Messed up. Need advice

[Thinkimadeamistakeagain]

I have discalculia

I think i made a big mistake fixing energy bill. I struggled to understand but was offered a fixed deal a few weeks ago and took it as had seen advice to.

Now it’s looking like that was wrong? Do exit fees mean that’s what I have to pay to go back to variable ?

If the energy thing is frozen is that just for those on variable ? We have high usage due to kids SEN. So being on fixed we will be worse off ?? I don’t even know where to start working it out I just don’t understand it because of my issues with numbers. I basically took a chance and it was the wrong choice ? Well it’s looking that way

Check the terms of your fix. They often allow you to switch to another tariff (e.g. standard variable in this case) with the same supplier without paying any fees. The exit fees are usually for switching to a different supplier.

What's your unit rates and standing charge?

I will just try and check now

Ok I’ll check I assumed it just meant to exit from that tariff hopefully I can change if I need to. I really struggled making the decision to fix and I hate how I struggle to understand these kind of things

I would wait to see what happens when they announce what assistance will be provided (tomorrow). I was listening to Martin Lewis on the radio today who said he will be lobbying for people who have fixed in anticipation of the hike in the price cap to be allowed to leave this without penalties.

Fingers crossed for you.

Electric
Standard charge 43.398 p
standard unit rate 35.723p

gas
Standard charge 29.959p
Standard daily charge 10.361p

So would I possibly just be able to call and ask to go back to variable ? It’s made me cry tonight as i agonised over that decision and went for it after seeing the advice. I stupidly didn’t overthink it as I knew my discalculia makes things difficult and I was just hoping for the best now I’m so stressed that I’ve done the wrong thing

I actually think those are good! I'd stick with the fixed for sure.
I'm currently paying 27.9p for electricity unit with a SC of 50.05p
And gas is 7.34p with a SC of 27.2p

In October gas will go to 14.8p and electricity will go to 51.9p on variable.

Try not to be upset as it sounds like you made the right decision for you that's given you price certainty knowing you won't pay more than your fix which I sense was important for you to know.

Try instead to view the recent announcements as positive and an opportunity to be in an ever better position than one you thought you might be in.

So:

1. if you remain on your fix then 👍, you're in a good position resulting from a good decision as you protected yourself from higher increases - right decision at the time
2. if you do fall under the revised cap &/or can get off your fix another way then 👍👍, you're in an even better position

... so all good all round :) and well done for considering your options and making a decision

I feel stupid. I don’t really understand it at all . I don’t know what the prices would be for a variable one I didn’t compare them I know it was less on variable but I chose fixed as kept seeing that it was better to as the oeuvre would go up by more than the fixed one would be

I feel like I’ve probably made a mistake but I won’t know till tomorrow and even then how do I work it out to know whether to switch back or not 🤦‍♀️ I feel so, so incredibly stupid right now because I don’t understand it

Thank you for the advice I will have to see what happens and try to work out what will be better for us I just don’t know how to work it out

I don't think you've made a mistake. See photo for the new rates coming in October.

And this from an article on money saving expert:
What happens to those who have fixed tariffs? Up to 15% of households are on fixed tariffs, many have locked in at higher prices, as they are risk averse and wanted to protect their bills. So what happens? Will they automatically be put on the price freeze?

If they are not automatically moved, will they be allowed to switch to the price freeze? If so and their tariff has early exit penalties (some of which can be £300+), will they still be charged? (Hopefully not, especially as it'd likely be an internal tariff change and exit penalties are often wiped for those).

And all you need to do to work it out is, on your bill there should be a yearly projection of your total usage. (Usually towards the end of a bill)
You can use that figure to work out what the cost will be by using the fixed rate or the price cap rate.

Should I try to cancel my fixed tariff now ? I really don’t understand I’m trying b to work it out but I can’t do numbers

Ok thanks once I’ve seen that it’s on the gas and electric tariff into do I add them together ? Then what ? How on Earth do I work out if I need to get off this fixed tariff or not ?

The BBC have about this in their live blog today:

"Fixed deals allow you to pay for energy at a set rate for a set period of time, but you are locked in.
Plenty of people whose fixed deals have expired in recent months may have considered fixing again, given the outlook of rising energy prices.
In fact, they might have received messages from their supplier encouraging them to do so.
This has been an extremely expensive option, but one which some understandably chose to take given the eyewatering forecasts of soaring bills.
So what happens if prices are capped and you're on a fixed deal?
Campaigners say the government should tell suppliers to allow people to switch without penalties. But it could end up being something customers have to negotiate. We're hoping to find out more on this later."

Basically until everything is announced, you won't know whether it's better to stay, try to move, what the circumstances of moving may be. Don't worry you're not alone, lots of other people are in the same boat, more answers will come in the next few days.

It’s made me cry so much in the last 12 hours. We have high usage that we struggle to reduce (due to medical needs within the family) and I was trying to make sure we wouldn’t get huge bills so we didn’t get debt as I’m terrified of pre payment meters as if it ever got cut off we have medication in the fridge and need electric for various things and now I feel like I’ve made a huge mistake and I’m too stupid to be able to work out the numbers myself. I feel dreadful I thought I was doing the right thing and now it’s given me so much stress

I’ll keep an eye on the news and try to calm down it just feels like it’s one thing after another

So I just ask my supplier to cancel the fixed one and put me back on variable ? I’m past the 14 days can I do that ?

My understanding is the unit for electricity is going to come in at about 35p and gas about 10p so I think your fix is alright.

join energy support and advice Uk on Facebook. Loads of info on there.

Thank you I hope so I have been so so stressed

Hi, please stop worrying. I said earlier the fix you are on seems ok to me. Look at what I will be paying on variable compared to you!

No, you do not add the gas and electricity together.
This is what you do:
-Take the yearly forecast number for electricity and multiply it by the electricity unit rate.
(Remember this is just what they think you will use, so if you use less, it will cost less and if you use more, it will cost more).

• Next take the electricity standing charge and multiply that by 365. So that's your standing charge cost for the year.

-Add your years electricity forecast cost and the years standing charge cost together and that is the total cost prediction for your electricity. Then you can divide by 12 to give you an indication on what you should pay each month for electricity.

To compare the fix you are on against variable all you need to do is the same process as above using your predicted yearly KWH and multiply it by the new price cap figures. The picture I uploaded is the price cap that was due in October so just use those but bear in mind it does look like there will be intervention from the government so that may not be as high as that. (but we don't know for sure what they will be).

So you have these calculations to do. Electricity based on your current fix
Electricity based on the current Oct price cap rates.
Electricity Standing charge for year based on fix rate.
Electricity standing charge for year based on price cap rate.

And then do it all again for gas.

But, if you go to money saving expert website they have a calculator to show what your cost Will change to and i think when you click the "calculate" button it will show what your current rate will cost.
It varies by region so you need to put your post code in too

I just checked the website and see this bit "Those on fixes, can either stay on them, or can leave and switch to the new state subsidised tariffs with no exit penalties. (UPDATE: I'm hearing fixed tariffs will have the same per pound unit rate reduction as variable tariffs (ie, roughly 30% off). So it looks like, unless you fixed at over the new October price cap level, your fix will be cheaper than moving to variable. More to check on this.)"

I would really recommend using that website.