Octopus Tracker

Tipper

Only 9 months

This is from https://octopus.energy/smart/tracker/

Should you choose to leave Tracker, it won't be instant – you may need to wait up to 2 weeks before the switch to your new tariff will complete. After leaving, you'll need to wait 9 months before switching back to Tracker.

Spies

Tipper said:

Only 9 months

This is from https://octopus.energy/smart/tracker/

Should you choose to leave Tracker, it won't be instant – you may need to wait up to 2 weeks before the switch to your new tariff will complete. After leaving, you'll need to wait 9 months before switching back to Tracker.

Damn, that means I need to go back to Agile in January. 

Telegraph_Sam

Based on the blurb is there a case for joining Tracker in summer but leaving it over the winter? And would this apply more to gas than elec, or v.v.?

masonic

Telegraph_Sam said:

Based on the blurb is there a case for joining Tracker in summer but leaving it over the winter? And would this apply more to gas than elec, or v.v.?

I don't think so, because if you left in, say September, aiming to return in June, what would you switch to instead? SVR? You'd then risk being hit with price rises in January and April, which would surely happen if Tracker was elevated for a sustained period. You can't now fix for just 9 months, as there is a large penalty to leave a fix early.

If you only get the benefit of Tracker for 3 months of the summer, you'd make little saving, so maybe leaving altogether and staying fixed would be best if you couldn't tolerate price spikes. I doubt this would be cheaper over the long term.

Telegraph_Sam

I got this idea from the (to my mind) remarkably candid notes by Octopus themselves on Tracker. . They pointed out that Tracker prices could double in winter and there was a case for switching to Flexible or some tariff that was protected by a cap during this period. 9 months from now would bring us to July which is "later" than ideal so one would have to take a long term view of getting into sync with the seasons in stages.
It could well be that these ponderings apply more to one fuel than the other. Keeps the mind in gear when the attractions of being outside are diminished.

masonic

Telegraph_Sam said:

I got this idea from the (to my mind) remarkably candid notes by Octopus themselves on Tracker. . They pointed out that Tracker prices could double in winter and there was a case for switching to Flexible or some tariff that was protected by a cap during this period. 9 months from now would bring us to July which is "later" than ideal so one would have to take a long term view of getting into sync with the seasons in stages.
It could well be that these ponderings apply more to one fuel than the other. Keeps the mind in gear when the attractions of being outside are diminished.

That note was added when elec Tracker was averaging about 15p. I commented at the time that if it averages 30p in Dec/Jan I'd be happy. I am expecting periods when it will be higher than that. I can't really see any justification for paying 27p and a higher standing charge, with the risk the cap will go up in January anyway, or for fixing and losing access to cheaper prices for a year.

I can't knowledgeably comment on gas, as I don't have a supply, but it looks like the current SVR price is already close to double last summer's Tracker average.

One thing is for sure, if there is any sustained wholesale price increase, it will feed into SVR and ultimately all others. With Tracker/Agile, we just start paying for it sooner rather than later.

Griffindog

Apparently there is a 14 day cooling off period if you switch off Tracker where you can go back on it without penalty. I’ve seen a few people change their mind after jumping to fix as soon as daily rates went over 20p.

MultiFuelBurner

October has surprised me in the East of England we are averaging 18p kw so far for the month which given we don't have to move any usage around or avoid peak hours is pretty amazing.

Let's see what November brings.

Keep on tracking 🚚🚛🛻

Qyburn

Griffindog said:

Apparently there is a 14 day cooling off period if you switch off Tracker where you can go back on it without penalty. I’ve seen a few people change their mind after jumping to fix as soon as daily rates went over 20p.

I can't see where that's stated.

bristolleedsfan

Qyburn said:

Griffindog said:

Apparently there is a 14 day cooling off period if you switch off Tracker where you can go back on it without penalty. I’ve seen a few people change their mind after jumping to fix as soon as daily rates went over 20p.

I can't see where that's stated.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2022/05/energy-suppliers-are-charging-higher-exit-penalties-/#:~:text=If you do switch to a fix with,the last 49 days of your fixed-term contract.

What can I do about high exit fees? 

If you do switch to a fix with high exit fees and change your mind, you always have a 14-day cooling off period after you switch, when you can cancel without penalties.