Fixed price about to end - shall I fix now?

babelfish

Im with Scottish Power and my fixed deal is ending this month but they have said I can switch to another deal now. Scottish Power are the cheapest in our area and I think even if I wait until they have all put their prices up that Scottish Power will still be the best for us. On their website there are 3 fixed deals:

Platinum Fixed Energy - fixed to October 2015
Help Beat Cancer online - fixed to January 2017
Online Fixed price energy - fixed to December 2014

Ive chosen the cancer one because its the longest fix but theres no mention of what the energy will be fixed at. Will it be fixed at what the cost is now? Ive tried ringing SP to ask them to clarify the differences in the deals but its impossible to get through! I arranged a callback and was called back but when I explained what I was enquiring about she said she'd put me through to the relevant department and they didn't answer!

(The Platinum deal above adds £168 per year for boiler cover which is why I didn't choose that.)

apt

There are more SP fixed price tariffs than that and they have different tariffs. Unless they have changed since last week the March 2015 fix that ends at the end of March 2015 is the cheapest.

babelfish

When I looked last week there were about 7 different fixed tariffs and there are now only the 3 fixed for existing customers. I think you can get different deals if you aren't already a customer.

DigForVictory

Please, go online and look at *all* providers. I'm learning to change electricity provider the same way I change insurers thanks to MSE, and it honestly isn't that painful or difficult. Of course SP want to keep you, but they have *their* best interests at heart, not yours.

A.Penny.Saved

You can find out on their website the costs per unit on the 2017 price fix deal. However all the energy providers like to make it as difficult as possible to find their prices in my experience.

A point worth noting about that deal is that the Standing Charge is very high and that won't really suit any very low users. However the unit rate is very low, for me it's 12.7523p kWh for electric and 3.9239p kWh for gas. The SC is £139.50 for both gas and electric, therefore nearly £280 per year.

The costs vary per area so yours are likely to be slightly different.

There is a £25/£25 exit fee but switching to another of SP tariffs is free so in theory you could switch to a tariff without exit fees and then leave.

For my usage, it does work out a very close 2nd of the longer fixed deals, just behind EDF. However for higher energy usage it should prove slightly cheaper due to the lower unit costs. One downside to the deal is that the deal runs out sooner than any of the other 2017 price fixes so will provide less long term price stability. My current SP deal is about to run out and I don't seem to have been on it that long.

andrew-b

There are more on their website than that..it looks to me like your not scrolling down as i've got 7 deals on my screen at http://www.scottishpower.co.uk/your-home/energy-products/dual

Just click the orange text to the left of each product on that webpage and on the right the link to pdf of prices should be there.

They seem to have changed it since last week. If you do decide to go with them then you can make the switch by logging into your scottish power account and there's an option to change product. It all changed on Saturday i think as that's when i moved to their March 2015 fixed deal myself (moving off their January 2014 fix 2 months early despite being more expensive in the short term) and it's now been applied to my account as my new direct debit and new product description is showing.

If i was a betting man i'd say those deals won't be there for long though!

As others have said do a full comparison (preferably using your kWh usage figures - you can find them on your scottish power online account) . Use energyhelpline.com uswitch.com or mse's cheap energy club to do a comparision. For me scottish power is still one of the best deals. The advantage of staying with the same company is the switch takes a matter of days rather than weeks but i'd still advise doing a full comparison.

DragonQ

I also see lots of tariffs on the Scottish Power website but I'm currently with them so that might be why. Is it possible the new Ofgem regulations dictating a maximum of 4 tariffs only applies for new customers?

andrew-b

Strange just looked again and their "change service" method has reverted back to what it was last week. When i did it on Saturday it actually presented all the products available to change to with a price based on my usage for each! Now it just asks you to select the product and submit meter reading and that it will take upto 7 days.

babelfish

DigForVictory wrote: »

Please, go online and look at *all* providers. I'm learning to change electricity provider the same way I change insurers thanks to MSE, and it honestly isn't that painful or difficult. Of course SP want to keep you, but they have *their* best interests at heart, not yours.

I already do that and SP are the cheapest for me. This is why Im just comparing their tariffs.

I click "change deal" and it only gives me an option of the 3 I mentioned. I think it shows you more deals if you're a new customer.

babelfish

DragonQ wrote: »

I also see lots of tariffs on the Scottish Power website but I'm currently with them so that might be why. Is it possible the new Ofgem regulations dictating a maximum of 4 tariffs only applies for new customers?

Could it depend on your area as to what tariffs are shown?

babelfish

My parents live in the same area and their fixed price deal with Scottish Power doesn't end until January 2014. Ive got them to log on and look at available deals and they get the same 3 options.