Tonik Energy positively Green v.8

Spridgley wrote: »

Be aware if changing to this supplier that the date your 1 year fixed rate begins is the date you apply to change and not the date your current contract expires. I'm only getting 11 months with this supplier.

Welcome to the forum. I am not sure that I understand your post. If you are already a customer of a given supplier and you ask for a change of tariff then this is treated as a mutual variation of the contract. If the supplier agrees to your request to change tariffs then it is required under the terms of its Supply Licence to action the change within 5 working days. The standard 14 day cooling off period does not apply. Am I correct in saying that you will be getting a full 12 month's term from the date that your tariff changed?

Spridgley wrote: »

Thanks for the welcome.
To clarify, I am changing to Tonik from a supplier with whom my contract ends on 28th February. I applied to Tonik at the beginning of February to allow time for the change. In my welcome email from Tonik I was informed that my one year fixed rate began on the date I applied and not on the 1st March which I intended.

Ok - fair enough. A contract starts once a supplier accepts your application to switch - not when the transfer goes through. I have just initiated a switch and whilst my transfer will not go through until the 26th February, my contract end date is the 9th February 2019. This is, I am afraid, how contracts work.

That said, some suppliers will delay a transfer if asked but this usually does not result in a contract extension. Arguably, you switched too soon. Had you delayed your switch until a couple of days before the end of your current contract, then you would have remained on your existing contract terms until the switch went through - even if this was days/weeks after your present contract end. This tariff protection is included in Standard Licence Conditions. The risk of doing this is that you miss the tariff on offer.

ASavvyBuyer wrote: »

That's strange, our welcome letter from Octopus Energy states the following:

About your electricity tariff
Supplier Octopus Energy Limited
Tariff name Octopus 12m Fixed Direct January 2018 V1
Tariff type 12-Month Fixed-Term
Payment method Monthly direct debit
Unit rate 13.66p per kWh
Standing charge 17.85p per day (£65.15 per year)
Tariff ends on 12 months from start of supply
Price guaranteed until 12 months from start of supply
Exit fees (if you cancel this
tariff before the end date) Not applicable
Discounts and additional
charges Not applicable
Additional products or
services included Not applicable

Our supply is not due to start until 24th February 2018

I must confess that hadn't noticed, until now, the PDFs at the bottom of the Octopus' rather solemn/dark Welcome Message.

Looking through a handful of suppliers' terms and conditions, I see that a number of suppliers are now separating the contract in its own right from the fixed term price period (which as you say is from the date of supply). The more I think about it, this makes sense from a cost projection/DD point of view.

That said, from the Ofgem website:

Quote: For service contracts, the cooling off period starts from when the contract is entered into. Day 1 of the 14 day cooling off period is the day after the contract is entered into. In Ofgem, DECC and BIS!!!8217;s view, a supply contract will be !!!8220;entered into!!!8221; for the purposes of the Regulations in circumstances where the consumer makes a firm commitment in respect of a supply contract which would result in a binding contract in the event that no further action was taken by the consumer. Unquote

As I now read it, the OP initiated a switch to Tonik at the beginning of February and the Welcome Letter gives a contract end date of c.2 February 2019. I accept that most of Tonik's tariffs state 12 months but here is nothing that I can find in the terms and conditions which matches what Octopus are saying re the fixed price period start date. As a contract is just an offer which the consumer accepts or rejects, then it is entirely possible that the offer is just 12 months from the date of application to switch. The OP's post is therefore a timely warning.

I rarely stay long enough with a supplier to find out.

I started my switch from Spark (just moved in and thats what was on) to Tonik just before you on the Positively Green v7 tarrif, I just went back through the e-mail and it does indeed confirm that it ends on January 31 next year. However between when I signed up and now the v8 came out and I sent an e-mail asking for that tariff. They changed it on the 4 February so presumabily my tariff will now run until then as they changed it by request, or from the day I e-mailed them asking for the cheaper tariff.

Either way, I will just ask for their cheapest tariff every time it changes lower as long as there is no exit fee I can change with them or leave at my convenience.

In relation to your v8 tariff, as the v10 showing on the MSE site shows the same tariff prices as the v8 you could just ask to change tariff on the 26 and then they will do this for free (no exit fee) and your year will begin from then. As long as they have a happy customer I cant see why they would say no, especially as being a small firm they are likely aiming to grow their customer base and long term relationships. Just check the details dont change in the terms and conditions.