Switch now or when contract term has actually ended?

laptop80

I'm currently on Npower Sign Online 23, which has a £20 per fuel penalty if I leave before 6th November.

I want to switch my electricity and gas as soon as possible as the better deals seem to be drying up, but clearly I don't want to pay penalties for the privilege.

If I signed up with a new supplier now, would the delay / notice period for actually getting switched mean I would avoid penalties, or do I need to wait until 6th November before I start the process?

Thanks

macman

No, a switch will take 4-5 weeks, so you can commence now, you won't be on supply with your new supplier before 6/11.
All the decent fixes have long gone now though.

laptop80

Thanks. Yes, has been a bit galling being tied in and watching the best fixes disappear. Will be going for a tariff with no cancellation penalties this time.

macman

Which will rule out most of the competitive ones...
You shouldn't get hung up on ETC's. If switching 2 months ago was going to save you say £120pa, then paying an ETC of £40 still leaves you £80 ahead. And any cashbacks will usually cancel out the ETC.

laptop80

Cheers. I probably would have switched months ago but I had an ongoing complaint that took ages to be dealt with & I thought that I would likely do better as a current customer than an ex one. I've now had a £100 credit to my account, so I guess it worked out ok & makes up for missing the best fixes (I'm not a heavy users, so my savings will be smaller than most).