Should I switch now, cancel and switch again or it's too risky?

[Deleted User]

Hi All,

My fixed tariff is coming to an end by the end of October and I'm currently free to switch (otherwise £70 as dual fuel).
I understand that any new fixed tariff will be more expensive than my old one.
The one I'm going to switch to is Sainsbury's 1Y Fixed (currently £128pm compared to my £91pm).

To enjoy the rest of my cheap fix I'd stay with my current supplier as long as possible, something like up to 3 weeks before my contract ends, which is beginning of October.
However, I know that the price cap is to go up significantly from 1st October, which I fear would result in more expensive fixed tariffs on offer then comparing to the current ones.

If that's the case, the latest I should start my switch is 30th Sep IF that Sainsbury's fixed tariff is still available - have no idea how often they can change them, that's an additional risk.

On top of that, we now have that electricity interchange issue that (my worry is) might affect fixed tariffs even earlier than 1st Oct.

Considering all that, I'm thinking of starting my switch today and watching how it unfolds as I have 14 day cooling off period ending on 1st Oct.
If by the end of September my new tariff is still available on say, 30th Sep, I'm going to call Sainsbury's Energy and cancel my switch and then switch to it again on the same day.

I've never done that canceling bit before - any idea if that would work?
And generally, does it all make sense or there are serious flaws in my assumptions/approach?

niktheguru

Its a great question, and your logic is sound.

The only thing to bear in mind for your plan is that if you cancel a switch in your cooling off period it isn't always easy to just start another switch the same or next day, sometimes you may have to wait a week or two to be able to do so. (But you can certainly try and it may work)

No one is going to be able to tell you what the prices will be in 1,2,3,4 weeks time. Companies can change the fixed tariffs they offer at anytime to new customers. The electricity industry is in a bit of turmoil at the moment, prices are going to continue to increase this winter.

If I was in your position I'd find the cheapest fix available to you now and take it......if you're feeling lucky and are willing to gamble then it may be worth waiting till the end of September. It also depends upon how big a user you are. If you are a low energy user the differences in prices may be insignificant between now and October, but if you're a higher user it's a bigger gamble. Good luck.

[Deleted User]

Cancelling a contract does work but my advice would be do it in writing and ensure that you get a response. The supplier has to carryout the cancellation even if notice was received after the end of the ‘cooling off’ period PROVIDED you can demonstrate that the cancellation was sent within the 14 day period.

That said, switching is not simple. Many suppliers now start the switching process within the 14 day ‘cooling off’ period. For example, your present supplier has 5 days in which to block your switch. It follows that if you cancel on day 14 then the transfer of supply may well go through, and the new supplier will have to reverse the process. Come what may, you will need to wait a week or so for the system to reset before it will accept another transfer of supply.

My advice - once you are in the non exit fee period, you can talk to your new supplier and ask them to agree a supply transfer date. I did this with Zog recently and got 49 extra days on my old tariff. It didn’t make much of a financial difference but it demonstrates how flexible a supplier can be if it wants custom.

Finally, don’t get yourself into a mindset that a couple of weeks will save you a lot of money. On units alone, the only saving is in the difference in unit prices times the number of kWhs used. I once overpaid a supplier £70 for energy that it had not supplied: the actual difference in cost between the tariffs was £2.34.

[Deleted User]

Dolor said:

My advice - once you are in the non exit fee period, you can talk to your new supplier and ask them to agree a supply transfer date. I did this with Zog recently and got 49 extra days on my old tariff. It didn’t make much of a financial difference but it demonstrates how flexible a supplier can be if it wants custom.

Finally, don’t get yourself into a mindset that a couple of weeks will save you a lot of money. On units alone, the only saving is in the difference in unit prices times the number of kWhs used. I once overpaid a supplier £70 for energy that it had not supplied: the actual difference in cost between the tariffs was £2.34.

Great insight into switching, appreciate it.
When you say "once you are in the non exit fee period", I assume you mean "after cooling off period" or you're referring to non exit fee with my old provider?
Clever idea to ask for a specific supply transfer date, never heard about that and will definitely give it a try.

And yes, I know I'm talking about roughly £15 as it's half a month difference so not a big deal anyway, that's why I though it might be too risky to go all that way for such an amount  

Flight3287462

I paid around £100-£150 by not switching on Thursday (away in Ireland) and leaving it until yesterday.  I spent a long time on it yesterday and the number of deals available were significantly reduced by the end of the day when I pulled the trigger.

My reasoning is that in the short term (ie this winter) prices are going to ballistic, the generation market is in turmoil at the moment, one interconnector is down, the ancient nuclear capacity is suffering unscheduled outages, Hunterston B is due to close so a nice big anticyclone could leave us in serious trouble.

I fixed with Sainsbury's for two years just in case these issue last longer than I anticipate.

manic37

Flight3287462 said:

I paid around £100-£150 by not switching on Thursday (away in Ireland) and leaving it until yesterday.  I spent a long time on it yesterday and the number of deals available were significantly reduced by the end of the day when I pulled the trigger.

My reasoning is that in the short term (ie this winter) prices are going to ballistic, the generation market is in turmoil at the moment, one interconnector is down, the ancient nuclear capacity is suffering unscheduled outages, Hunterston B is due to close so a nice big anticyclone could leave us in serious trouble.

I fixed with Sainsbury's for two years just in case these issue last longer than I anticipate.

Do you think I should switch my electricity and gas to Sainsbury's Energy on 1 year fixed or 2 years fixed?

[Deleted User]

[Deleted User] said:

Dolor said:

My advice - once you are in the non exit fee period, you can talk to your new supplier and ask them to agree a supply transfer date. I did this with Zog recently and got 49 extra days on my old tariff. It didn’t make much of a financial difference but it demonstrates how flexible a supplier can be if it wants custom.

Finally, don’t get yourself into a mindset that a couple of weeks will save you a lot of money. On units alone, the only saving is in the difference in unit prices times the number of kWhs used. I once overpaid a supplier £70 for energy that it had not supplied: the actual difference in cost between the tariffs was £2.34.

Great insight into switching, appreciate it.
When you say "once you are in the non exit fee period", I assume you mean "after cooling off period" or you're referring to non exit fee with my old provider?
Clever idea to ask for a specific supply transfer date, never heard about that and will definitely give it a try.

And yes, I know I'm talking about roughly £15 as it's half a month difference so not a big deal anyway, that's why I though it might be too risky to go all that way for such an amount  

Not quite. You are liable for exit fees on your present tariff until you have less than 49 days to run to the end of your contract. I looked at the Zog tariff for gas and Zog agreed to transfer my supply 49 days into the future. I wanted to secure the present tariff on offer but not change until my present tariff ran out. Other suppliers may not be so flexible.

Another switching quirk that a lot of people at not aware of is ‘tariff protection’. If for example you know that a supplier is committed to 17 day switching, you could safely switch on the day that your present tariff ends and you will get tariff protection until the switch goes through. In theory, you could leave it a few days later but this carries some additional risk if your new supplier is tardy. Tariff protection is guaranteed provided that your old supplier is made aware that a switch is in progress BY INDUSTRY DATA FLOWS no later than the end of contract plus 20 days.

The 20 days allows for the 14 day cooling off period plus 5 days. There are some suppliers that still sit on their hands until the cooling off period has elapsed - hence the risk of delaying a switch post contract end. Those that are committed to 17 day switching take action immediately they receive an application to switch.

If we ever get to one day switching, the cooling off period will extend into the new supply period, and cancellation will result in a reverse transfer. 

[Deleted User]

Thank you all for your thoughts and info.
I started a switch yesterday (didn't want to delay it further as talks about hike in energy prices get louder and louder) and will contact Sainsbury's Energy in a few days to see if they can change a supply transfer date to the day when my old contract ends.
Their website still shows the same price for my tariff though. I'd rather it to get cheaper as my new tariff has no exit fees so technically I can switch again anytime as soon as I get a better deal.