exit fees

pencove

I understand that you can change your energy company and no exit fees will be charged if you are within 49 days of your fixed contracts? is that correct?

In my case I have an electric tariff with npower ends end of April 2020 and my gas is also with them and ends end of December 2020.  I realise I will have to pay the exit fee for the December 2020 but if I move companies within 49 days of my April tariff ending I should not pay the exit fee for that, is that correct?  It is £30 fee for each?

Many thanks Jules

dogshome

Your supplier is supposed to contact you, advising you that the fixed tariff you are on is coming to end, and your Get-Out-of-Jail-Free card starts 49 days prior to the tariffs end date,

A Switch usually takes 2 to 3 weeks, and to be on the safe side start it appx 30 days before the tariffs end date.

Though you have Dual fuel from one supplier, they are actually separate accounts and you can move one without the other, and in fact, having Elec from one supplier and Gas from another is usually cheaper than using just one supplier

Start you search for other suppliers on the Citizens Advice website - It's a bit clonky, but it lists all the suppliers and their prices without fear or favour.

When you think you have found the supplier you think you want, check the reviews on this site before you commit

s

pencove

Thank you for that information as Npower have said it is 30 days not 49, so have gone back to them with the Ofgem rules.

I have decided to move completely away from Npower as not been happy for some time and through this site have found a supplier who is offering a good deal for both gas and electric(which approved)  I was thinking of switching around 20th March, would that be okay as it is within 49 days  - and should only have to pay the exit fee for the December 2020 tariff?

Many thanks

Hammer_Time

Some say you can start the switch on 49/50 days before the end of your contract. I believe starting the switch on the 13 March should be fine.

Streaky_Bacon

It is definitely 49 days as dogshome says. You could almost certainly start the switch before that and still be OK, because new suppliers usually, if not always, wait at least the 14 day cooling off period because completing the switch (it is the completion day that counts, not when the switch starts).

So, if you want to leave as soon as possible then do it 49 days before. If you want to leave as late as possible (because the new tariff is more expensive that the current fixed tariff) then you can wait until your fixed term has expired before you switch. If the new supplier notifies the old supplier that a switch has started (not completed), within 20 working days of the end of the fixed term, then you will still pay the old fixed term tariff until the switch completes.

What is the last day of your fixed term?

If it's April 30 then any date from March 13 onwards would be fine.

pencove

Thanks Hammer Time, Dogshome and Streaky Bacon, really helpful.

The fixed term for the electric is 30th April so good to hear that I could move 12 March onward, sooner the better.

dogshome

Your Choice - But with n'power saying 30 days , (probably just an ill trained Cust, Serv. clerk), I wouldn't take the risk of getting into a row with n'power, even though you'll win, on what is a complex Switch - Elec end of tariff / Gas Pay exit fee - Do you really want the hassle when a 30 day notice will still do the job

Beware Which recommendations on "Services" products

Obviously they can't open several hundred accounts with each supplier and check the service quality for themselves, so they base their opinion on Customer feedback

They did Elec some time ago and it was Utility Warehouse who came out top - This is a supplier with some of the highest prices in the UK, and they have an army of commission only salesman/women who sign up customers - Take a Guess from where all the plaudits for UW came from?

Please start your homework with Cit. Adv. and go from there

Streaky_Bacon

dogshome said:

Your Choice - But with n'power saying 30 days , (probably just an ill trained Cust, Serv. clerk), I wouldn't take the risk of getting into a row with n'power, even though you'll win, on what is a complex Switch - Elec end of tariff / Gas Pay exit fee - Do you really want the hassle when a 30 day notice will still do the job

  It is always worth taking into account hassle as dogshome says, but really this situation is so definitive that I would personally go ahead. The worst that will happen is that they'll deduct the exit fee from your credit, or send you a final bill with it.

A 30 second email to them, should be sufficient for them to eventually sort it out. It's not as if there is any real debate.

So, in many cases I would say, yes, consider the hassle, but in this case I wouldn't let it concern me.

NPower do have a history of handing out bad advice in this area.

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/ofgem-s-compliance-work-npower-and-eon

Ofgem found that between October 2013 and February 2017, E.ON call centre advisors incorrectly told 450 customers that they would incur exit fees if they switched during the ‘switching window’.

In both cases, Ofgem found no customers who had been wrongly charged exit fees as a result of the misinformation.

pencove

Thank you all again for your help with this.  I have found octopus offering a good deal on both gas and electric and their customer service seems good too.

pencove

Just checked on citizens advice and again octopus came out well and no tie ins or cancellation fees

Raxiel

If you really want to leave with the gas too, one option is to find out if the exit fee applies if you switch within Npower. If it doesn't you can switch to the standard variable for that fuel which shouldn't have an exit fee at all (although obviously, check the T&C's carefully). As soon as that's gone through you can leave penalty free. You'll likely pay a lot more for gas during the switch period, but probably still less than £30