Switched & price hike - do I switch back???

darkinhere

Electric supply: I did MSE comparison and switched from B Gas (Online Saver with EnergySmart) to Scottish Power (Online Energy Saver 11) two weeks ago. Now hit with retrospective (wef 25 Nov) 9% price hike from SP and, apparently have the option to cancel within 20 days of receiving notification of rises.

Would I be better off switching back to B Gas? If so, should I be hit by the £30 cancellation charge from SP when I signed up on 19.11 and was not told of price rises until 15.1 - two weeks after 'going live' with them?

Advice gratefully received,

Cheers

dogshome

Hi darkinhere - The 20 day window in which you have the option to reject the new higher price tariff and Switch to another supplier, runs from the date you were notified of the price rise, not the date the prices were raised - So if your first notice of a price rise was a Bill, then the notice period runs from the date on that bill.

When you serve notice of rejection and advise you are Switching the supplier has to maintain the original prices till you leave them, and because it is they who have changed the contract, they cannot charge penalty fee's when you leave

You obviously have your annual consumption figures to hand, so trawl the Switch sites and give SP written notice quickly if you want to move

t0rt0ise

I'd dispute the idea that they can't charge penalty charges. If the contract was a variable price contract then we know at the start that prices may go up. If it was a fixed rate tariff and they raise the prices, that is different.

Ant2011_2

I am in the same position (joined Oct, notified of increase 57 days after took affect..), and it would be nice to have clarification on whether I can reject without penalty. This should surely be the case, as otherwise I could be locked into 100% rise, and still pay £30 for the pleasure of leaving. Also, whether the time limit is 10 or 20 days for giving this notice, some SP links say 10 days

Premier_2

Ant2011 wrote: »

I am in the same position (joined Oct, notified of increase 57 days after took affect..), and it would be nice to have clarification on whether I can reject without penalty. This should surely be the case, as otherwise I could be locked into 100% rise, and still pay £30 for the pleasure of leaving. Also, whether the time limit is 10 or 20 days for giving this notice, some SP links say 10 days

Too late. You only get a few days to change your mind, after which the switch goes ahead, not 57 days!

You are not locked into anything ... but you may have early exit fees depending on what tariff you originally accepted

If you wish to not accept the new rates and switch supplier, the terms are:
10 working days from receipt of notice you have to have told the supplier.
(although SP seems to allow 20 working days )
15 working days of them having got such notice, must the new supplier have contacted the outgoing supplier to have started the takeover process.

Swipe

In my area (midlands) SP is still cheaper than the current BG Websaver even after the recent SP price hike.