Bigbury Post Office & Stores

"Absolutely no point in paying any more than you need to."

• Location: Devon
• Sector: Retail
• Saving: £2k
  

Situated on the South Devon Coast in the heart of an area of outstanding natural beauty, Bigbury-on-Sea offers wonderful safe sandy beaches stretching to the historic Burgh Island at low tide, with its unique sea tractor for crossing to and from the mainland.

Bigbury Post Office & Stores operates all year round and, being the only shop in the village, is very much the centre of the community both in and out of the hectic holiday season. As well as newspapers and magazines, it offers groceries, fruit & veg, dairy, off licence, sweets and of course plenty of Devon ice cream. With always-on chillers, heating and lighting, the shop's electricity meter is dizzy enough to clock-up in the region of 27,000 units a year. At 8p/unit and an annual standing charge of £230, this has been costing proprietor, Carolyn Hunt, about £2,400 for the past three years.

However as her contract was due for renewal, she received a letter from her business electricity supplier at the start of the year informing her of the rates were about to double (to take into account of the price rises that have taken place since the start of her contract in 2006). This sent alarm bells ringing... prompting Carolyn to reply with a termination letter and shop around for the cheapest electric rates she could find. Selecting several price comparison services via the internet she was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to obtain cheaper quotes over the phone.

Make It Cheaper came up with the best deal at 10p/unit and £50 a year standing charge as a new customer with a different supplier. Although this is slightly more than she is used to paying, it is significantly lower than the renewal price her current supplier was suggesting. She instructed Make It Cheaper to switch suppliers on her behalf which it did without charge. As a result, Bigbury Post Office & Stores is safe in the knowledge that it is unlikely to be paying any more than £2,900 a year for its electricity the next three years.