Deal has a month to go. When should I start switching?

anne99

I'd be grateful for some help. I'm a novice at switching - the only time I've done it, HE (who I was already with - I'm in their area) offered nearly the best tariff, and it was an instant one phone call switch of tariff, so I took it.

I've just had a letter saying tariff Go Direct 3 will end 31st March. I phoned them to ask what they could offer that would be better than their default Standard Energy Online deal (which looks about 20% more expensive than the deal I'm on now). They said to phone back in the last week of March and they would have a new deal available then.

My alternative is to switch to someone else, and I know this can take some time to go through.

So when should I start to change? I'm scared the move would go through too quick, and I'd hit a penalty for moving before my current deal expires.

What do other people do? Do you wait for the current deal to expire and accept you'll pay a higher default price from then until the new deal kicks in? Or can one organise it now and give a 'not before' date to the new company so you can avoid this risk?

Gary1963

I am in the same boat with my contract ending 31/3. I think it can take up to 6 weeks but can be done in 4! Also I would sugest using a cashback site when you switch.

BoltonGirl_2

I would wait until a couple of days before your contract expires. Every company should give you a 'cool off' period between agreeing a new deal and them notifying your current supplier but you could end up with a call a couple of days later to escalate to the end of this. By waiting til the end you will make sure you don't end up notifying your current company until the cancellation fee has dropped off. You'll end up paying a higher default price but for very few days - it takes about 3 weeks to transfer once the cool off period ends.

Some companies don't always have their best tariffs on the switching sites - the best deals are always online so I would browse through the websites. It depends what your looking for too - Tesco clubcard points? Nectar points? Which pay method etc as to which is the best deal.

Premier_2

As Gary 1963 says.

Switching to a new company takes a minimum of 28 days. Don't start a switch earlier than this before your current deal expires as it may result in early exit fees.
You may end up for a couple of weeks with the existing supplier as some switches typically take from 4-6 weeks. If that's the case, make sure the tariff you are moved to has no early exit fees.

The comparison sites should be listing all the generally available tariffs.