Utility Point going bump - will I be able to keep my fixed rate when transferred to default supplier

Ginger_chap

H-,

I've just had an email from utility point our energy supplier, I transfered to them last January via MSE energy club. They are going bump and have emailed me state I will be transferred to another supplier. My question is will the transfer mean i will lose the fixed rate I can currently on till end of Jan 22? Or will the terms of contract I signed up to be honoured until the end of the fix? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

niktheguru

You will lose the fixed rate. The terms of the contract you signed up will not be honoured, as the contract is defunct because they have gone into administration.

You will now be transferred to EDF. The details of your new tariff are not certain, but once your supply has been transferred you are free to switch without exit fee to anyone. (though given the current climate there probably wont be much to choose from, and any price will be significantly higher than your current fixed rate deal, so prepare for the shock!)

tux900

With your existing supplier ceasing trading that's effectively the end of your contract and the deal you were on. The SoLR (Supplier of Last Resort) that will be appointed by Ofgem are free to offer you a comparable tariff but it is highly unlikely, and the new rates normally apply from a few days after the previous supplier ceases trading.

Ginger_chap

Ok thanks for the information, appreciated. However if they ceased trading, lets say, tomorrow, I imagine I wont be a fully transfered over for a while (ie. be set up wiht acc number etc). Until I have all the details of my 'new' current supplier, I wont be able to switch, then the switch can take 6 weeks (like moving house I guess) . I imagine we could get heavily shafted/charged from the point transfer to the point of subseqent changeover, which could be a few months. not ideall just as we approach the depth of winter. Ouch! Time to get the kids a thicker fleece.

QrizB

Ginger_chap said:

I imagine we could get heavily shafted/charged from the point transfer to the point of subseqent changeover, which could be a few months. not ideall just as we approach the depth of winter. Ouch! Time to get the kids a thicker fleece.

That's possible but unlikely. Any tariff you are moved to will comply with Ofgem's price cap, and you can't do all that much better than that on the market at the moment.

Inigo_Montoya

Ginger_chap said:

Ok thanks for the information, appreciated. However if they ceased trading, lets say, tomorrow, I imagine I wont be a fully transfered over for a while (ie. be set up wiht acc number etc). Until I have all the details of my 'new' current supplier, I wont be able to switch, then the switch can take 6 weeks (like moving house I guess) . I imagine we could get heavily shafted/charged from the point transfer to the point of subseqent changeover, which could be a few months. not ideall just as we approach the depth of winter. Ouch! Time to get the kids a thicker fleece.

If its the same as the GNE to EDF SOLR transfer then we have all been put on the new EDF deemed tariff from saturday september 18th

Probably their current standard variable rate although some people have mentioned that the rules allow them to put us on an even more expensive tariff e.g. higher than the current price cap - I cant see that happening myself though 

[Deleted User]

Inigo_Montoya said:

Ginger_chap said:

Ok thanks for the information, appreciated. However if they ceased trading, lets say, tomorrow, I imagine I wont be a fully transfered over for a while (ie. be set up wiht acc number etc). Until I have all the details of my 'new' current supplier, I wont be able to switch, then the switch can take 6 weeks (like moving house I guess) . I imagine we could get heavily shafted/charged from the point transfer to the point of subseqent changeover, which could be a few months. not ideall just as we approach the depth of winter. Ouch! Time to get the kids a thicker fleece.

If its the same as the GNE to EDF SOLR transfer then we have all been put on the new EDF deemed tariff from saturday september 18th

Probably their current standard variable rate although some people have mentioned that the rules allow them to put us on an even more expensive tariff e.g. higher than the current price cap - I cant see that happening myself though 

No supplier is going to volunteer to takeover consumer contracts where they might be losing £300 per customer per year (Radio 4 at lunchtime). If they did, they would expect to be able to recover the loss through the SoLR payment process. Effectively, this would add to the annual cost of every energy consumer. 

From Ofgem SoLR Guidance:

Deemed contracts and customer balances

3.23. Ofgem policy: A failed supplier’s customers should not generally expect to be protected from paying increased prices. However, deemed contracts can reflect no more than the reasonable costs of supply (including costs attributable to the purchase of gas or electricity at short notice), together with a reasonable profit.

14 In certain circumstances it may be appropriate for potential SoLRs to address the loss of this balance (e.g. through applying a credit to the customer’s account) in order to ensure that customers are not unduly affected.

Inigo_Montoya

Dolor said:

Inigo_Montoya said:

Ginger_chap said:

Ok thanks for the information, appreciated. However if they ceased trading, lets say, tomorrow, I imagine I wont be a fully transfered over for a while (ie. be set up wiht acc number etc). Until I have all the details of my 'new' current supplier, I wont be able to switch, then the switch can take 6 weeks (like moving house I guess) . I imagine we could get heavily shafted/charged from the point transfer to the point of subseqent changeover, which could be a few months. not ideall just as we approach the depth of winter. Ouch! Time to get the kids a thicker fleece.

If its the same as the GNE to EDF SOLR transfer then we have all been put on the new EDF deemed tariff from saturday september 18th

Probably their current standard variable rate although some people have mentioned that the rules allow them to put us on an even more expensive tariff e.g. higher than the current price cap - I cant see that happening myself though 

No supplier is going to volunteer to takeover consumer contracts where they might be losing £300 per customer per year (Radio 4 at lunchtime). If they did, they would expect to be able to recover the loss through the SoLR payment process. Effectively, this would add to the annual cost of every energy consumer. 

From Ofgem SoLR Guidance:

Deemed contracts and customer balances

3.23. Ofgem policy: A failed supplier’s customers should not generally expect to be protected from paying increased prices. However, deemed contracts can reflect no more than the reasonable costs of supply (including costs attributable to the purchase of gas or electricity at short notice), together with a reasonable profit.

14 In certain circumstances it may be appropriate for potential SoLRs to address the loss of this balance (e.g. through applying a credit to the customer’s account) in order to ensure that customers are not unduly affected.

this a a link I posted on another thread a couple of day ago
http://www.publicnow.com/view/597702808AB37CA114744534445150BB756E05E8

Note the statement :

Customers will be matched to standard variable prices to provide a guaranteed rate through winter and protection against the extreme volatility of wholesale prices, with a price which is our cheapest available and among the lowest in the market.

When I read the above that's when I came to the conclusion that we are all probably  being put on EDFs SVR  

I am wondering if EDF have "hedged" enough so they don't make a loss by putting us all on their SVR ? 

Alternatively maybe they are thinking longer term i.e. they will make money in the longer term if/when wholesale prices will come back down