[Finance] Is it time to look at fixed rate prices for gas & electricity

[Wardy's twin]

I know its down to personal choice and crystal balls but does anyone have any insight on whether its a good time to change/renew on fix rates.

 

[Brownstuff]

I would recommend not. Although prices are going up by about 5% in Jan they are predicted to come down in the April price review and then again later in 2024. However impossible to know what’s round the corner in world events. The government would likely step in again if energy prices rocketed.

 

[Blue3]

our contract which was for 3 years expired just recently and we were offered a new contract or to go onto a variable tariff after some consideration we opted for a fixed 12 month contract with the view it’s short term and we know what the budget wil be at least 12 months,obviously we are hoping the costs start to decrease but I’m not that hopeful

 

[Weststander]

Martin Lewis says no in general, you've missed the decent price fixes available a couple of months ago.

 

[Zeberdi]

Martin Lewis says no in general, you've missed the decent prices fixes available a couple of months ago.

I know my fuel company raised the cost of fixed rate to 3 x what I would pay even under the current cap last year - in retrospect, even with the sharp increases, it was still cheaper with the price capped tariff (did customers get the government fuel rebate if they were on a fixed rate, I dont know that they did?) so there’s no guarantee companies are even selling tariffs cheaper than what customers would otherwise be paying this winter with the cap increase. Tried other companies last spring but by they were not selling to new customers at the time, maybe they are now?

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

did customers get the government fuel rebate if they were on a fixed rate, I dont know that they did?

If you mean the £67 a month that was being paid this time last year then a majority of households (if not all?) should have had it. I was on a fixed rate until March this year and I certainly got it.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Have just come off a 2 year fix with British Gas and was paying c£75 for gas and c£75 a month for electric

Just taken another two year fix as below

Now paying £135 electric £70 gas, so up 25%. I am not convinced the market is ready to stabilise yet so have gone for certainty.

 

[Billy the Fish]

Martin Lewis says no in general, you've missed the decent price fixes available a couple of months ago.

Good old Martin, I fixed couple of months ago when he said to do it.

 

[LamieRobertson]

I find this GUIDE from MoneySavingExpert useful…obvs no guarantee.

 

[Wardy's twin]

I find this GUIDE from MoneySavingExpert useful…obvs no guarantee.

View attachment 170657

Thanks , I saw that on line about 30 mins ago and factored that into my projection..... I am going to fix my rate, at least I know what i will be paying for the year though its projected to be

Have just come off a 2 year fix with British Gas and was paying c£75 for gas and c£75 a month for electric

Just taken another two year fix as below

Now paying £135 electric £70 gas, so up 25%. I am not convinced the market is ready to stabilise yet so have gone for certainty.

View attachment 170654

same here not convinced about stability of fuel prices so opting with fixed rate... my own calculations and money experts online calculator indicate I will pay 4-5% above what i would pay if stayed on variable AND their estimates of rises/drops take place. In the scheme of things I will be paying £450 a year less than last year at the new fixed (assumes similar usage) so good for me.

 

[Wardy's twin]

Good old Martin, I fixed couple of months ago when he said to do it.

as a matter of interest what sort of rates did you get.

 

[Wardy's twin]

If you mean the £67 a month that was being paid this time last year then a majority of households (if not all?) should have had it. I was on a fixed rate until March this year and I certainly got it.

Yes, that was the one - I was on the capped tariff - wasn’t sure if those on the fixed rate got it or not.

I went through my last years bills with a fine tooth comb , there were two discounts the £67 ones and a price cap one which was shown on my bills by a reduction in the billing I think it showed something between 17p -35p per unit of electricity and between 2p -6p for gas billed as reductions/negatives/rebates.

 

[Steve in Japan]

I just fixed for 22 months with Br Gas. Time will tell.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Fixed rates are just like any type of insurance.

You will pay a small premium to insure against the volatility of the market, and that's what you should make your decision on. Are you happy to pay the small premium to offset the chance of you getting bitten by an increase (the larger the bite, the lesser the chance).

As long as you understand this, I think everyone needs to make their own decision. Sorry

 

[Wardy's twin]

Fixed rates are just like any type of insurance.

You will pay a small premium to insure against the volatility of the market, and that's what you should make your decision on. Are you happy to pay the small premium to offset the chance of you getting bitten by an increase (the larger the bite, the lesser the chance).

As long as you understand this, I think everyone needs to make their own decision. Sorry

Not an issue , think you are totally correct about individual decisions , I was trawling to see if there was something obvious I had missed.

Its all about 'what ifs' and to me those 'what ifs' remain still biased towards prices going up rather than down. So took the plunge having gone over the figures and working out potential plus & minuses.

 

[Super Steve Earle]

Martin said yes a couple of months ago, so I fixed with Octopus on a Loyal Customer Fix product. Took £200 out of my pot and reduced the DD by £20pm which keeps the pot steady around £350 in credit for the winter.

 

[bluenitsuj]

All current fixes are a lot more than what we currently pay.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

All current fixes are a lot more than what we currently pay.

I came off a fixed last week, the new fixed rates were line (+-£100) with the standard variable rates on British Gas. This was the day before the energy price cap for January 2024 was announced but can’t see that having too much swing on the SVR

 

[GOM]

For all those saying the have fixed so they know what they will pay, all you know is how much each unit costs. It's not like you have fixed your outgoings. How much you end up paying will still depend on what your usage is.
Obviously.

 

[banjo]

Email from Shell Energy today, moving customers to Octopus. So who knows.