Fuel suppliers

wilson1973

Thanks folks,just out of interest do people tend to go for a variable deal or a fixed deal?

Biggus_Dickus

wilson1973 wrote: »

Thanks folks,just out of interest do people tend to go for a variable deal or a fixed deal?

12-month Fixed tariff with £0 exit fees every time for me,...these tariffs rarely come with cashback or referral bonuses though. Others on here will have a different view.

“You pays yer money and you takes yer choice”
:money:

Gerry1

Biggus_Dickus wrote: »

12-month Fixed tariff with £0 exit fees every time for me,...these tariffs rarely come with cashback or referral bonuses though. Others on here will have a different view.

“You pays yer money and you takes yer choice”
:money:

Same here ! Avro is quite good because they bring out a new tariff every month or so and you can change immediately if it's cheaper and there's no exit fee. Very slow to refund credit when you leave, however.

JJ_Egan

Fixed one year or two year depending upon price .
Dual fuel or single suppliers depending upon price .
By price i mean unit cost and standing charges not estimated DD or estimated yearly cost .


Current is elec Co op two year fix and gas Zog two year fix .

wilson1973

Hi folks,that has helped me,I can't leave yet as My shell energy is a lock in until Feb 2020,I jsut wanted to have a look about and have my eye on it for next year,I look after my mum who is housebound so I have to have the heating on more than I would for myself so I always worry about heating bills.
The Avro looks promising though,but obviously I will check a few sites nearer the time,does anyone know how many days inside the contract you can swap suppliers so you avoid the early leaving charge or do you have to wait until the next day,also after going to the Avro site it didn't appear to let me see about just having one fuel the box for dual fuels was lit up and I couldn't change it.,I'm not too fussed about that though

Gerry1

Energy suppliers are banned from charging exit fees when you have less than 49 days to go till the end of your tariff. These are rules set down by the energy regulator, Ofgem, so suppliers do have to stick to them. So stay within these timeframes and you shouldn't be charged.

You have to have electricity as well, Avro won't sell gas only. Do the sums, it may be worthwhile to pay the exit fees if the new company is significantly cheaper. But make sure you are comparing annual costs derived from actual kWh meter readings, not relying on estimated readings or Direct Debit amounts.

wilson1973

My tarrif price at Shell exit feb 2020 v3
is
3.43per kwh gas 16.28 daily standing charge

15.857per kwh electricity 16.17 daily standard charge



At Avro it's
2.851 per kw/h gas 2.851 daily standing charge

12.941 per kw/h electricity 12.941 daily standing charge



estimated saving of £308.40


It looks like I should be swapping now and paying the £60 exit fee




my years use kw/h was gas 12,668 and elec 3,859

Gerry1

I've just received my credit refund from Avro, so I'm happy to recommend them.

Don't touch Quidco, for months they kept promising me my cashback from National Tyres and Autocare, but it was declined. If an energy company offers cashback it probably won't be the cheapest.

Checkout the Which? and Citizens Advice sites to see the whole market.

wilson1973

Gerry1 wrote: »

I've just received my credit refund from Avro, so I'm happy to recommend them.

Don't touch Quidco, for months they kept promising me my cashback from National Tyres and Autocare, but it was declined. If an energy company offers cashback it probably won't be the cheapest.

Checkout the Which? and Citizens Advice sites to see the whole market.

Hi yes,with me the alarm bells started to ring when I noticed they were offering freebies,including a Google home mini

Biggus_Dickus

wilson1973 wrote: »

My tarrif price at Shell exit feb 2020 v3
is
3.43per kwh gas 16.28 daily standing charge

15.857per kwh electricity 16.17 daily standard charge



At Avro it's
2.851 per kw/h gas 2.851 daily standing charge

12.941 per kw/h electricity 12.941 daily standing charge



estimated saving of £308.40


It looks like I should be swapping now and paying the £60 exit fee




my years use kw/h was gas 12,668 and elec 3,859

I’ve just plugged your tariff/usage details (but using my own post-code) into the Citizens Advice comparison tool and it gives me this;...“we estimate your current annual energy spend is £1,265.93”

The cheapest 12-month fixed tariff with £0 exit fees is Avro Simple and SuperSave at a cost of £997.23 per year...i.e. £268.69 per year cheaper than your present Shell Feb 2020 v3 tariff.

There are cheaper tariffs available but they are all Variable tariffs,...some have exit fees, some don’t.

The earliest you can leave Shell without incurring exit fees is approx 14th December if your present deal ends on Feb 1st.

Leaving Shell immediately and switching to Avro will take approx 3 to 4 weeks to complete. That would leave 3 months worth of savings between mid Sept and 14th December.

It’s very difficult to estimate but given your usage the difference between the two tariffs (Avro/Shell) for the period mid-Sept to mid-Dec will probably(???) be approx £80. Could be a bit more,...could be a bit less.

If you do move to Avro immediately you’ll need to pay £60 Shell exit fee which would negate most of the potential cost saving for said period.

However, an immediate move to Avro will give you the security of a 12 months fixed (£0 exit fee) tariff and all the savings it will bring. You also have the flexibility of jumping ship (without exit fees) if something better comes along in the meantime!

If I were you I’d be switching to Avro today;...if you do decide to switch it’s better not to procrastinate,...tariffs are withdrawn and replaced with alarming regularity,...and the tariff charge usually (but not always!) increases.

The choice of new energy provider/tariff is yours of course, but my advice is do it sooner rather than later whatever choice you make.

P.S. be aware that Energy company tariff charges vary depending on your location in the UK so your figures may not correspond exactly with my figures above.