British Gas Exclusive Protection Jan 2022

littlefonzy

Hello. First post in this forum. I'm hoping members can support me.

I switched to British Gas Exclusive Protection Jan 2022 deal through Money Saving Expert Energy Club and am soon coming to an end of this deal. British Gas have offered me Exclusive Fix Sep 2023 which is obviously resulting in significantly higher estimated energy costs going forward. I rang British Gas and a really helpful agent advised 'holding out' until February without fixing as that's when the best deals will be announced due to new energy prices being announced in April. Then I read the MSE newsletter this morning stating a 30% increase to the cap in April. Further, I have just also been offered a deal through my bank to move to the 'Switchd' service that says it will keep moving you to a new provider for the best price. Then I read even Bulb the 7th largest provider is going into Special Administration and wondered how can a service like Switchd possibly be working effectively at this time.  

So, in essence, I'm super confused and not massively in the know about what is going on in the market to be able to make an informed decision about the way forward. Therefore I am reaching out for some advice about what to do going forward. Thank you members. 

Astria

Unfortunately it's a crystal ball scenario right now, prices will most likely rise in April but then you might be using less gas and electric due to it not being so wintery, plus if wholesale prices come down by then variable rates may drop whilst fixed rates are unlikely to.

That said, I'll certainly be keeping an eye out on the energy news over the next few months and will likely make a decision in February/March next year. A lot of the smaller and cheaper companies seem to have gone bust anyway so likely not much in the way to switch to.

MWT

littlefonzy said:

... I have just also been offered a deal through my bank to move to the 'Switchd' service that says it will keep moving you to a new provider for the best price. Then I read even Bulb the 7th largest provider is going into Special Administration and wondered how can a service like Switchd possibly be working effectively at this time. 

That is not something I'd suggest doing at the moment unless the 'deal' includes a large bill credit to offset the increased prices you are likely to encounter.

The auto-switching services operate a business model funded by receiving payments from the companies they switch you to, these are not always going to be the cheapest places for you, so their interests are not aligned with yours.

Right now switching is barely even possible anyway so now is certainly not the time to be putting your trust in one of these services.

littlefonzy

Astria said:

Unfortunately it's a crystal ball scenario right now, prices will most likely rise in April but then you might be using less gas and electric due to it not being so wintery, plus if wholesale prices come down by then variable rates may drop whilst fixed rates are unlikely to.

That said, I'll certainly be keeping an eye out on the energy news over the next few months and will likely make a decision in February/March next year. A lot of the smaller and cheaper companies seem to have gone bust anyway so likely not much in the way to switch to.

Thanks. So, rather than take British Gas's fixed offering, you'd maybe suggest waiting it out yeah? Obviously I understand all this is guess work at the moment. 

[Deleted User]

littlefonzy said:

Astria said:

Unfortunately it's a crystal ball scenario right now, prices will most likely rise in April but then you might be using less gas and electric due to it not being so wintery, plus if wholesale prices come down by then variable rates may drop whilst fixed rates are unlikely to.

That said, I'll certainly be keeping an eye out on the energy news over the next few months and will likely make a decision in February/March next year. A lot of the smaller and cheaper companies seem to have gone bust anyway so likely not much in the way to switch to.

Thanks. So, rather than take British Gas's fixed offering, you'd maybe suggest waiting it out yeah? Obviously I understand all this is guess work at the moment. 

We are now getting close to the day of reckoning. The April 2022 Cap increase will be announced in the second week of February. It is unlikely that the cost of the most recent supplier failures will have worked their way through to an Ofgem claim and thus a cost to the Cap. It follows that whilst we can expect a substantial increase in the Cap in April, this is likely to be  followed by another increase in October and possibly another on in April 2023. We are in unchartered waters when it comes to future energy fixes.