Contract up soon, will switch start from that date?

ian_w_4

I just got a letter saying my fixed period is up on 8th April. I've just had a look on the usual sites but none of them have an option to pick a date from which the supply should start.

I have a cancellation fee if I switch before 9th of April but I don't really want to leave it til then to start a switch as the increase in charges is significant and it can take a while to go through.

Question is, if I initiate a switch now will the suppliers do the obvious, see my contact is up next month and set that as the date? Will they ask me? or will they just do it immediately and I get a charge for early cancellation?

Thanks for any insight

keith1950

No you cannot set a switch date. Once you apply for a switch there is usually a 14 day cooling off period then the new supplier contacts the old supplier.

Switches can take anywhere between 3 to 5 weeks so if your contract ends on the 8th of April I would not apply to switch before the 19th/20th of March.

The timescale is quite unpredictable and usually the gas and electricity switch on different days.

ian_w_4

Thanks, I suspected that would be the case. Seems strange, when I changed suppliers for my business energy almost the first question was "what date does your current contract expire?"

macman

Ths date your contract end is the date you go on suply with the new provider, not the date you apply to switch. Switch 3 weeks prior and you will be fine.