Just moved to a new house, British Gas supplying energy - do I switch or stay for now?

aphemiac

Hi all, newbie here. I've tried searching for this question but couldn't find something directly relevant.

Basically, as per the title, I've just moved into a new home supplied by British Gas. They have set me up with a new Standard Variable account and I don't know whether to switch now to a cheap supplier or stick with this variable tariff with no exit fees and wait out the current crisis until there's actual deals out there?

Every comparison and supplier website seems to warn me that switching is a bad idea, but some have no exit fees, so energy prices might still cheaper than what I'm on?

Bear in mind, I have very little to compare with at this new property as I've not got any bill history.

wittynamegoeshere

You are very unlikely to find any fixed tariff that's not massively more expensive than the variable tariff you're on.  You don't need a billing history, just put in some pretty typical estimates or directly compare their daily and per unit rates.

E.g. for electricity, the capped rate is around 21p/unit.  Some fixed tariffs can be as high as 35p, things are that bad.

I do not know whether you could switch to another supplier's fixed tariff (with no exit penalty) then immediately exit to that same supplier's variable tariff - that would be an interesting strategy but there would be no gain, as all the variable tariffs are now at the same maximum capped rate.  Perhaps it would be worth contemplating if there's something that you strongly dislike about your current supplier and just want to pay the same amount to a different company.

bagand96

Can you find many that are cheaper than British Gas Standard Variable? 

aphemiac

Thanks for the responses guys, I've checked and whilst the energy prices aren't apparently cheaper elsewhere, the "standing charge" amount is cheaper at a supplier called Utility Warehouse. That's a daily amount so probably only worth a few quid throughout the year I guess. I suppose it's probably a case of sit still and wait until the energy price situation settles and then opt for a tariff at that point?

wittynamegoeshere

I wouldn't move from a big company to a small one unless there's a big gain to be made.  So far at least, the small ones are going bust first.  You wouldn't lose out, but it's a hassle and it can take months to get any credit balance back.

JJ_Egan

Would not use UW full stop .

Does not matter what the SC is its the total amount that counts .

Unit rate times usage ( no usage use average ) plus SC .

Moving at present to a smaller supplier runs the further risk of them going bust .

aphemiac

Thanks for the advice, I'll take it and stick with BG at present!

[Deleted User]

aphemiac said:

Every comparison and supplier website seems to warn me that switching is a bad idea, but some have no exit fees, so energy prices might still cheaper than what I'm on?

Hi,

from the CEC,

Here are the key need-to-knows to explain why:
 

• There are no switchable deals meaningfully cheaper than the price cap. We are in the perverse situation where there is nothing meaningfully cheaper than the default price you go to when a deal ends (or if you've never switched). Even though the regulator’s price cap jumped by 12% on Friday 1 October, it is still set substantially below the current cost price of energy – the main reason so many firms are going bust.
• If / when you come off a fix, you will pay a lot more. There’s no getting away from this I’m afraid. Many coming off cheap fixes will find themselves paying up to 50% more than they were – when they move to the price cap – but there is currently no solution. If you do want to fix you’ll pay even more as the current cheapest fix is 30% higher than the price cap, so for most the premium isn’t worth it.
• Consider the price cap a ‘six-month fix’. The new price cap rate is locked in until 1 April 2022, and it will almost certainly rise substantially again then (see why in price cap FAQs). So for the moment consider it a six-month fix, at the market’s cheapest available rate, which you can leave penalty-free at any time.