New ‘Costco for bills’ app claims it will slash your family’s yearly costs by £2,000 – here’s how it works

A COSTCO-style membership for household bills that promises to slash your families’ costs by up to £1,000 is launching in the UK. The AI-powered app, called Alfred, will begin offering £195 annual membership fees to households from this winter. In turn, families will get energy, mobile, insurance and broadband at wholesale prices, which are normally cheaper than retail prices. It also promises to take away the hassle of switching and managing multiple providers for your bills. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! Founded by tech entrepreneur Tom Inskip, who is a close friend of Prince Harry’s, Alfred has already struck deals with Eon, Virgin Media 02, BT and a host of insurance companies. It has also secured an Ofgem licence to provide energy and gas. The app currently has a waiting list open, and is set to launch in October or November this year. Founder Tom claims families that spend a lot on energy and mobile bills can save up to £1,000 a year, while the largest households could save up to £2,000. It is planning to reach 50,000 members in the next three years, and has secured £5million from investors including pro golfer Justin Rose and Amazon’s first investor Nick Hanauer. For £195 a year, members get buy-in-bulk rates directly from Alfred, which negotiates with wholesale providers on your behalf. Most read in Money This model is the same as Costco, where shoppers pay an annual membership for access to lower wholesale prices. The annual membership is the same for everyone, so you save money the more bills you sign up for through the app. Tom Inskip, founder and chief executive of Alfred, said: “We’re building Alfred on the belief that people want a single provider, whose job it is to manage all your essential services at the lowest possible price.” Comment now