When to start switch

Stevefromdonny

I'm on a Scottish Power Jan 2015 fix that finishes at the end of December.

When should I initiate a switch through the Cheap Energy Club? I know it can take 6 weeks to switch, and I don't want to end up on Scottish Powers' standard rate, but also don't want to pay £60 exit fees!

Any ideas? Is there an option to specify when the switch becomes active?

I'm also loathe to loose all my consumption history that I have built up with Scottish Power, I have enjoyed watching it drop like a stone year on year! There should be an option to import this to a new supplier's online interface.

Thanks!

System

Stevefromdonny wrote: »

I'm on a Scottish Power Jan 2015 fix that finishes at the end of December.

When should I initiate a switch through the Cheap Energy Club? I know it can take 6 weeks to switch, and I don't want to end up on Scottish Powers' standard rate, but also don't want to pay £60 exit fees!

Any ideas? Is there an option to specify when the switch becomes active?

I'm also loathe to loose all my consumption history that I have built up with Scottish Power, I have enjoyed watching it drop like a stone year on year! There should be an option to import this to a new supplier's online interface.

Thanks!

You should receive an e-mail/letter from SP 49 to 42 days before the end of your current tariff. You are then free to initiate the switching process without risk of exit fees. If your switch happens later than the end of December then you will remain on your present tariff. I cannot comment on MSE but all the main switching sites allow you to enter your projected gas/electricity consumption in kWhs. This should give you an accurate estimated annual bill; however, a number of companies will ask you to pay more during the Winter months as you have no credit balance to carry forward.

Stevefromdonny

Hengus wrote: »

. . . however, a number of companies will ask you to pay more during the Winter months as you have no credit balance to carry forward.

SP told me in Feb that I should keep my DD at £107 (at the same time as they were repaying me £300 of credit I'd built up!)

I reduced my DD at the time from £107 to £81, based on my usage over last winter (which was a risky move due to the warm weather).

Then they told me today (the start of winter!) they were reducing my DD to £66/month as I have built up over £200 of credit. I spend a lot on heating over the winter due to solid walls, so this could again be a bit risky. It certainly seems an odd thing for them to do, reducing direct debits at the start of winter.

I will keep an eye on the DD over the next couple of months (until I switch!), I don't want to end up in debt. SP actually have a tariff that came high (3-4) in the comparison.

System

Caution: if you decide to leave SP do not cancel your DD until you after have received your final bill. If you do, they may consider it a breach of contract and switch you on to their standard tariff.