'Nous takes the responsibility off your shoulders – and saves you money'

Becky is a mum-of-two from Southend in Essex, who works in HR.

While she describes herself as “very organised” with her bills, the amount of time it takes to research fair deals and switch to new providers meant she didn’t always get round to it. 

Becky joined Nous after her company, Peabody, offered membership to all of their employees, and saved more than £300 on her energy bills.

‍How did you manage the job of getting fair deals on your bills before you joined Nous?‍

I’d say I’m very organised. I keep spreadsheets and I balance my accounts every month, staying on top of what’s coming in and out. 

When it comes to renewing contracts, I usually did the usual stuff – I’d look on Google and price comparison sites to see what’s out there. I also check reviews to see who’s good, because sometimes the cheapest price doesn’t come with good service.

‍What was the worst thing about staying on top of your bills?‍

It’s so time-consuming and frustrating – you end up putting your details into lots of websites again and again. You’re not always comparing like for like, either. So you have to spend time working out whether an offer is really right for you.

That meant I sometimes let things slip when I didn’t have the mental capacity for it.

At the minimum, I’d just ring up my current provider and ask for the best deal they could do. That way you might save a bit, but you’re not getting the best deal out there. 

‍To what extent did you realise you were paying more than you needed to for your bills?‍

We’d just moved house and the new place already had a provider set up. I knew it wasn’t a good deal and that I needed to find something better.

‍How did you find the process of getting set up with Nous?‍

It wasn’t hard at all. I went to a Peabody money-session, I answered a few questions, and within minutes I was signed up. I needed to give a bit more information, and that was easy to manage because it was all through WhatsApp. 

Communicating like that is great, I’ve always got my phone with me, and most of my communication is through WhatsApp anyway.

‍What did you think about being offered Nous through Peabody?‍

I love that Peabody tries to offer as much as it can. The fact they included this shows they care about wellbeing in the round. Not just physical and mental health, but also financial wellbeing, which affects everything else.

It helps with your mental load. That’s the biggest thing. It doesn’t just find you the best deal – it sets everything up for you, so you can just let go. It takes the responsibility off your shoulders and saves you money.

I’d encourage my colleagues to try it. All you stand to gain is savings. If it’s not the right deal, at least you know what’s out there. You’re not tied into anything, and it takes away the stress of doing all the research yourself.

‍