What are your thoughts on whether to fix/cap now?

bondy01

I see the front of todays Daily Express is talking about a 15% hike in prices as gas is diverted to Japan. I think it may be time to fix.

musical_norwich

DirectDebacle wrote: »

Cardew I had no idea that the electricity in your area was so expensive. I take your point. In my earlier post I said the matter was too subjective to give a definitive answer and of course geographical price variations are but one of several factors which will influence choice.

In my circumstances the cheapest deal available to me on my usage is BG Web Saver 11 @ £1209.

EDF Fixed 2015 will come in at £1440. For me this premium (19%) is acceptable when other considerations are factored in. Despite the fact that they are French I will be saying 'Allo, 'Allo', tout de suite.

If I more or less break even over the next 4 years then I will be happy with that.

Gives me four years to scrutinise the T & C's so I can have a go at them in June 2015. Good to have something to look forward to.;)

I've taken the same deal. I don't know if you noticed but there are no penalties after June 2013 with the fix ending in June 2015. So, for the last two years it is possible to bail out penalty free if there is a better deal available, which makes it even more attractive.

bondy01

The Sunday Times today states "Energy experts are urging customers to lock in to fixed-rate deals while they can." Atlantic was the cheapest but pulled it in the week. I've gone for the 12 month EDF fix as I'm currently with them.

GentleGiant_2

Am also looking at the EDF fix to 2015.

Currently with Eon and the fix is actually cheaper than our existing plan which comes to an end soon, and certainly cheaper than the plan they wish to put us on!

Doing a price check we could save around 20% with one or two plans (price until 2012), but save 3% with the fix to 2015. (on our current price)

With prices increasing, I cannot see any reason not to fix until 2015 - unless I am being stupid here, in a years time having saved £200 I will need a new plan, and that surely is going to be 10%+ per year dearer.

Am I missing something obvious here? as I am not used to this.

bondy01

Exactly my thoughts Gentlegiant. I've tried to get a couple of threads going about fixing and so has MSE.com but don't seem to have many takers. If prices go down I will be more than slightly astonished. The EDF fix for me is cheaper than my current tariff. I'll be back in a year if I'm correct (first time for everything!) I think Japan will have a big effect on energy prices.

NPowerUser

I think the capped tariff has some rewards as you already know what you will be paying for a given period of time.

I have opted for NPower GoFix 5, I can't see 4 years ahead but I would bet my shirt that its going to rise by more than 5% in the coming months.

Go Fix 5 ties me to paying just over 5% more now through to 31/5/12 with a £40 termination charge if I switch before the 14 months are up.

With all the trouble going on in the world that seems to be pushing up the price of oil and subsequently gas/leccy, I think its a small price to pay for peace of mind.

I accept its a gamble though......

musical_norwich

I've just bumped this thread to demonstrate how Martin's recommendations have a tendency to come three months too late...

Energy prices futures and options, inflation of 5%, hints from the industry, etc. made these rises obvious months ago. But Martin doesn't push locking into lower prices until the best fixes have been withdrawn and the companies begin to announce new rises accompanied by less attractive fixes. There isn't a price fix 2015 available now and Martin didn't push it when there was.

And Martin isn't disinterested, since he, his site and his company makes a great deal of money in commission from energy companies and the comparison websites. And Martin gets this commission irrespective of whether we save money. The site's commercial desire is just to stimulate switches. And, it could be argued, it is in the best interest of the site for those energy companies to be making high profits, with volatile pricing and frequent switching to maximise moneysavingexpert's profits.