to cap or not to cap that is the question.....

mech_2

kittie wrote: »

You surely don`t think that capping is being offered for the good of the consumer?

It's almost certainly for the energy companies' own benefit (it will discourage switching), but it doesn't necessarily follow that it's bad for consumers. With price rises almost inevitable it's a good bet that capped deals will result in savings for customers. Is there anyone out there who has capped in the past and thinks they have lost out? I know I saved around £120 the first half of this year compared to the best non-capped deal.

It does mean a nice steady input at a higher rate for the energy companies.

It's higher now, yes. But with the predicted price rises outstripping the current premium, it won't seem higher come the winter when we all use the most fuel.

There has been a lot of scaremongering and a lot of people have dived for the capping option but there are other, better ways of keeping a cap on energy costs ie look objectively at your energy usage first and foremost

You can even do both.

IvanOpinion

MSE_Martin wrote: »

In fact Im so confident on this that I say here publically that if at least one of the major providers hasn't announced a substantial price rise (which we'll call at least 5%) by the end of August I will give £1,000 to a registered UK charity of your choice.

That had to be the safest bet I have seen in a few years

ivan

teedy23

Just had a look at mine, I,m capped until Feb with BG that,s duel fuel, I dont think I should swap over now but I really hope things are settled by the time Feb comes.

lovelylass_2

I'm in a dilema - I pay £45 each per month (Gas & Elec) and so far i'm in credit. I'm with Southern Electric and have the best customer service by far. I originally started off with British Gas :mad: and then moved to Npower :mad: :mad: and have then moved to Souther electric who have provided the best ever customer service.

The problem i have got is that i'm torn as on one hand i cant afford a huge energy rise and on the other i'm loath to go to a company i know is poor at customer services.

I have spoken to Southern electric this morning and they have advised me that they are always the last to put up their prices and dont put them up as much as the others.

I have done a comparision check and the capped are all coming out at a minimum of £60 extra a year compared to what i pay now. also at the moment i receive argos points and a 6% discount (monthly dd). what would others in my situation do?

lynneinjapan

lovelylass wrote: »

I have spoken to Southern electric this morning and they have advised me that they are always the last to put up their prices and dont put them up as much as the others.

If that were true then they'd always be by far the cheapest supplier across all tariffs, with the gap increasing after each round of price increases, so I think you need to take that claim with a very large pinch of salt.

I'd say that if the increase is no more than 10-15% then it's probably worth doing, otherwise maybe not. Depends how much YOU think prices are going to rise before the capped rate ends - if you think they'll go up by more than the increase in what you'll be paying by changing to a capped/fixed rate then it's worth switching.

Also take into account any rewards that you get - I can't see Southern Electric listed as giving cashback but the comparison sites might give you cashback, and do you get Nectar or Tesco Clubcard points with either supplier? EDF was quite good for Nectar points, esp. if you participated in their "Read & Reward" scheme, and E.ON offers Clubcard points - though I had to phone up and ask before I got them! Do work out what any points you get are actually worth though - 1000 Nectar points are worth £5 at Argos, and 1000 Clubcard points are worth £10 in store or £40 in Deals.

I'm currently with E.ON - only switched from EDF earlier this year - and have just been looking into switching to a capped rate, but the cheapest capped rate (with Scottish Power) is 28% more than I'm paying at the moment. There's good cashback to be had - £62 via the cashback sites - but even taking that into account I'm still going to be paying 20% more than before... and that ignores the fact that I'll no longer be getting Tesco Clubcard points (worth about £40ish once converted into Deals - more if prices go up substantially) if I switch. So overall, I'm not going to be gaining unless prices rise by more than 25% by next August. I think I'll probably just stay put for now.

madkingsoup

I'm thinking of changing to a capped tariff, but I have one concern: is capping tariffs akin to having fixed rate mortgages? All I can see is that come the end of the capped period, your prices will suddenly rocket through the roof! Or am I misunderstanding it?

easy

I've got this same problem. I need to switch (currently dual fuel with Sainsburys), but should I cap? How do I factor in my reward points? I know someone who wants to quote me for Utilities Warehouse, but I'm scared of damaging a friendship if don't accept his quote, or if I do, and end up payong thru the nose. Help....

Molescroft

lynneinjapan wrote: »

I'm currently with E.ON - only switched from EDF earlier this year - and have just been looking into switching to a capped rate, but the cheapest capped rate (with Scottish Power) is 28% more than I'm paying at the moment. There's good cashback to be had - £62 via the cashback sites - but even taking that into account I'm still going to be paying 20% more than before... and that ignores the fact that I'll no longer be getting Tesco Clubcard points (worth about £40ish once converted into Deals - more if prices go up substantially) if I switch. So overall, I'm not going to be gaining unless prices rise by more than 25% by next August. I think I'll probably just stay put for now.

I am in a similar situation to you in that I switched from EDF earlier in the year (would not put me on a new and cheaper tariff unless I left and came back!) in favour of E-ON. I have always been anti-capping but with all the madness going on at the moment and the advice from MSE I decided to have a look.


Checking the comparison sites did not give me anything helpful having only recently switched so I looked at what E-ON were offering - you can change your tariff quite easily on-line. They have a deal at the moment Price Protection 17 which made slight increases to my electric prices but resulted in decreases to my gas rates protected until Oct 09 but unlike other options I can opt out before then without penalty. This seemed like a good compromise for me so I went with it. Depending on your current prices it might not be quite as good an option for others, but thought it might be worth sharing!

easy

Yes the capped tarrifs will cost me more, according to the comparison sites.

Scottish power could save me £205 per year apparently, but is that cos they haven't raised prices yet?

helwarren

I recently changed my gas to npower and left my electric with scottish power as came out with the cheapest option at the time. Just checked again and could save £30 a year by changing elec over, but when looked at capped/fixed rates is going to cost over £100 a year more and that carried penalties for canceling, then £150 more a year for the second best. Just thinking will risk not capping especially as it is now reported that the wholseale costs have dropped over last couple months. I know they are saying this is to cover the increases that have gone before but maybe the predicted second rise won't be as bad as suggested? Anyone else think the fact they are introducing penalties means that perhaps these increase in costs are not as justified as they make out?

Have to get knitting a few jumpers for the winter perhaps?