Fix the energy tariff now or stay on standard variable.

[SophieHasOneQuestion]

I am with EDE and current tariff ends on 31st March.

I noticed that over the last 4 weeks, the my fix term tariff option has increased from £155 to £186 and this morning to £226.

I was hoping to stay on standard variable in hoping that better deal will come up, but it seems the deal is getting worse and worse.

In April, if ofGem increases the cap, will standard variable increase dramatically too?

Really appreciate and advice on if I should fix the deal (exit fee £100) or stay on the standard variable which is about £90 less.

Thank you very much.

[quote SamphiretheStickerist]You need to triple check that! That sounds crazy! Surely can't be allowed.

www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/check-if-energy-price-cap-affects-you

Have you tried USwitch?

www.uswitch.com/gas-electricity/guides/price-cap/[/quote]
By crazy do you mean my fixed rate is crazy? It is EDF so they should really obey the law/regulation right?

Thank you very much for the reply, It is the first time I manage household bills. Please excuse me if I ask too many questions.

Yes, my fixed rate is (from now to March 2024):
Unit. 53.01p + Standard charge 32.15.

Standard Variable is:
Unit 29.64p + Standard charge 32.15

Is this not the price from April for the SVR as the amounts quoted are above the current price cap rates?

They can offer a unit cost on a fixed rate at any price they like, people choose to take it up.

The only regulation is that if you're not on a fixed tariff that you've actively signed up to, they can't charge you more than the price cap.

But yes, we're all saying that 53 p a unit is crazy. The price cap unit cost from April is 28 p and that's already crazily high compared with a year ago.

@dementedpixie

Yes, my fixed rate is (from now to March 2024): Unit. 53.01p + Standard charge 32.15.

Standard Variable is:
Unit 29.64p + Standard charge 32.15

Is this not the price from April for the SVR as the amounts quoted are above the current price cap rates?

@dementedpixie: I am getting there and understand what you mean, but it is shown on my EDF portal, from 1st April 2022, the unit rate for my SV is: Unit 29.64p + Standard charge 32.15*

I wouldnt touch that fixed rate with a 10 foot bargepole tbh, its extortionate.

Companies can charge whatever they like on fixed tariffs. It's only the standard variable rate tariff that is covered by the price cap rates

Right, the standard variable rate quoted takes into account the rise in April and will stay at that until its reviewed in October.

Try the USwitch link. It takes moments to give you advice. Most of which is "There are no plans available at the moment" which means that the variable rates are all that is being offered.

But given those figures you would be better off on a Variable Rate Tariff anyway.

Do you know I actually had to think long and hard about that because it just didn't make sense. It is so far above the Cap that I thought there has to be some misunderstanding. No wonder you are confused! I've been dealing with bills for 40 years!

@BarbaraofSeville

They can offer a unit cost on a fixed rate at any price they like, people choose to take it up.

The only regulation is that if you're not on a fixed tariff that you've actively signed up to, they can't charge you more than the price cap.

But yes, we're all saying that 53 p a unit is crazy. The price cap unit cost from April is 28 p and that's already crazily high compared with a year ago.

Yes this.

Shell, which many people don't like, emailed us and said that they couldn't offer a better rate than the new variable rate so they were suspending all fixed rate offers.

EDF online says that they are only making fixed rate offers to existing customers - which, looking at your data, sounds a lot like they expect to catch some people unawares. Despicable!

Switch to the variable rate when your current tariff runs out.

That fixed rate is really high, I’d stay on the variable, especially since you have a £100 exit fee.
I’ve fixed until October 2024 for electricity with 29.44 pence per kWh and 23.85p per day standing charge with a £15 exit fee.

I put my details into U Switch. It said there are no plans available but there were details of some companies offering fixed rates. The prices were hideous and would be around £2,000 more p.a than what I pay on the standard variable!

God knows what we will all do when the cap goes up again in October.

@SamphiretheStickerist

Try the USwitch link. It takes moments to give you advice. Most of which is "There are no plans available at the moment" which means that the variable rates are all that is being offered.

But given those figures you would be better off on a Variable Rate Tariff anyway.

Do you know I actually had to think long and hard about that because it just didn't make sense. It is so far above the Cap that I thought there has to be some misunderstanding. No wonder you are confused! I've been dealing with bills for 40 years!

Thank you so much. You advice really helped me.

I’ve gone down the Sod’s law but win-win route. Sod’s law - fix now and prices are bound to go down, but that be because Ukraine attack thwarted and Russia have lost their hold on energy prices, so it’s a win.

@dementedpixie

I wouldnt touch that fixed rate with a 10 foot bargepole tbh, its extortionate.

Companies can charge whatever they like on fixed tariffs. It's only the standard variable rate tariff that is covered by the price cap rates

Thank you so much for your patience. I almost clicked the high fix rate deal as I had no idea that I need to compare the unit rate. You explanation saved me from doing that.

@ClaudineClare

I put my details into U Switch. It said there are no plans available but there were details of some companies offering fixed rates. The prices were hideous and would be around £2,000 more p.a than what I pay on the standard variable!

God knows what we will all do when the cap goes up again in October.

The thing is, if the cap increases again in Oct 2022 let's say by another 50%. At that time, no fixed deal will be worth looking and everyone will be forced to stay on the standard variable rate.

SophieHasOneQuestion I know. It is a bit of a gamble either way.

You're probably not the only person who would or nearly would have signed up to these even more expensive fixes.

Scottish Power have been offering some 2 year fixes where they 'estimate' your monthly payment and hide in the small print that they will increase change the direct debit once they've assessed your usage.

I heard about it on the radio as they were pushing apparently cheap fixes in shopping centres and someone asked Martin Lewis about them on a phone in. I tried to sign up myself and it offered what looked like a good price without asking anything about what my annual usage was.

It won't be long before we have lots of people complaining 'EDF/Scottish Power want to double my DD but I'm on a fixed rate' .

But look how much the cap would have to rise to match that offer. It would have to nigh on double. That would be a further 100% increase in the Cap.

If there was another 50% increase the unit price would be about 40p/unit

The thing is, if the cap increases again in Oct 2022 let's say by another 50%. At that time, no fixed deal will be worth looking and everyone will be forced to stay on the standard variable rate

Quite possibly. However, you will have had the benefit of lower prices in the meantime. Taking that 53p a unit fix will only work out if the unit cost goes up so far past this amount to compensate for overpaying significantly for the next five months.

Now this may or may not happen, but energy is getting so expensive, that if it goes up by much more, they're going to have to do something meaningful about prices because as well as more and more people being plunged into real poverty, even people on good incomes are going to be struggling and seeing a significant decrease in their standard of living.

It's amazing how much we have all learned about stuff we didn't really think about too deeply a few moths ago.

Another Mumsnet triumph of dignified questions and answers and no sniping - even when @SophieHasOneQuestion turned out to have a few more than just the one

I just tried Scottish Power and they quoted 19 pence per KWH for gas! That is approaching three times the variable rate.

Jesus! I know it's business, but bloody hell!

Quite possibly. However, you will have had the benefit of lower prices in the meantime.

That's true, but the 'meantime' is the spring/summer when usage is likely to be far lower anyway. The point of fixing is to protect you next winter.

I don't think that OP has been offered a good deal though. I probably wouldn't fix at that rate.

@MidnightMeltdown

Quite possibly. However, you will have had the benefit of lower prices in the meantime.

That's true, but the 'meantime' is the spring/summer when usage is likely to be far lower anyway. The point of fixing is to protect you next winter.

I don't think that OP has been offered a good deal though. I probably wouldn't fix at that rate.

I was offered £155/Month fix for two years about four weeks ago but I didn't take it as I think it is already quite high. At the time, SV was around £98. It is astonishing how much has changed within the past 4 weeks,

Hope discussion on this thread will help other people like me.

So far the best analyst data suggests another 47 - 53% rise in October - so OP would still be better off not taking that offer.

MLs advice is still if you get an offer no more than about 25% above the current Cap, 15% above the April Cap then it's probably worth taking it.

@SamphiretheStickerist

So far the best analyst data suggests another 47 - 53% rise in October - so OP would still be better off not taking that offer.

MLs advice is still if you get an offer no more than about 25% above the current Cap, 15% above the April Cap then it's probably worth taking it.

How can family survive another 47-53% increase with winter coming? Surely something need to happen before then.