Pros and Cons of Fixed tariff?

myright

With the price Hike looming ahead.

What are the alternatives?

What are the Pros and Cons of Fixed Tarff?

scaredofdebt

Pros:

You won't be affected by any price rises for x amount of time.

Cons:

Not always the cheapest tariff, but some can be depending on your usage etc. Longer term fixes tend to cost more.

May have exit penalties/fees

Personally I've just gone for a fix until April 2015, it was cheaper than my existing tariff in any case.

myright

Who did you go with? and what is your exit policy like?

Where could I compare energy companies for my usage and cheapest in my area?

maisie1234

I am with First Utility. Just gone for V9 fixed until 2015. Not the very cheapest but I am expecting some cashback soon....

anotheruser

Same here.

I went with nPowers Dec 2015 (?) deal, purely because my Scottish Power Aug 2013 was running out and it came back the cheapest... apparently.

It says on all the paperwork that I may be charged up to £50 for an exit fee, but I am certain when signing up it said there was none. But I don't plan to change anyway unless something forces us to.

uswitch.com is a good place to compare.
Then compare that to MSE's Energy Club.
Then compare that with going direct through cashback websites.
For me it turned out uswitch and the cheap energy club all offered the same amount of cashback as Topcashback so I just went through TCB.

NittyGritty

in process of being on npower 2017 , peace of mind no price increase for 4 winters.yes its higher now, but with increased hikes on the way in the years to come it should pay for it self over time, and also its free to leave

dwtmahdc

agreed, the npower one looks ok. i just find their customer service abhorrent.

i'm with bg. price promise 2015. 8% higher, but their service has been spot on for me. smart meter too, so i'm happy to stay with them.

plus if i want to leave it doesn't cost anything to move to their default tariff that has no exit fees.

myright

Thanks fellas but how does fixed rate actually cost?

NittyGritty

myright wrote: »

Thanks fellas but how does fixed rate actually cost?

do a comparison using uswitch, confused to name a few, and find out your cost

Nada666

myright wrote: »

Thanks fellas but how does fixed rate actually cost?

It is only the price of each and every kWh that is fixed for a period of time - it is not an all-you-can-use buffet for one fixed monthly charge. Monthly instalments will change and be updated every three/six months on meter reads (including estimated meter reads).

myright

so if I am reading this correctly it is just a single price each unit throughout the day? as apposed to peak and off peak times?