3 Thing You Need to do When Changing Address

 

In the UK there are over 3 million people each year that move home. As we know, home movers that are changing address will have a lot of moving administration and must update dozens of providers. Alongside this, you’ll also need to organise your home move, sort out your deposit and potentially instruct a few professionals. That’s why in this article we’ll cover the 3 most important activities you need to cover when changing address.
 

Update your address on the electoral register

One of the most important address updates to make is with the electoral register. This is the register from the UK Government (HMRC) that details where each person in the UK lives. The Electoral Roll enables you to vote and is used by credit reference agencies to validate your physical address. Therefore, it’s important that you complete your electoral register change of address when moving home. Once updated online you will be able to vote at your new address.

Update your address at the right time

When moving home there are an average of 21 companies that you need to update your address with. The question becomes, who do you update your address with and when? You’ll need to update your address with your energy, broadband, council tax and water providers first. Your broadband can take 2 – 4 weeks to setup, so you’ll need to arrange that well in advance. Likewise, your energy supply takes 2 weeks to transfer over. If you don’t transfer your energy or setup on a new tariff you will be placed onto the standard variable tariff which is very expensive.
 
The same also applies with updating your council tax and water. These organisations require 2-3 weeks of notice to update your address and setup your new account. On the other hand, the electoral roll is best completed the week of your move. Other businesses such as loyalty cards and governmental bodies like NHS, HMRC etc.. are also best done the week of your home move.

Let your family know you're moving home

Finally, once you’ve updated your address with everyone at the right times you’ll need to let your friends and family know. This one can seem really obvious, however you’d be surprised how many people don’t pass on their address to friends and family. The impact of not doing this means that personalised gifts, cards and more can get into the wrong hands. Imagine the purchaser of your home opening a heart-felt congratulations card with a gift card attached. Not great. The easiest way to overcome this is to send out a group text message to everyone that has your address.

Bonus tip

The final bonus tip is about your personal information. Fraudsters who specialise in identify fraud relish in home movers as it presents the perfect opportunity. You can circumnavigate this risk by updating your banking institutions and other companies about your move. The less mail that goes to your previous address the lesser the risk of impersonation or even fraud.