Scottish Power Fixed Price - 28 February 2011

samizdat

Like many others I suspect, I've been on Scottish Power Fixed Price Energy Online, a fixed price tariff, for the last two and a half years. It expires on 28 February 2011, so I think it is time to think about switching*.

The problem is, all the suppliers have recently increased their prices in order to extract cash from the Winter high-demand period. So it doesn't seem like a good idea to sign up with a new provider just yet - better to wait for more competitive offerings some time in March or April, and then see if there are any half-decent (possibly fixed price) deals around.

I'm especially keen to avoid getting suckered into a variable-priced 12-month deal with exit penalties, because we all know that come October/November, the price will go up and there won't be a good way out. On the other hand, maybe these could still be better value than the alternatives.

Will it be possible to get a retention deal out of Scottish Power?

Anyone else got any thoughts on this?

* This tariff actually has no exit penalties, but because it has remained competitive there hasn't been much reason to switch, unless to chase cashback deals.

Fairzo

This thread may help, particularly post # 4.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2929844

2010

samizdat wrote: »

Will it be possible to get a retention deal out of Scottish Power?
Anyone else got any thoughts on this?

My 2p worth.

I`m in the process of switching to SP for their online energy saver 12 tariff.

1. fixed deals are ALWAYS dearer
2. Ofgem are investigating the "big 6" so they may not be so keen to keep whacking up prices on a regular basis.
3. There may be early exit penalties on some tariffs, but sometimes you can still save by switching.
4. Always have a look at Topcashback site to do the switch as they usually pay out more than other sites.

samizdat

Fairzo wrote: »

This thread may help, particularly post # 4.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2929844

Helpful, thank you - I missed that thread.

It says Scottish Power will likely offer an uncompetitive follow-on fix. If I refuse, I would revert to the standard tariff. I had better switch then, and as the other poster says, try to grab some cashback.

beecher2

You might want to look at this thread too
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/40200784#Comment_40200784
as it seems online 12 can't be chosen from the online options

Kimitatsu

samizdat wrote: »

Helpful, thank you - I missed that thread.

It says Scottish Power will likely offer an uncompetitive follow-on fix. If I refuse, I would revert to the standard tariff. I had better switch then, and as the other poster says, try to grab some cashback.

Have you rung them? I have had a fixed rate deal for the last 3 years and every time I have rung I have had a fixed rate deal which has never increased - in fact this year it has gone down.

I am on an online tarriff, pay by DD and send them in my meter readings when they send me an email. Its worth giving them a call and seeing what they have to offer before you think about switching as my tarrif was not available through the switching sites.

Premier_2

Kimitatsu wrote: »

Have you rung them? I have had a fixed rate deal for the last 3 years and every time I have rung I have had a fixed rate deal which has never increased - in fact this year it has gone down. ...

Not too surprising really when you consider average price movements of Scottish Power variable rates over recent times

e.g. for gas:

March 2009 - 7.5% reduction
March 2010 - 8% reduction
November 2010 - 2% increase.

Bearing in mind, according to this MSE article, uSwitch are hoping for further price falls this year then I'm not sure I would be keen to sign up to any fixed rates today.

jack_spratt_2

I was on that tariff on-line fixed to Feb 2011with SP . I asked if there was a likelihood of being offered an extension of the tariff and was told it was very unlikely as it was a very good rate .
I switched to another supplier before the end of the fix due to the offer of a cash back deal which would go some way to compensate for the increase in tariff prices .

Time will tell if I did the right thing

martyp

Hi all,
I'm also on this plan and have been doing comparative calculations myself using the rates for all the plans offered through the online service and also the Online Energy Saver 12 plan.
In my particular case where I used 10310 kwh of gas and 3489 kwh of electric I calculated a saving of approx £26 with Online Energy Saver 12 but with all other capped/fixed plans it'll cost around £100 more at least.
Scottish Power recommended staying on the fixed plan till the end of February but I'm so tempted to jump to the Online Energy Saver 12 plan as I'd be saving money right now anyway and be going to to a higher capped rate or standard rate at the end of February (unless they bring out a cheaper plan between now and then).
One thing I'm really trying to figure out is if there is any chance at all of getting cashback switching from the Feb 2011 fixed deal to the Online Energy Saver 12? Anyone know any tricks for doing this?
I managed to get cashback this year by starting a new policy with the same home insurance provider instead of renewing, if there's a way of doing something similar or retention deal that would be interesting to know

mbeast

I'm on the online energy saver 4 duel fuel and due to the amount of electricity i use have always focused on the cost of that, after a look on u-switch putting in the amount used on average for the last year it seems if i swap to the OES 12 plan i'd be paying £200 odd more per year for my electric but then i'd pay around £400 less for my gas giving me a net saving of around £200.
The only thing that's always put me off changing is the new tariffs only last so long then you need to swap asap or end up paying loads more when put back on the standard tariff which is why I can't make my mind up if it's worth swapping in the long run

martyp

I'm hoping that as they have only a couple of months ago increased their prices and it was 2 years before then that they had increased them before that (2008) that there hopefully might not be any increases in the 12 months the tariff lasts.
As Premier quite rightly suggested on another thread about this tariff, you could survive the £50 cancellation fee (dual fuel) with savings switching to another tariff or cashback.
So I'm thinking if the prices do rise significantly I'd consider switching anyway but if not will review the available deals next February when this deal finishes.
It seems like a better bet than the fixed tariffs in that in the chance of price falls then the tariff might fall as well whereas with the fixed your stuck...
The lady at Scottish Power also advised that the % difference between the standard rate on previous online energy saver tariffs has never changed so hopefully it'll only be affected if prices rise on all SP tariffs.