Offered fix that seems good. Any thoughts, please

Be_Happy

Phoned up just now and made the change.   Give the guy his due he went to pains to emphasise how much I would lose over the next 3 months, but told him I was doing it now in case the tariff price offered changed before April and because I could change again without an exit fee if a cheaper deal did become available.

Thanks for all your input.

victor2

At least you know what rates you'll be paying for the next 2 years - and can switch should the unexpected happen and something cheaper comes along!
Thanks for the feedback.

worrywart_3

Think you made the right choice , can’t imagine they will offer these for that much longer, can they not start it when your current fix ends but hold it that would be the best senario but doubtful 

Be_Happy

Would be nice, but never an option to hold offer.   Offers can come or go in a day.

Reed_Richards

Presumably the offer has some sort of cooling-off period which acts as a short-term hold.

Be_Happy

Well.  I'm glad I fixed last week.  Scottish Power have now withdrawn the 2 year fix I chose and replaced it with a 2 year fix lasting longer - May 2024 rather that February 2024, but have increased the price.

Service charge and control rate are same, but standard rate has increased to 36.77p   On my annual consumption this would increase my bill by £79.   Not much in the way of energy increases, but every bit helps.

ProDave

Some suppliers will "hold" a rate for you, I just agreed to accept a fixed rte offered by Octopus but it won't be applied to my account until the end of February, so I will only have 1 "over paying the SVT" month and hopefully after April my fixed rate willl be cheaper than the SVR

bristolleedsfan

ProDave said:

Some suppliers will "hold" a rate for you, I just agreed to accept a fixed rte offered by Octopus but it won't be applied to my account until the end of February, so I will only have 1 "over paying the SVT" month and hopefully after April my fixed rate willl be cheaper than the SVR

Others do not hold rate, charge exit fees and are cheaper, in thiis example, Electricity approx 4.5pkwh cheaper  for those with Gas, more than 2p kwh cheaper than lpyalty fixed + fixed for month or so longer, Standing Charge cheaper as well  https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78914324/#Comment_78914324

Be_Happy

I usually follow the advice of Martin and other financial experts, but in this case, as said before, I lost my nerve in January and jumped from my fixed rate which had 3 months left, on to a new 2 year fixed rate rather than staying put.

So glad.   Checked new tariffs today and now (as before, based on my last year's usage) cheapest fixed rate would cost me £20 a month more (an increase of over 30%) mainly due to a doubling of service charge from 26.59p to 51.37p.  New tariff would last 3 months longer, but would go from my existing 'no exit fee' to a huge £100 exit fee.  Even, assuming the Standard Variable rate will increase in April, the new SVR would cost me £23 a month more with another large rise expected in October

The increase I incurred by leaving 3 months early has been vastly offset by the potential saving over the next 2 years.