Gas & Electric prices- New supplier?

[SadLittleLife]

Sorry, another heating bills thread but I'm really starting to panic.
We were paying £120 per month on fixed rate with EDF, ended in May. Just in credit after winter.
They suggested payment of £208 on variable so that's what we've paid since.
I keep checking and their fixed tariff is going up and up. It's gone from £283 to £320 then £462 and today it's £524! That's over £6000 per year 😫
I tried a price comparison site and they're not offering switches.
Thing is my parents were paying exactly the same with EON, £120, and they were offered another fix at £200 or so.
I tried EON but they say not accepting new customers.
I can't possibly afford £524 per month but it seems wrong that I can't get a new supplier. Has anyone got a better deal by switching supplier?

Why would you go back on the fixed rate, you'd be better off staying on the variable. Are you actually using £208 on fuel a month or are you in credit?

I'm hoping that the £208 will keep us in credit over summer.
I would prefer a fixed rate for the security of knowing what I'm paying. Have always been on fixed rate before.
I'm concerned that I'm stuck with EDF and they can charge what they like if we can't switch supplier.
The thought of paying £500 plus per month is frightening and the fact that they are offering this as a fixed tariff suggests that this realistically what they think we'll be using, I assume?

I'm an energy tart and skip from one fixed deal to the next, but I'm stuck too - we got moved over to Shell, and like OP, our DD has gone up and up. We're now paying £280 a month for 3 bed house with four adults all WFH. I've tried to cut back as much as I can, so we have built up £££ credit, but who knows how long that will last.

I've given up trying to switch and fix because it's just not been available, so am just sitting tight waiting to see what happens over the next three months.

I've just come off my fixed deal with edf and am in a similar position (was paying £110, offered £180 variable or £399 fixed but for 2 years).
Couldn't swap to another company.
So I'm stuck on a variable rate (which scares me as a single parent living on disability benefits). The bit that really annoyed me was a minimum of two years to fix when they've always offered 1 year and other companies seem to still offer 1 year fixes.
I've opted to pay £200 a month for now hoping it will build a bit of credit for the winter months but fully expecting that in October they'll increase my direct debit (hopefully not to £399)!

Forget about what you've done before. The market has changed massively. Fixing used to be cheaper. This may no longer be the case but it depends on what your supplier offers.

But sadly, if you're coming off a fix from early last year, you need to factor in around a quadrupling of what you pay for energy by early next year whether you fix now or go onto the price cap.

The only saving grace is hopefully the new PM and Chancellor will increase the already announced help with the cost. Have a look at:

www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/-are-there-any-cheap--fixed-energy-deals-currently-worth-it--/#video

I think this is the situation for lots of people - myself included.

I was jumped from a failed energy supplier to Shell late last year. Since then no other company has been taking on new customers and Shell do not offer fixes. So I am stuck paying the variable, capped rate to Shell until something dramatic changes.

The only fixes available really tend to be a few suppliers offering them to existing customers only.

You can keep your repayments fixed while still being on a variable rate you know. Just make sure your repayments are enough to cover your usage over the whole year.

We’re in a similar position. We moved house last year and we’re stuck with the previous owner’s supplier, Bulb. They folded weeks within moving in and we can’t switch supplier. We’re stuck on the variable tariff in a 5 bed detached house, just the 3 of us. Thankfully we don’t use as much energy as the previous owner and have managed to build up nearly £1000 in credit. This will probably last about two months during the winter! We currently pay £200 DD. I checked my account last week and they suggested we drop out DD to £100. I declined.

I have zero confidence that Truss will do anything significant to help people on this tariff (I don’t want a sodding tax cut), and we’re tightening our belts as much as we can.