Tell the door-to-door salesmen to buzz off

During the summer, door-to-door salesmen from energy companies are as prolific and as busy as bumble bees - but there can be a sting in the tail if you buy from them, as you could be paying over £130 per year more than the best tariff from that provider.

According to industry statistics, 41 per cent of consumers switch as a result of this type of selling activity. Yet, the salesmen can only offer their own tariffs and can't offer the cheapest of all, the online tariff.

The gap between online and offline tariffs has been well documented, but this point can be easily glossed over by a salesman. With claims such as ‘the cheapest standard tariff' or ‘the cheapest capped tariff' switching can be a confusing issue.

The easiest and savviest way to compare tariffs is to use an accredited comparison site, which will compare all the tariffs currently available in the market - including the online ones. If you don't have regular access to a computer, there are still online tariffs that don't have to be managed online - just set up online.

Best-buy tables can be useful but provide only limited information based on assumptions of energy consumption and using a national average price. Your actual consumption and where you live can alter which provider and tariff is the best for your personal circumstances.

Gareth Kloet, Head of Utilities at Confused.com says "Door-to-door salesmen could save you money, especially if you have never switched provider or tariff before, but be careful - only by using an accredited price comparison site are you able to search the entire market and find the best deals from a wide range of options. Our research shows that you could miss out because door-to-door salesmen don't alert you to online savings, or other providers tariffs, so don't just rely on the salesman's patter - check out their claims for yourself. In as little as five minutes online could save you even more money"