AIBU to ask: Is anyone actually fixing their fuel prices?

[FrankWelker]

Posted on here for traffic
Is anyone actually fixing their fuel prices at these exorbitant prices? We have been quoted over £699 per month for dual fuel with Scottish Power.
Or are people just not fixing and going to use less??
Really stuck with what to do!

I’m not fixing. I can’t afford the prices they’re quoting to fix.

on the unfixed rate my energy bills are about £80 per month but it’s Summer. They’ll go up in Autumn/Winter when I need heating but hoping the help we get and the buffer I’ve accumulated will help to keep costs down.

I could afford up to £200 a month by cutting back on other things but the fixed quotes are treble that, I just don’t have it.

(For context I am a manager in the public sector so a decent wage but I live alone so have no one to share costs with).

I fixed mine a couple of months ago

I really hope not, I feel guilty enough as it is.

Check the unit rate!

I know people are saying they can't afford to fix but it's fixing the price you pay per unit, like how much you pay per litre of fuel

You wouldn't say I'm not fixing at £100 per tank of fuel, I can't afford that if it was predicted to go up to £150 per tank. Because it'll go up and you could have had it for £100 but now you're stuck with paying £150 per tank. Or not driving

So with my fix of 67.99p per Kwh it will cost me £186.00 compared to the 207 forecast? but that doesn’t take into account my government subsidy.
Is the forecast often correct?

Well currently the fixers are subsidising the non fixers, most of them are paying far more, even those who fixed late last year or early this year.

The reason Martin Lewis was saying don't fix was because the prices were so high compared with the variable rate.

Someone posted the unit rates of their 'bargain' fix they took out late last year. The rates were higher than the April 22 price cap rate, so they paid a lot more before April, a little more between April and September and then will benefit by paying a little less in October and November before the fix runs out.

The retail suppliers make hardly anything by selling at the price cap, aka the variable rate, so they want/need some people to take out a fix at a higher price in order to make a decent profit.

and then will benefit by paying a little less in October and November before the fix runs out

Our fix runs out in October 2023, even if we’ve over paid until now, we’re going to be quids in by then.

@Freddiefox nobody really knows which is the issue but the calculator on MSE website seems quite good
The first rise is October but the danger is you hold off and then the fixed rate isn't available any longer or it's a different higher fixed rate
I fixed because there's no exit fee on mine

Thanks Pelo, Yes, you’re right. I’ll work it out, I have records of my unit usage per month for both fuel types.

one thing I found when there were a few okay ish fixes a few months ago is that some of the smaller companies want the payments up front. I understand why but when your used to paying in arrears it’s quite a big ask to settle with your existing provider and pay the new one up front. It’s a big layout.

i fixed but immediately came on here, and then regretted it
i cannot lower the predicted direct debit much below £300 per month
not sure what to do

For some reason energy explaining is about the only adult thing I can do without looking round for a more "adult adult"

Yes and this is what has happened a few times, and I could kick myself…

couLd you link to the calculator? I don’t seem
to be able to find it. Tia

If you fixed in the last 14 days, you might be within a cooling off period, and have the right to go back to the standard rate, without penalty.

@Freddiefox this is helpful (Friday apparently is the key date)

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/what-are-the-price-cap-unit-rates-/

Calculator is a bit down the page

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/-are-there-any-cheap--fixed-energy-deals-currently-worth-it--//*

Interesting. Does anyone have edf as their supplier? We can’t see any fixed price deals on their app. It could be though that we’re excluded because we have moved house recently.

i cannot lower the predicted direct debit much below £300 per month
not sure what to do

Try phoning up and pleading poverty or short term cash flow problems if you really think it needs to be reduced but do be mindful that you will need to reduce your usage compared to last year if paying a lower amount or you will have a debt at the end of it. Generally debit amounts are designed for you to break even at the end of the contract.

Can you get any overtime?

Thank you!
So basically I have til tomorrow to decide to fix or not!

I don't really think the fixed deals have ever really been great unless you're a heavy user. But for the rest of us, you're better off paying for what you use. Bulb tell me to put in a monthly amount of £140 currently, I'm doing £120 because my monthly amount is nowhere near £140 (I regularly put in the correct usage amounts, not their estimates), but I am still saving money for towards winter when my usage will inevitably go up.

Nope because the energy doesn't cost what we are paying for it. All of us are just subsidising the fat cats of the energy companies.

That's not how fixed rates work.

For anyone trying to make a decision about this, I really do recommend reading this thread in full where fixed rates have been explained.

@Hellocatshome

So why did some energy companies go bust when wholesale gas prices went up?

We fixed 2 months ago. But you still need to reduce usage as the quote is per unit .
Also , we have a woodburner and a lot of people we know are stockpilling wood.

Because they offered a lot of customers very low fixed rates to get as many customers as possible and then had to honour them when the wholesale prices went up. Therefore having to sell the energy for less than it cost them. Most of the companies going bust were newer with smaller customer bases without the large amounts of customers who never move supplier or tariff which is who they generally make there money off. Although that's all of us now unfortunately.

@Hellocatshome

But your earlier post suggested that these prices are to subsidise the 'fat cats of the energy companies'.

I really don't think it's helpful to suggest to people (many of whom are struggling with this) that these high costs are purely driven by corporate greed. There is a bit more to it than that.

@Headabovetheparakeet of course there are a lot of different factors but the fact Shell alone made profit of £11.5 Billion profit (profit not turnover) so far this year cannot be ignored. It suits the Government to blame the rising prices on the conflict in Ukraine but that is just one part of a very complex situation but the bottom line is the companies providing this vital service are making larger profits recently than they have in the previous few years.