GB Energy Supply - Thinking of switching

crisjarvis89

Currently i'm with British Gas and i pay about £110 per month.

According to GB energy supply's Variable tariff my new bill would be £78 per month.

But according to their Fixed for 12 month plan i would pay £52.93 from April - September and £105.07 from September - March.

I'm hoping i have this right but i'm very doubtful... Does this mean i could simply switch now to the Variable tariff for £78 a month, and then in April switch my tariff to the Fixed tariff and pay £52.93 per month until September and then switch again?

As far as i can tell it would be possible to do this as there are no exit fees on either of these offers.

Can someone please tell me that i'm correct so i can save £££££ ?

System

crisjarvis89 wrote: »

Currently i'm with British Gas and i pay about £110 per month.

According to GB energy supply's Variable tariff my new bill would be £78 per month.

But according to their Fixed for 12 month plan i would pay £52.93 from April - September and £105.07 from September - March.

I'm hoping i have this right but i'm very doubtful... Does this mean i could simply switch now to the Variable tariff for £78 a month, and then in April switch my tariff to the Fixed tariff and pay £52.93 per month until September and then switch again?

As far as i can tell it would be possible to do this as there are no exit fees on either of these offers.

Can someone please tell me that i'm correct so i can save £££££ ?

If you are on a standard variable tariff you can switch to a fixed tariff at any time; however, ..... the fixed tariff is unlikely to be the same deal as is on the table today. I am on the GBEnergy standard variable tariff for electricity but, given the situation in the Middle East, I am checking prices every week. Any hint of an increase then I will go for a fix.

Bear in mind, that the fixed deal is not as you indicate. To compare energy deals you need to do it in kWHs per year not £s per month.

CashStrapped

You are making the mistake that a lot of people make.

You are looking at the Direct Debit amount as the exact amount you will pay for future use.

It is not. A direct debit is a guess on what your bill might be depending on how much you use and have used in the past.

So if you switch to a tariff that is 50% cheaper they will say that you will pay 50% less. Yet if you then go on to use twice as much electric/gas for that period, you will pay the same as you were before.

What you need to compare is the unit price for gas and electric on the tariff itself.

So for gas the old tariff may be x.xx pence per kwh and the new one will be y.yy pence per kwh. There is also a daily standing charge to take into account.

That's how you compare tariffs.

Tariffs change all the time, there is not guarantee that the tariff available now will be available in April. The best tariff to be on is the cheapest one available (not taking into account company reputation).

So the best way to compare is to use a comparison site using your past KWH usage. Find meter readings (not estimated ones) which are nearly one year apart and get your annal KWH usage. Put that figure into a comparison site and make sure it compares all tariffs and that should giv you all the information you need.

crisjarvis89

thanks for the reply!

Actually to come to the figures i came to, i entered my actual monthly kw/h usage and those were the monthly prices i was given. I'm not intending to start using more energy in the coming months so i don't foresee my usage increasing any further.

My question was actually about whether or not i can switch tariffs in the way i described. Thanks anyway though!

CashStrapped

You can as long as there are no exit fees. Some companies do not charge fees for switches onto other tariffs with them even if the tariffs say they do.

One thing we cannot control is the weather, so if the temperature plunges, we will all be using more energy.

As I said, just enure you are on the cheapest tariff available now. That is the best course of action as it may not be available at a future date. Scottish power change their tariffs every month.

Once it has gone, it has gone.

System

crisjarvis89 wrote: »

thanks for the reply!

Actually to come to the figures i came to, i entered my actual monthly kw/h usage and those were the monthly prices i was given. I'm not intending to start using more energy in the coming months so i don't foresee my usage increasing any further.

My question was actually about whether or not i can switch tariffs in the way i described. Thanks anyway though!

You can. Energy companies only apply exit fees to their Fixed Tariffs. Fixed tariffs may, or may not, carry exit fees or another penalty if you switch/leave. For example, First Utility now discourages tariff hooping by charging an exit fee. Ovo doesn't charge exit fees but a change from one fixed tariff to another will incur the loss of the online discount (£30 per fuel). The answer to your question is 'yes' but as I said, 6 months on the deal on the table may be very different and any new fixed term contract MAY have exit fees.