[Finance] Energy Prices and fixed tariffs

[swindonseagull]

My fixed tariff with Octopus is coming to an end next month.

Currently I pay £120 per month for a 3 bed largeish house. I am £350 i credit....

Octopus want £284 per month for a fixed 12 month tariff !! WTF..

I can stay flexible ie no tariff for £140 per month...

any good deals out there? Moneysupermarket ? Martin Lewis says dont sign to ant tariff...its a scandelous price for energy.

 

[TomandJerry]

My fixed tariff with Octopus is coming to an end next month.

Currently I pay £120 per month for a 3 bed largeish house. I am £350 i credit....

Octopus want £284 per month for a fixed 12 month tariff !! WTF..

I can stay flexible ie no tariff for £140 per month...

any good deals out there? Moneysupermarket ? Martin Lewis says dont sign to ant tariff...its a scandelous price for energy.

Energy prices are due to go up 50% next year, unless the government does something.

Good luck.

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[Seagull58]

Utility Warehouse is the only one currently recommended (by comparison sites) but the best deals with them are if you take utilities plus phones plus internet.

Disclaimer: My sister is a UW Director. Do your own research.

 

[WATFORD zero]

As I understand it, nobody will give any reasonable fixed deals whilst prices are going through the roof and the price cap is due to be reviewed.

Best bet is to go to variable until the above happens (and expect bills to go up). Sorry

 

[swindonseagull]

Utility Warehouse is the only one currently recommended (by comparison sites) but the best deals with them are if you take utilities plus phones plus internet.

Disclaimer: My sister is a UW Director. Do your own research.

Only ones showing on comparison sites are

OVO £312 per month
Scottish power £229 per month
GEUK £335 per month
Outfox £373

 

[swindonseagull]

As I understand it, nobody will give any reasonable fixed deals whilst prices are going through the roof and the price cap is due to be reviewed.

Best bet is to go to variable until the above happens (and expect bills to go up). Sorry

Which is what I will do...

 

[Papak]

Why do people insist on quoting their monthly DD when talking about the cost of energy? It is as relevant as saying it costs £XX to fill my car with fuel.

You need to look at the number of kWhs consumed and the standing charges to make a meaningful comparison.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

Why do people insist on quoting their monthly DD when talking about the cost of energy? It is as relevant as saying it costs £XX to fill my car with fuel.

You need to look at the number of kWhs consumed and the standing charges to make a meaningful comparison.

Maybe because the OP was directly comparing his current bill with current usage against new charges with the current usage.

 

[swindonseagull]

Maybe because the OP was directly comparing his current bill with current usage against new charges with the current usage.

Exactly that .

as I also said £350 in credit so the DD could be lower.

 

[browneggsandham]

Maybe because the OP was directly comparing his current bill with current usage against new charges with the current usage.

Usage wasn't mentioned. Impossible to know whether the large increase I'd proportionate/reasonable without knowing average usage and both previous & proposed rates.

It could be the OP was fixed into a ridiculously cheap tariff before, the jump to variable will be huge.

Either way, variable is the only way forward at the moment.

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[beorhthelm]

considering the amount gas price risen, a bit above 2x fix price seems pretty good. most the energy providers will be losing a large amount on current fixed deals.

 

[Seagull58]

Only ones showing on comparison sites are

OVO £312 per month
Scottish power £229 per month
GEUK £335 per month
Outfox £373

OK, that was certainly not the case 3 months ago.

 

[Papak]

Maybe because the OP was directly comparing his current bill with current usage against new charges with the current usage.

Except OP wasn't.

It is well known that energy companies offer low DD amounts initially to entice change which is actually meaningless.

As soon as a new customer is on board the monthly DD increases to reflect the true cost of energy used.

 

[Deleted member 37369]

Except OP wasn't.

It is well known that energy companies offer low DD amounts initially to entice change which is actually meaningless.

As soon as a new customer is on board the monthly DD increases to reflect the true cost of energy used.

This is nonsense. When looking to change you get a quote based on your current usage - which your existing supplier provides. That’s how comparison websites work. So you get a quote based on your usage - which will only differ the following year if you make any significant changes to appliances or you use your heating more because we have a long winter cold snap.

Any increase after the customer is on board will only be if the customer has supplied an incorrect usage figure. If what you are saying was true - how come the OP has a £300+ credit balance on his account. I also have a credit balance on my account and payments have stayed the same since I switched!

 

[bluenitsuj]

You have already answered your own question. Do not fix and go on the capped tariff. The cap will rise in April so relook at your options then

 

[BLOCK F]

I am with EON and my fixed rate is up for renewal soon.
I am going variable until the picture becomes clearer.

 

[Papak]

This is nonsense. When looking to change you get a quote based on your current usage - which your existing supplier provides. That’s how comparison websites work. So you get a quote based on your usage - which will only differ the following year if you make any significant changes to appliances or you use your heating more because we have a long winter cold snap.

Any increase after the customer is on board will only be if the customer has supplied an incorrect usage figure. If what you are saying was true - how come the OP has a £300+ credit balance on his account. I also have a credit balance on my account and pavements have stayed the same since I switched!

What was OP's usage then?

 

[Doonhamer7]

I watched a programme on whether to switch with Martin Lewis and I’m sure he said best rate was to stay on variable until Easter when cap gets changed as it’s currently below market cost (I.e supplier is making a loss) but that was a few weeks ago so it might have changed.

 

[Worthingite]

From someone in the Energy industry these are my thoughts (only my opinions though!)

- Stay on the standard variable for as long as it is practical - astonishingly any companies SVT is their cheapest at the moment. It's breathtaking.
- Steer well clear from UW (sorry [MENTION=23440]Seagull58[/MENTION] ) - they're nothing more than a fancy pyramid scheme - the way you get "value" from them is by having your utilities, mobile phone, broadband and insurances with them as a bundle - if you see a cheaper deal elsewhere and pull anything from that bundle you lose the discount and it gets RIDICULOUSLY expensive. I worked for one of the energy suppliers that went bust a few months ago (Igloo), and a few of their staff went there - the horror stories I've heard about their service levels and their tariffs are terrifying.
- Look into renewables if you can - I've now gone to work for a consumer led wind farm start up, but there are loads of others out there that can reduce your energy bills by investing in their infrastructure. All very clever, but I would absolutely recommend research.

Overall it is a horrific time to be coming out of contract, with that said though Octopus are known in the industry as being one of the good guys, their tech is out of this world, and their service is second to none. In 5 years time they are going to be rivalling BGAS as being the UK's biggest energy supplier, I don't doubt it for a second. They've had a stonking investment from the US (Al Gore's climate change fund I believe) that has put them in a great position despite everything going on in the industry. And their Octopus Go tariff is very clever, something I will likely go with myself once this has died down and my SMETS1 Smart meter has had it's software upgraded.

 

[Seagull58]

From someone in the Energy industry these are my thoughts (only my opinions though!)

- Stay on the standard variable for as long as it is practical - astonishingly any companies SVT is their cheapest at the moment. It's breathtaking.
- Steer well clear from UW (sorry [MENTION=23440]Seagull58[/MENTION] ) - they're nothing more than a fancy pyramid scheme - the way you get "value" from them is by having your utilities, mobile phone, broadband and insurances with them as a bundle - if you see a cheaper deal elsewhere and pull anything from that bundle you lose the discount and it gets RIDICULOUSLY expensive. I worked for one of the energy suppliers that went bust a few months ago (Igloo), and a few of their staff went there - the horror stories I've heard about their service levels and their tariffs are terrifying.
- Look into renewables if you can - I've now gone to work for a consumer led wind farm start up, but there are loads of others out there that can reduce your energy bills by investing in their infrastructure. All very clever, but I would absolutely recommend research.

Overall it is a horrific time to be coming out of contract, with that said though Octopus are known in the industry as being one of the good guys, their tech is out of this world, and their service is second to none. In 5 years time they are going to be rivalling BGAS as being the UK's biggest energy supplier, I don't doubt it for a second. They've had a stonking investment from the US (Al Gore's climate change fund I believe) that has put them in a great position despite everything going on in the industry. And their Octopus Go tariff is very clever, something I will likely go with myself once this has died down and my SMETS1 Smart meter has had it's software upgraded.

Interesting. I can't personally agree or disagree about UW because I don't live in the UK and don't use them. So I googled "reviews of Utility Warehouse" and this one came up
https://www.householdmoneysaving.com/utility-warehouse-review/
"Utility Warehouse is a discount club that offers energy bundled with other utilities. According to Which? they became an energy supplier back in 2013 after buying 770,000 customers from Npower. Currently, they are the biggest energy provider outside of the “Big 6”. They also scored top for customer satisfaction out of all the energy providers – although that bar is set quite low…"
This also came up from Which: -
https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/ene...ompany-reviews/utility-warehouse-arMyL2D8l4qv
Utility Warehouse came 7th out of 25 energy companies rated by 7,460 members of the public in the annual Which? energy customer survey.
Utility Warehouse scored well on two of the four aspects of service we were able to rate in our survey and fair on the other two. Three years ago Utility Warehouse topped our energy companies table and also received the Utilities Brand of the Year at the 2018 Which? Awards for its mobile, broadband and energy services. It won this award again in 2020.

Your anecdotal horror stories tell one story but these reviews tell a different one. You work in the energy industry so you have "skin in the game". I have a relative in UW so I also could be considered to have skin in the game

Edit: Pyramid schemes are illegal in the UK.