What is the point of switching

Lilian1744

In September, British Gas informed me that they were increasing prices by around 25%. Even me, a very reluctant switcher, had to do something about it. So I went on MSE and found out that I could save most of that increase by switching to Toto Energy. Hurray. So I switched, not without difficulty. Toto was clearly overwhelmed because of having attracted so many people like me and not having the Customer Services team to support it. Every query, and there were 3 caused by glitches in their system, took agonising hours on the phone or email to get any sort of answer until I finally found a manager who admitted they were overwhelmed and sorted out the glitches for me. Not how job but I was very grateful to him.
Fast forward 8 weeks. I get an email from Toto telling me that from January they are putting up their prices by 25% which for me means £50 a month and puts me right back where I started.
I HAVE DONE SWITCHING. Except I will now switch back to British Gas

SpotlandRules

Always the gamble you take when you switch to a variable package.

JJ_Egan

For me the point of switching is either to pay less than i am now or find the cheapest fixed price .
However i would not be switching to a variable package if i wanted to save money .
As it says variable not fixed price .

House_Martin

Just make sure you go to a fixed tariff deal with BG. At least you have no exit fees with Toto . The BG all online fixed tariff is their best which requires you to agree to installation of smart meters in 2018 which is a good thing.
Then keep an eye out for any other fixed deals or collectives with BG or Sainsburys Energy which allow you to move to that tariff exit free.
There is a good reason why British Gas are easily the most popular supplier.At least they staff their call centres properly which allows you to call them and speak to a human in a minute or two, unlike the cheapskates like Iresa Energy who are so ignorant they do not bother answering and you have to battle to get money back when you switch .Good move returning to BG

System

I don’t agree that people should always go for fixed deals. I accept that a fixed contract gives some certainty but it may not give you the cheapest price. My best electricity deals over the past 2/3 years have all been on variable tariffs with GBEnergy; Iresa; Powershop and now Bulb. If Bulb increases its SVT tomorrow then I will just switch away.

That said, if you choose a SVT, you do have to keep a close eye on market movements. FWIW, my guess is that with SVT caps in the offing, suppliers will be cautious about large tariff increases. Often these have little to do with wholesale prices per se, and more to do with bad timing on the part of the supplier. It’s a bit like trying to buy a summer holiday package for August in August. Cheaper prices were available much earlier in the year.

matelodave

You should start looking round for a better tariff and switch away, especially if you dont have an exit fee to pay.

As others have said, you can save lots of money but you have to keep on your toes and be prepared to switch. I personally prefer a fixed tariff although if something cheaper comes up, then I'll switch mid term.

I've just taken out a year's fix with IRESA which is about the cheapest for me at the moment but I wont be afraid to switch away if they start playing up or a cheaper deal becomes available.

JJ_Egan

My reply was more to do with the OP in effect picking a deal that could rise in price , without really understanding that .

Anthorn

What we should note here is that variable tariffs are set to disappear as energy companies seek to avoid the proposed price cap which is mainly against consumers being automatically transferred from fixed price deals to much more expensive variable tariffs.

I agree with Hengus in part: The best deals for me are variable tariffs, the overall winner in my region being Outfox The Market which would save me £89 a year off the Scottish Power tariff I'm on now. What keeps me with Scottish Power is that I can change to another of their tariffs without paying the exit fee which is £50 per fuel in their case.
https://www.outfoxthemarket.co.uk/Home.aspx

Overall, it's the exit fee on some fixed tariffs which block switching to a better deal. So if a better deal comes up you're either stuck or you pay the exit fee and try to recoup it from cheaper energy prices.

System

Anthorn wrote: »

Overall, it's the exit fee on some fixed tariffs which block switching to a better deal. So if a better deal comes up you're either stuck or you pay the exit fee and try to recoup it from cheaper energy prices.

Play the market at its own game. Switch to Bulb; collect £50 on passing Go and they will also repay all exit fees. Switch again. Or, switch to the supplier's SVT (most suppliers then waive the exit fee) and then switch away.

It's hard from a distance to see some of these deals make any financial sense whatsoever, which is why we might see some more suppliers go to the wall.