Loyal Octopus 12m Fixed

kdotdotdotdot

sitesafe said:

Kdotdotdot Did you ask them for quotes by email please as any correspondence I’ve had they’re taking ages to email back.  Is it a specific contact email you speak to please? Thank you 

They're probably inundated with email. But you don't need to contact them because your rates can be seen in your account on the website. Just log in and click on the menu button and choose 'my account'.  Then on that screen go to 'change my tariff' and it'll show you your options. 

Note: these options are changing on a daily basis.  The best fixed rate I can get is now £140 a month for 10 months whereas a few weeks ago they were offering me £120 a month.

QrizB

kdotdotdotdot said:

Zanderman said:

kdotdotdotdot said:

Can someone explain to me like I'm stupid (because I am) why I would choose a fixed rate? I'm also with Octopus and currently paying £51 every month for gas and electric.

They've emailed me to offer the following:
Octopus 12 month fixed: estimate £123 per month
Flexible Octopus: estimate £65 per month
Loyal Octopus 12 month fixed: estimate £110 per month

On the face of things, even if the flexible rate doubled, I'd be no worse off than a fixed rate, and if it doesn't double, better off.  What am I not understanding?

Is that flexible rate the rate today - or the rate in April? 
If it's not the April rate you'll only have it for a few weeks and then it will rocket. 
And then rocket again in October.

It's rocketed already. Essentially they're changing the rate on a daily basis. The 'best' flexible rate I can get right now is around £101 a month.  I currently pay £50 a month.
The 'best' fixed rate they can give me comes to £140 a month and that's only for 10 months.  

They aren't changing the rate on a daily basis, you've just been unfortunate with your timing.

When you first asked the question, on the 8th of March, the Flexible Octopus price of £65/month was almost certainly calculated using the tariff applicable for October-to-March (because Octopus hadn't published the new April-to-September tariffs yet).

Octopus has since published the new tariffs and the £101 a month will be based on that. The tariff they've used, today, to calculate a price of £101 a month won't change again until October.

If there's a huge price jump in October, that £140/month fixed rate could have been a good option. Unfortunately you won't know that until October, and that's the choice you have; stick with the variable and hope October's increase isn't too big, or take the fix now andf know how mugh you'll be paying through to mid-January 2023.

Zanderman

kdotdotdotdot said:

Zanderman said:

kdotdotdotdot said:

Can someone explain to me like I'm stupid (because I am) why I would choose a fixed rate? I'm also with Octopus and currently paying £51 every month for gas and electric.

They've emailed me to offer the following:
Octopus 12 month fixed: estimate £123 per month
Flexible Octopus: estimate £65 per month
Loyal Octopus 12 month fixed: estimate £110 per month

On the face of things, even if the flexible rate doubled, I'd be no worse off than a fixed rate, and if it doesn't double, better off.  What am I not understanding?

Is that flexible rate the rate today - or the rate in April? 
If it's not the April rate you'll only have it for a few weeks and then it will rocket. 
And then rocket again in October.

It's rocketed already. Essentially they're changing the rate on a daily basis. The 'best' flexible rate I can get right now is around £101 a month.  I currently pay £50 a month.

The 'best' fixed rate they can give me comes to £140 a month and that's only for 10 months.  

The basic premise of a flexible rate is that it changes regularly, you can't really grumble if they do that, and should expect it to go up bearing in mind the ongoing increases in wholesale prices. This was why I queried what date the flexible rate you were originally  quoted applied to as it was, bearing in mind the increases known about, unfeasibly low (at £65) compared to your current £51. You will have to pay much more than £65, as you've now found out.   

The fixes are increasing too, as this and many other threads confirm. It is, as QrizB says above, a bit of a gamble as to whether to go for fixed (which is too much now but may be a saving later) or whether to stay on flexible. f you want a fixed rate (that will, in theory, help ride out the increases later this year but will seem expensive now) you need to make a decision soon, as those fixed rates will probably increase further.