[Finance] Energy Prices and fixed tariffs

swindonseagull said:

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.

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Seagull58 said:

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.

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WATFORD zero said:

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

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Papak said:

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.

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Green Cross Code Man said:

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

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Green Cross Code Man said:

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

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swindonseagull said:

Only ones showing on comparison sites are

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

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Green Cross Code Man said:

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

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Papak said:

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.

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heavysoul said:

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!

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Worthingite said:

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.

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