Is fixing a con - you decide?

foreversummer

Hi

Because there is so much talk of fixing our gas and electricity prices at present, I thought I would have a play around with the price comparison sites.

Now, I have never fixed in the past having for at least the last eight years been on Eon's cheapest online tariff (various different versions). However, I recently run my annual usage figures through the calculator and find that Eon would like to charge me £403 extra pa for their fixed dual fuel tariff!

So, I decided this morning to plug all their previous versions of fixed, protection, track and save tariffs as being my current plan and guess what? Not one of them works out cheaper than what I have been paying on my current online tariff.

Now there might be something I've overlooked here in the way that the comparison sites work, but I certainly don't feel any need to fix!

Are we all being scaremongered and conned here?

Foreversummer

gazjoneswales

Imo I dont think they are cons. They are gambles. Based on my usage one of the cheapest tariffs available at the moment is a fixed tariff with npower. And this is pre increase prices for 4 of the companies. Sometimes they work, sometimes they dont.

JSR

If your goal is to save money, fixing is nothing more than a gamble. You might win, you'll probably lose. If your goal is to have the security of knowing what your energy costs will be for a year or two then fixing might be the right product for you. So whether it is a con or not depends on how it is being sold to you!

dmliverpool

Yeah, you are basically strengthening there grip on the market and agreeing there there mistakes in getting prices wrong which seems to happen every year.

Usually these fixed rates are usually higher than average so you pay more in the long run. Also there is this constant fear of gas prices going up, although I have kept on the standard tariff for years and over 2 years I paid less than my friend who is into this price fixing. I see it as a pay as you go affair (via direct debit or quarterly) and as soon as you sign up to a fixed price deal you are signing another contract onto of a contract and they are ensuring you don't leave regardless of the service they provide. I prefer the freedom to just switch if they are not able to full full my needs. Aint it funny how they all put prices up roughly at the same and offer fixed deals to further control this fixed market?

WestonDave

Depends - I've just finished British Gas Click 6 for electricity. That wasn't marketed as a fixed rate but in effect has been until the put the prices up with effect from 1st June. Looking round off the back of that, everything was more expensive, but so was staying put. At that point with only Scottish and Southern having hiked, EDF's fixed rate was pretty competitive with everyone else offering just a % discount off their variable rates. Being that way inclined I looked at the better offers (all of which had yet to announce rises) and worked out how much they would need to increase to make the EDF deal a better option, and to my mind the % required was fairly small especially compared to the double figure % increases being announced.

It is a gamble - normally you pay a slight premium over spot prices at the time but you trade that for the chance of making savings if prices increase. In short you pay for certainty - sometimes you might win but that to some degree is a side issue. If you know you can afford the fixed rate, for some people that works better than worrying that they might end up with a bill they can't afford even if they might also miss out on some savings.

backfoot

Yes it's a marketing ploy and con for most people.

Most of the posters don't understand the timing issues and think that if prices rise by the up front premium then they are ok. That is clearly not the case, often requiring prices to rise by double the premium on the variable rates depending on timing, just to claw back the overpayments.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3351192

Marco_Panettone

It's hard to tell at the moment. IF prices rocket then fixing will save money. If they don't then it won't.

Fixing could also be setting yourself up for massive future rises once the 'fixed' period ends.

apt

I fixed electricity with British Gas for a few years until April 2010 with the night rate electricity costing under 1.9 p per kw/h. I would be surprised if you would find a variable rate that came close to that at the time. The fixed rates are that cheap at the moment, but the EDF 2014 rate is a reasonable insurance against a series of price rises, particularly as the exit fees in the second half of the term are low.

keith1950

Hi foreversummer, It always pays to keep your' eye on the ball' and switch to a fixed tariff at the right time.

About 6 weeks ago I decided to switch to a fixed tariff ( npower go fix 5 for electricity and eon age uk price protection april 2013 ).

Since then both these tariffs have been withdrawn.

On checking with the comparison sites ( on my particular useage ) these fixed tariffs are now cheaper than any others, including variable tariffs and current discounted tariffs and thats before the remaining 4 big suppliers raise their prices.

Yorkie1

I came to the end of Scottish Power Energy Saver 9 and chose to transfer to Npower Go Fix 5. On my annual consumption the monthly cost was the same.

About 3 weeks later SP put its prices up so I am already in pocket.

foreversummer

Thank you. It is interesting to hear everyones opinions.

I beginning to think that if your usage is at the lower end of the spectrum there is not so much differential in fixing, whereby, like me with higher usage the gap to fix is much wider?

Or is it because I've been used to the cheapest online tariffs that the jump seems so huge? £430 pa extra to fix with eon for 2 years seems just massive and just too much.

It'll will be interesting to see how things pan out over the next couple of years and then I will see if I should have fixed or not.

Foreversummer