Did you know that energy providers are profiting from your confusion when you move home?

No? Well then, you need to read on...

Those lovely folks at Fool.co.uk have unearthed a crafty tactic by utility companies that traps you when you move into your new home.

It affects 2.4 million households, which unwittingly waste £70 million a year because many of you innocently sign up to your utility provider's expensive 'deemed tariff'.

• Deemed tariff is typically 25% more expensive than the cheapest offer
• Utilities bills in homes go onto a deemed tariff after the final meter reading
• 2.4 million home movers a year risk paying deemed-tariff rates

Around 11% of us move home every year, which means that 2.4 million households are automatically put onto deemed tariffs. A deemed tariff is the standard quarterly tariff, which is typically 25% more expensive than the cheapest offer available from the same supplier!

While switching to a cheaper supplier can be requested when you take over a property, it can take up to four weeks for the billing process to be transferred.

So, with combined utility bills costing around £1,400 a year for a typical three-bedroom house, you homeowners are collectively spending 25% or £70 million unnecessarily because you have signed up to a deemed tariff. (This assumes you switch to cheaper tariffs within a month).

You need to be aware that when you move out of your house and terminate your utility accounts with a final meter reading, the property instantly switches to a default deemed tariff!

If you are new occupier taking over a property, you are obliged to contact the supplier to register the property in your name. But by so doing, you inadvertently sign up to the deemed tariff; and the longer you wait, the greater the amount of money you have wasted!

David Kuo, Head of Personal Finance at Fool.co.uk, said:

"Moving house is an expensive exercise. And the expense in moving can be made more costly if consumers unsuspectingly sign up to penal energy tariffs.

"New occupants should not delay in switching away from deemed tariffs, even if it means transferring to a monthly direct-debit tariff with the same lender first. The longer you wait, the longer you will be on the most expensive tariff.

"It can be easy to forget that you are on a deemed tariff when there are so many other things to remember at the time of moving house. But putting it onto the back-burner could burn a hole in your finances."

• When you move in, register the gas and electricity in your name on monthly direct debit immediately
• Note down meter readings the minute you step over the threshold
• Ask the supplier about consumption levels at the new property
• Compare providers to identify the best deals
• Review providers as soon as you have real consumption data

Related stories:

£42 per day; the cost of family bills