Moving into a new house: what to do with your ENGIE, Luminus, TotalEnergies or other contract?
|
March 17, 2021
|
Last update on July 11, 2024
|
10 min.
When you move house, you need to sort out the issue of your energy supply fairly early. What steps do you need to take with your gas or electricity supplier in Belgium? How do you contact their house-moving department? Do you need to fill in a closure form or notify them by telephone? To make sure your move goes smoothly, let’s look at the information you need to communicate to your energy supplier.
Moving house invariably involves a number of administrative tasks. It’s not much fun to organize, but unfortunately, it has to be done. Luckily, the tasks relating to your energy contract have been greatly simplified in recent years. In addition to this good news, a number of initiatives have been introduced to improve your experience as a customer. The energy suppliers have realized that it is in their interest to offer high-quality assistance to their customers, otherwise they risk losing them when they move house.
To guide you through this stage, we will review the services offered to customers by the main energy suppliers in Belgium. We will focus in particular on ENGIE, Luminus, TotalEnergies, Eneco, and Mega.
Before taking any action with your energy supplier, you must ask yourself one question: are you going to keep the same contract, or are you going to switch contract? After all, there are lots of parameters that might change between your old home and your new one: your household has grown, it’s not the same type of house, you’re changing region, etc. Not to mention that, in addition, prices may have fluctuated hugely since you took out your last energy contract.
So, there is only one way to find out whether you should switch contract or not: compare prices. To do this, you simply need to use a comparison site such as Energyprice.be to find a gas or electricity contract which suits your new situation, and which may be cheaper!
Découvrez les promotions des fournisseurs d’énergie !
Comparez les prix de l’électricité et du gaz et changez gratuitement de fournisseur directement sur notre site en 5 clics seulement.
Which documents or pieces of information will you need in order to notify a change of address to your supplier?
Whether you’re switching contract or not, you will still need to notify your supplier that you are moving. In any event, this will enable them to close your account for the supply point you are leaving.
As a result, there are a number of pieces of information that you will have to communicate to the supplier(s) serving your old home and your new home so that they can deal with your file and organize the transition.
To the supplier serving your old home:
The date you are moving out
Your new address
The meter readings for your old home – needed to prepare your final bill, and must be done on the day you hand over the keys to the next occupant of the premises.
The contact information for the previous occupant (requested by Luminus and TotalEnergies, in particular)
*This may be a different supplier or the same one, depending on whether you are switching contract following your move.
Finally, if you notify your move by telephone, you should also keep to hand the customer number and the EAN code(s) of the house you are leaving.
Tip: if you are not keeping the same supplier for your new home, your interactions with the previous supplier will be limited to communicating the meter reading on the day you move out. It is your new supplier that will be responsible for terminating your old contract.
Are you confused about all the information you have to communicate? Ask an energy adviser to help you! Contact us free of charge so that we can guide you through the process.
Contact one of our advisers
Have you compared your rates and gathered all the necessary information? Right, it’s time to begin the practical steps to sort out the energy supply for your new home.
Scenario 1: you keep the same supplier…
… and the same contract
If, after doing a comparison, you can see that your gas or electricity supply contract is one of the best currently available, you will probably want to transfer it to your new address. In that case, you simply need to contact your current supplier to notify them of your situation. The key steps are basically the same for each supplier:
Inform the supplier of your situation and communicate the necessary information.
Receive confirmation of the contract transfer.
Communicate the final or missing information to the supplier (e.g. meter reading).
Receive the final bill for your old home and the installment bill for your new home.
However, suppliers do not all have the same communication channels, as we will see later.
… but you change your price plan
The process will basically be the same as above, except that you will need to specify in the first step that you want to choose a different contract.
However, please note that you are not obliged to make the change through the supplier in question. You can actually switch contract with the same supplier using a price comparison site such as Energyprice.be. We will then take care of managing your file on your behalf, and you just have to send us your meter readings when you hand over the keys.
Compare now all energy suppliers active in Belgium and save money on your bill !
However, if you prefer to sort it out yourself, here are the options offered by the main suppliers for notifying them that you are moving.
With ENGIE, Luminus, and Eneco: priority given to online management
If you are moving, ENGIE, Luminus, and Eneco all recommend using your online customer account to manage your contract transfer. You just need to log on, submit your request and follow the instructions.
Please note that Luminus also clearly highlights a telephone number (078 180 183) for people who might be less comfortable with an online process.
ENGIE and Eneco prefer to redirect the customer to an online approach first and foremost, although they can be contacted by telephone, if necessary.
With TotalEnergies : spoilt for choice
The third-largest supplier in Belgium offers multiple options. You can notify them of your move in three different ways:
By telephone, on 0800 11 115 (free number)
By email, to move@totalenergies.be (or even by post)
Via the online customer space, by completing the relevant form
Note, however, that, in spite of all these options, TotalEnergies seems to prefer the telephone route above all.
With Mega: a mainly telephone approach
The Liège-based supplier prefers to concentrate on direct dialogue. So, to transfer your current contract to your new home, you need to call 04 268 20 00 or send an email to the general address: info@mega.be.
Scenario 2: you change supplier completely
Many people are reluctant to change suppliers as they imagine it will complicate the administrative process. In reality, it’s quite the opposite, and it could even make your life easier!
Compare your rates on Energyprice.be and choose your perfect contract.
Communicate your house-move information via the online form. We will take care of forwarding it to your old supplier and your new supplier, and we will monitor your file.
Receive confirmation of the start of your new contract and the end of your old contract. You do not need to cancel your old contract yourself as it’s been sorted out already.
Communicate the final or missing information (e.g. meter reading).
Receive the final bill for your old home and the installment bill for your new one.
Note that you can also do your own market research and then take out your contract via your new supplier’s website, without using a price comparison site. But this process will take up precious time and give you a result that is identical at best and less favorable for your wallet at worst. So, simplify your move with a certified comparison site!
Which energy supplier suits you best? Find it out with a simulation!
Scenario 3: you don’t need a new energy contract
This may be the case if you’re moving to another country or if you’re renting a property where the owner looks after the energy. In such cases, you just need to cancel your contract. We describe how you should proceed in this article.
Summary
Each supplier has their own way of working when it comes to managing your energy contract when you move house. So it would be easier to manage your energy contracts via a price comparison site unless you would rather keep your current contract. It’s up to you; you can usually complete the process via your online customer space. If not, you will be able to rely on telephone support. To help you through this process, here’s a summary of the options available if you need to notify your supplier that you are moving.
Do you want to avoid having to choose any of these methods? If so, use an online price comparison site such as Energyprice.be to manage your energy supply when you move!
Which energy supplier suits you best? Find it out with a simulation!
