariff details – which you will find on your latest bill – and then authorise the website to monitor and switch deals on your behalf.
It promises a two-minute sign-up process. First, you need to enter your email and postcode, with an option of whether you wish to receive additional money-saving emails; you do not have to tick the box in order to sign up. Next, you'll need to confirm your email address as well as your property number and street name. You then need to choose which energy services you have and locate your supplier. The most common brands are shown first and you will need to scroll down to find smaller suppliers. There is no function to type the name of your supplier, which would perhaps be an improvement that could make the process even faster. You will also be asked for the name of the tariff as well as your gas and electricity usage each year. This will all be on your latest energy bill. You can even specify when you sign up that you only want deals that contain 100% renewable electricity and whether you are eligible for a warm home discount.
Look After My Bill’s algorithm then gets to work and comes up with the best deal for you. You will only see one option and there is not the choice you would get on a comparison website. In a lot of ways, this is positive as it prevents the choice paralysis consumers often experience when using price comparison sites, whereby choice overwhelm causes them to do nothing.
If you are happy with the proposed energy tariff you then need to complete the form, enter your bank details and legally authorise the website to manage switches for you. Look After My Bills will contact your old supplier to tell them you are leaving, so you can avoid those awkward conversations with a call centre. You will then need to provide a meter reading to your old and new supplier so you can get a final bill and start saving money on your new one.
When the first deal you switch to eventually expires or a better offer becomes available, Look After My Bills will switch you again automatically. This takes the hassle out of remembering when your tariff is set to expire and stops energy providers from quietly moving you onto their expensive standard rate tariffs. When you receive all the details about your new supplier you will have a 14-day cooling-off period within which to cancel the switch. You will need to do this directly with the energy company and must also inform Look After My Bills if you are cancelling.
Signing up to Look After My Bills may be easy enough, but cancelling the service can be clunky as rather than doing it automatically online, you will need to email support with your postcode and cancellation in the subject line.
What products do Look After My Bills compare and switch?
Look After My Bills compares and switches energy deals and has more recently added the functionality to compare broadband deals on its site. Currently, only its energy switching service can automatically switch you to a new provider, however, its broadband service can still find you the best deals.
Look After My Bills energy switching service
Look After My Bills will only switch you to an energy company that pays a commission and so it is worth remembering that there could be a better deal available. If cost is your driving factor, you may get a cheaper deal by using a paid auto-switching service, such as Switchd*as it earns money from both commission and customer subscriptions and so is able to offer every available deal. Additionally, Switchd customers can get 3 months free subscription if they sign up via our exclusive Money to the Masses offer*.
Some of the suppliers listed on Look After My Bills include British Gas, SSE, EDF, Good Energy, Octopus, OVO and Bulb. As we explained earlier, smaller players, which can often top the best buys, may not pay commissions so won’t necessarily be considered. If not every energy company is included in their comparison then there is the possibility that while you may end up on a cheaper deal you won't end up on the cheapest gas and electricity tariff possible.
Look After My Bills has temporarily paused its energy auto-switching service as there is a lack of deals currently available due to the current cost of living crisis.
Look After My Bills broadband switching service
Look After My Bills has recently expanded into broadband comparison and allows you to search for the best broadband and packaged deals in the market for your area. All you need to do is estimate how much you use the internet each month and share how many people will be using the internet in your household and then you will be shown results based on the information you provided. You can also filter broadband deals that are suitable for your monthly budget and based on contract length.
Unlike its auto energy switching service, Look After My Bills does not switch your broadband provider automatically when your contract ends. You will need to check with your existing provider for any early exit fees if you leave your contract early.
Will Look After My Bills always offer the best energy deals?
Look After My Bills says it will offer you the best energy deal. Its algorithms scour the market and compare prices from suppliers based on where you live and your usage. It is important not to confuse “the best” with “the cheapest.” Price isn’t the only factor it will take into account, with its formula also looking at customer service, which is important if there are ever any issues with your supply. It also looks at how easy it is to sign up and takes customer feedback into account as well as how firms are rated by independent organisations like the Citizens Advice Bureau.
It is worth considering that you will only be switched to energy companies that will pay a referral fee. This may exclude some energy providers but hopefully should still cover most of the market. To ensure you are switched to the cheapest suppliers and get the very best energy deals you may be better looking at a service that charges a small fee, check out our review of Switchd for more information.
Look After My Bills has temporarily paused its energy auto-switching service as there is a lack of deals currently available. Look After My Bills says:
"Due to the rising cost of energy many energy suppliers have been forced to remove their tariffs, which means it’s difficult to find reasonably-priced deals at the moment.
We’re temporarily pausing our energy switching service, but we’ll be back as soon as we can access energy deals that are right for you and give you the great service you deserve."
For more information on the energy price rise and what you can do about it, read our article, 'Energy bills to rise by £693 – what help is available and should you fix?'
How does Look After My Bills make money?
The Look After My Bills service is free to users but it makes money by taking a commission from the energy companies that it switches people to. This is the same amount whichever the energy company, so there is no risk of bias, and it promises only to switch you to companies it trusts and who provide good customer service.
Look After My Bills customer reviews
Look After My Bills has a Trustpilot rating of 4.4 out of 5.0 stars from over 29,000 customer reviews. 84% of customers rate the switching service as 'Excellent' citing great customer service, a less stressful energy switching experience and savings of a few hundred pounds. 9% of customers rated Look After My Bills as 'Bad' citing poor communication and some errors when switching.
Alternatives to Look After My Bills
There are alternatives to Look After My Bills that assess your usage and highlight deals that could save you money on your energy, but all of them work slightly differently. We have compared some of the best energy switching services in the below comparison table.
Look After My Bills vs MSE cheap energy club vs BillBuddy vs Switchd
| Look After My Bills | MSE Cheap Energy Club | BillBuddy | Switchd* | |
| Automatic energy switching service |  |
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| Broadband deals | |
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| Mobile deals | |
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| Cost | Free | Free | Free | Free/£1.99/£3.49/£4.99 a month |
| Whole of Market | |
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**Option for an annual switch each year but this has to be approved by you beforehand and is not automatic
***Compares all UK energy suppliers but will only switch you to companies it has a relationship with
The MoneySavingExpert Cheap Energy Club, set up by Martin Lewis, is a free service that scours the market to find subscribers the cheapest deal. It won’t automatically switch you but will send an email alert when you could save money. You can set your alerts by how much you want to save on your energy. MSE Cheap Energy Club will get a commission from some of the suppliers if you switch and users can also earn up to £25 cashback.
BillBuddy works in a similar way to Look After My Bills, but you are also able to switch broadband and mobile deals. Other services, such as Switchd* scour the market for deals that can save you at least £50 on your energy bills. Their scope is arguably wider as they do not rely on suppliers that will pay a commission, instead they charge a monthly or annual fee. Check out our article 'Compare the best auto-switching energy services in the UK – save money on utilities without even trying'.
Pros and Cons of Look After My Bills
Pros of Look After My Bills
- Free to use
- Automatic energy switching
- Find the best broadband deals for your area
- Quick and easy sign-up
- 14-day cooling-off period if you don't like the supplier
Cons of Look After My Bills
- Only recommends providers they have deals with
- May not be the cheapest deal
- For direct debit customers only
- For domestic users only
Summary
There is no doubt that the best way to save money on your energy and broadband bill is by switching regularly. Look After My Bills is a useful service that will save you the time and hassle of constantly finding a new deal and dealing with your old supplier. It takes away the legwork of comparing prices and understanding what different tariffs mean. But whichever service you use, the best savings will come from providing regular and accurate meter readings to your supplier, so switching to a better deal is really just the beginning.
If a link has an * beside it this means that it is an affiliated link. If you go via the link Money to the Masses may receive a small fee which helps keep Money to the Masses free to use. But as you can clearly see this has in no way influenced this independent and balanced review of the product. The following links can be used if you do not wish to help Money to the Masses - Switchd
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