Fixed tariff going from £74 to £212 a month

[TheOrigRights]

My fixed tariff finishes at the end of June. I've been sent my options.
They will see my DD going up 300%, from £74 to £212 a month.

I know they has been a large increase, but this doesn't seem correct.

This is gas and elec for a 2 bed mid terrace.

Have others had such a huge increase?

Is that for a fixed rate or the standard variable rate? Its the price per kwh that's increasing so it depends on your usage as to what your monthly payment should be

What's your actual usage?

Oh right, I'm going to need to look into this a bit more I think.

Looking at my usage yesterday:
21-May-22 Elec 7kwh; gas 11.277446

Average for last 12 months:
Elec 8.23, gas 16.6

You should be able to find your annual usage on a bill or your online account.

You also need to know if the options they have offered are fixed rates or the standard variable rate which is covered by the price cap

Many companies are factoring into the direct debits being offered now the expected additional increase coming in October. This is because they calculate the direct debits by estimating the next years usage and dividing that by 12 for a monthly charge.

These are roughly the rates for the SVR

They are only offering Fixed term tariffs at the moment (Scottish Power).
I've attached the extra info for one of the tariffs they are offering me.

That makes sense, but then why would mine increase by 300% and others are way less than this.

They can't only be offering a fixed term tariff. If you don't choose another fix then you go onto the SVR

They can't force you onto a fixed rate. They will be hiding the SVR somewhere.

Have they shown you an option with no exit fee as that will likely be the SVR tariff? Dont accept a fix if its loads higher than the SVR tariff

They can't only offer fixed rates. You are likely better off on the default tariff. Just let your fixed rate lapse without doing anything and you'll go onto the default tariff automatically.

I have tried googling for Scottish Powers default tariff but its well hidden! Its almost like they are trying to force people on to expensive fixed tariffs!!

Wow, thank you for this. I really loathe all this stuff and appreciate your replying.
If you weren't a stranger on the internet I'd offer to do something in return.

So I've found this on their site:
"What is meant by a default tariff? A default tariff is a tariff that a customer moves to if they take no action when their existing fixed term tariff ends. In ScottishPower’s case, this currently relates to our Price Secure and Basic Fixed tariffs. Our Standard Variable tariff is also used as a default tariff in some cases including at the end of a fixed term tariff."

I'll be damned if I can find what the SVR actually is though. And this is where I get cross, because I feel companies deliberately make it hard for consumers to make informed choices.

I like the 'do nothing' option.

Yes they are hiding it well as there are massive fluctuations ahead so they are trying to get you to fix at a higher rate to cover their ups and make profits on their downs

The screenshot I gave for Octopus will be similar to the SVR for Scottish Power as its covered by the price cap too. Its really shit that they haven't given that as an option when your fix ends. If you hadn't asked on here you would not have known about the 'do nothing' option and would have opted for an expensive fixed rate.

did you get an email? If you click on What you can expect to pay you will see the estimate for the variable rate

(my fixed rate also finishes at the end of June with SP and I received an email today)

I've just had that email from SP too, they want to put my monthly DD up from £196 to £568!!! Thank you @catlady12 , I looked for that variable rate section & found that the standard online tariff would only be £335 but still a huge hike. They don't make it easy to find do they?!

Let's stage a coup!

I think I've worked out that if I do nothing then I will pay £128 /month (based on current charges). This is more what I was expecting.

Mine has just gone up to £290 and that’s with me turning everything down. We will manage to pay , but don’t think there will be any holidays next year.

So, I didn't do anything - Scottish Power did not bother to reply to my email.

At the beginning of July I noticed my Smart Meter readings had increased.
I've been online and see they've moved me to Standard Online tariff which seems to be the cheapest (but they make it VERY hard to find their different tariffs).

My back of envelope working out means I should pay about £133 a month (up from £74), which is A LOT less than the £212 they offered me and more in line with what I expected.

While I'm concerned about the increase in fuel cost, I am fortunate to be able to pay. What I am more annoyed about is that Scottish Power make it SO SO hard to make informed decisions and to find out the details of the service they provide. It feels underhand.

If they didn’t respond to your email, would it be worth escalating your complaint to the ombudsman?

Eugh....probably, but I don't think I can bothered.

There are SO many things to chase up - the showers not working at the sports centre. I've been complaining since February.
Why the Parish Council did tree work during nesting season.
FIL's wheelchair referral. Why my period tracking app stops counting after a certain number of days. To name a few.

These days you're lucky to get a real person to talk to, or a response that isn't just a load of flannel or not answering your actual question.