About hellobills

I kept opening my energy bill and having no idea whether I was being ripped off. So I built this.

Who's Behind This

I'm Romero, a software engineer based in London and Kent. I've spent over a decade building web applications and working with data, and I started hellobills after spending an unreasonable amount of time trying to understand my own energy bill. I realised the information was all out there, buried in Ofgem PDFs, supplier terms and conditions, and regulator consultation documents, but nobody was explaining it in plain English without trying to sell you something.

My background is in software engineering, not financial advice. What I bring to this is the ability to read through dense regulatory documents, pull out the numbers that actually matter, and present them clearly. Every guide on this site is researched from primary sources: Ofgem price cap announcements, Ofwat determinations, Ofcom market reports, FCA data, and the actual tariff sheets and terms published by suppliers. I cross-reference figures against multiple sources before publishing, and I update guides quarterly when regulators release new data.

I don't have a team of writers or a content mill behind this. I research and write every guide myself, which means updates take longer but the quality stays consistent. If something on the site is wrong, that's on me, and I'll fix it. You can reach me through the contact page.

Why This Exists

Comparison sites want you clicking affiliate links. Money-saving blogs recycle the same generic tips. Regulator websites are accurate but read like legal documents. There was a gap for something that just explained how things work, showed you the real numbers, and helped you work out whether you were overpaying, without pushing you towards a particular deal.

hellobills fills that gap. The goal is to save you time and money by cutting through the noise. No sales pitches, no "top 10 tips" that tell you to turn the lights off. Just the maths, the deadlines, and the things that actually make a difference.

What's Here

Each guide explains how a specific type of bill works, what affects the cost, and how to check if you're overpaying. The site currently covers energy (gas and electricity), broadband and phone, council tax, water, and household insurance. The boring stuff that costs you hundreds if you ignore it.

Figures come directly from Ofgem, Ofcom, Ofwat, the FCA, ONS household data, and company rate cards. Where I reference specific costs or averages, I link to the source so you can verify it yourself. If a saving is real, I'll say so. If it's a waste of time, I'll say that too.

How Guides Are Researched

Every guide follows the same process. I start with the relevant regulator's published data, Ofgem for energy, Ofwat for water, Ofcom for broadband, the FCA for insurance. I then cross-reference with consumer organisations like Citizens Advice, Money Helper, and Which?. Where costs or averages are quoted, I check them against at least two independent sources. Guides are reviewed and updated at least quarterly, or sooner when there's a significant change like a new price cap.

I also test advice against my own bills where possible. If I recommend checking your standing charge or requesting a water meter, it's because I've done it myself and can tell you what the process actually looks like, not just what the regulator's FAQ says it should be.

Affiliate Links and How This Site Earns Money

Some pages on hellobills contain affiliate links, clearly marked with a disclosure notice. If you click through and sign up to a deal, I may earn a small commission. This doesn't affect the price you pay and it doesn't influence which deals I recommend. I compare deals based on total cost and value, not commission rates.

Many guides on this site contain no affiliate links at all, they exist purely to explain how something works. The site isn't built around maximising affiliate revenue. It's built around being genuinely useful, and the affiliate income helps cover hosting and research time.

For full details, see the affiliate disclosure page.

No Gatekeeping

Everything here is free. No paywalls, no email gates, no "subscribe to unlock the full guide" nonsense. The information already exists in regulator documents and supplier terms. I've translated it into plain English and pointed out which bits matter.