Utilities - For Those Moving to London

We're moving into our new flat on Tuesday of next week, which is a few days later than planned, but J's not too upset about it since that means fewer days on the air mattress until our furniture arrives. In the meantime, I'm trying to get the utilities set up for the new place, but I've become paralyzed by choice.

Back in the US, there's always just been one choice for most utilities, and cable or satellite for TV. Not so much here. I have an option of 2 providers for my water, about 30 for gas and electricity (not necessarily the same for both), and 10 freaking options for phone, broadband and TV. This is insane.

But I've finally narrowed it down using the providers' websites and a few others such as www.moneysavingexpert.com, broadbandchecker.co.uk, and uswitch.com.

Water - Thames Water
Gas & Electricity - EDF (recommended by the landlord, and cheaper than the other recommendation British Gas)
Phone, TV, Broadband - The debate basically came down to BT v. Sky, and we're probably going to go with Sky but that depends on whether the landlord is okay with a satellite being installed. Our flat doesn't have a phone line, and that's why we were considering BT since the cost of installation is pretty high but drops down considerably if you sign up for their services. But then I found out that Sky does installation too --> Bye bye, BT.

Some things to note:
1. Utilities are billed either monthly or quarterly or you can even pay everything up front.

2. The cost of various utilities may come down if you pay the total up front, use direct debiting, and opt for paperless billing.

3. Phone and Broadband - If your flat does not have a phone line installed, BT can install one for ~128 GBP. If you opt for Sky, they can also install a phone line. You need a land line for broadband internet, unless you have cable available in your area (provided by Virgin only).

4. TV - You can opt for Freeview (a box with ~60 channels without a subscription fee), FreeSat (a box with ~250 channels and HD without a subscription fee), or a subscription service i.e. those offered by Sky. You also have to pay a TV license fee of ~130 GBP or you will be fined a hefty amount. They actually have patrollers cruising the streets with special TV detecting equipment. I am not kidding.

5. Water - This is often based on "estimated usage" and you need to get fitted with a water meter if you want to be charged based on actual use. You can compare the costs to figure out whether to get fitted or not - Thames Water installs them for free.

6. Check the meters when you first move into a place so that you're not charged for the previous tenant's use. You'll probably be happy to have someone show them to you, since they're usually not where you thought they'd be.

7. Council tax - This varies by borough, and is assessed by the local council based on the value of the property. The tenant, not the owner, is usually responsible for paying this, and it costs about ~1000 GBP per year.

8. Everything takes longer than it does in the States. I'm thinking I'll be lucky if I got my internet up and running any time in the next two weeks.