Switching confusion

huggermugger

I am with Npower on their GoFix8 tariff which ends on 2nd Feb 2013. Have spent ages trawling various site & as far as I can see the best one to switch to is the EDF Blue Price Promise. I want to switch through a price comparison site to get cashback - I think MoneySupermarket offers the highest at £15 per fuel. If I switch now I will incur penalties - £60 I think, also I would lose the online/duel fual discount of £100 which Npower rather craftily only pays after you have been with them for 12 months. My worry is that if I wait until Feb when the old one runs out, the new one may have disappeared.

I guess my ideal scenario would be to apply now with a 2nd Feb start date. Is this possible or am I living in cloud cuckoo land? Otherwise, when should I apply so that I switch as early as I can without losing out? And when would the effective end/start date be - when you apply to switch or when the switch goes through?

My head aches....:o

Wywth

huggermugger wrote: »

I am with Npower on their GoFix8 tariff which ends on 2nd Feb 2013. Have spent ages trawling various site & as far as I can see the best one to switch to is the EDF Blue Price Promise. I want to switch through a price comparison site to get cashback - I think MoneySupermarket offers the highest at £15 per fuel. If I switch now I will incur penalties - £60 I think, also I would lose the online/duel fual discount of £100 which Npower rather craftily only pays after you have been with them for 12 months. My worry is that if I wait until Feb when the old one runs out, the new one may have disappeared.

I guess my ideal scenario would be to apply now with a 2nd Feb start date. Is this possible or am I living in cloud cuckoo land? Otherwise, when should I apply so that I switch as early as I can without losing out? And when would the effective end/start date be - when you apply to switch or when the switch goes through?

My head aches....:o

Why have you spent ages trawling various sites when you are on a fixed deal that lasts almost 2 months yet?

huggermugger

I don't know whether you mean it to, but to me that's another way of saying "you're a silly cow" If that's the case, please don't bother, I'd rather be ignored. Thanks anyway.

macman

If the penalty is £60 before 1/2/13, then you should wait about another 2-3 weeks before commencing a switch. assuming 4-5 weeks switch time.
You cannot specify a switch date, and the ETC is a lot higher than the surcharge for a couple of weeks on Standard tariff.
Since all the suppliers (except Eon) have already announced their winter increases, I'd not expect any movement before February.
The really cheap fixes are long gone now, back in October.
Waiting until you've bagged your £100 NPower bonus in the 13th month is going to save you far more than any tariff difference between now and February.

Edit: I and I see that Eon have now announced their increase too, commencing 18/1. No great surprise there.

huggermugger

Thanks macman, that's really helpful. I'll diary it for after Christmas.

macman

You may need to wait longer than that in order to secure your £100 bonus-you'll need the full 13 months in contract I believe.

huggermugger

Yes, I did wonder as I know there's been a few problems with it in the past, but I did call them and ask - they said it would be "credited against the next bill after the anniversary date". When I asked what would happen if I switched straight away I was told it would be credited to my account & if that left me in credit they would send a cheque. We shall see!

mrsj28

Hi - I know this is an older thread so my response might be a bit late. I am on Npower Go Fix 8 and am switching to EDF blue. I called npower today and they confirmed a) there would be no exit fees if I arrange the switch today (I think it's because it's the last month of the contract, and it takes at least 28 days for the switch to happen). They also confirmed that it wouldn't affect the direct debit discount - I started paying NPower Go Fix 8 in December last year so have already passed the crucial 12 month mark so the discount will be applied.

I've just done the switch via USwitch (the link from this site gets you six free bottles of wine) or you can go via other sites for cash back.

huggermugger

And a handy reminder to me to get on with it - thanks!:D