As autumn approaches and temperatures begin to drop, many households are thinking twice about switching the heating back on. With Christmas also around the corner, families face another expensive time of year, making it a good time to look for ways to cut everyday household costs.
With household budgets at the forefront of many minds, one homeowner says they have saved £300 a year on their energy bills with a free service, describing it as 'like having a PA for house bills'. They used Nous, an AI-powered tool designed to help households save money by managing their bills for them.
How the free service works
With busy lives and household costs continuing to rise, finding the best deals can easily fall to the bottom of the to-do list. Many people may not realise they are paying more than they need to for essential bills, while comparing suppliers and switching deals can be time-consuming.
This is where Nous aims to help, taking care of what it describes as 'boring life admin tasks' on behalf of customers. The company says it monitors all major household providers in the UK, with customers able to get started for free by simply entering their postcode online, reports the Mirror.
With the free service, Nous says households can expect typical savings of £310. It covers two household services and includes one householder login, with users able to choose between 'savings mode' and smart reminders. No card details are required to sign up.
Premium option and alternatives
There's also a premium option, priced at £6.99 monthly. For this, Nous says 'the whole household can worry less and save more while earning cash rewards', with typical savings reaching £960. Unlimited services are managed, there are unlimited householder logins, and there's a choice of savings mode. The premium service also offers smart reminders and WhatsApp chat support, and customers can earn cash rewards, too.
For an alternative, Uswitch is free to use, and it says its experts 'battle to bring you exclusive deals and more control over your bills'. It covers services such as broadband and TV, SIM only, mobile phones, energy, current accounts, credit cards and more. There is also Compare The Market, which offers ways to cut costs on home insurance, car insurance, credit card deals and more. The site states it 'scans for savings to deliver personalised deals ahead of your renewal'.
Customer feedback and reviews
Users of Nous have shared largely positive feedback, with the company receiving an 'Excellent' 4.7 out of five-star rating on Trustpilot from more than 1,200 users.
One shopper said: "Outstanding service. Within a matter of minutes I uploaded information regarding my utilities and 15 minutes later I got an email to say they had saved me £275 over the year and made the switch asap. That simple! Would 100% recommend nous." Another wrote: "Fantastic service. Why did I not come across this sooner? The ease of typing in a few details and hey presto!!"
A third added: "So easy, I barely had to do anything, really appreciate Nous sorting everything to change my energy supplier. They were great and I would definitely recommend." One shopper also praised the service after switching energy supplier, saying: "Easy service to sign up to, once signed up magic happened with no effort from myself and now saving nearly £300 a year on energy bills within two weeks of signing up."
Another wrote: "Excellent service, great communication via WhatsApp. They listened to what I needed and went and found me the perfect broadband package, arranged the engineer visit and set up my direct debit, as well as cancelling my last provider. I'm a busy person and, whilst I have the best intentions, I would have left this to the last minute without Nous. It's like having a PA for house bills!"
However, not every review was completely positive. One customer stated: "Registering with Nous was simple and straightforward. Communication (is) good, except I have emailed about a concern and not had a reply yet." Another reviewer described Nous as: "These guys are game changers for people who care about saving money on boring bills. Help every step of the way."
The service is available to try for free, with no card details required to sign up.
