Have I misunderstood the price cap? My new standard tariff is £2812.50!?

pochase

I don't see anything in the link you posted about when you can cancel the tariff without penalty. Can you quote the reference?

However for my EDF fixed tariff I have in the T&C

Your energy prices and the date your tariff ends are set out in your Tariff Information Label. These won’t change until the date your Fix Total Service tariff ends or your payment type changes. You can end this contract at any time by giving us notice. However, if this contract ends more than 49 days before its end date for any reason you may have to pay an exit fee. You can find out what exit fees apply and the value for the tariff you are on by viewing the relevant tariff information label at www.edfenergy.com/til or by calling us

diystarter7

I'm staying on the variable as I'm hoping lower prices show their head around October time.

[Deleted User]

I cannot be bothered to scroll through the Supply Licences (they are not an easy read) but the rules on exit fees are well explained here (source Citizens Advice):

‘You might be charged if you leave a supplier before your fixed tariff contract ends. This is called an exit fee. Check your bill or online account to see if you have an exit fee.

You can switch without paying an exit fee if your contract ends in fewer than 7 weeks. You can switch earlier if your supplier contacts you and says you can.

Check your contract or contact your supplier if you're not sure when your contract ends.’

It is also worth noting that you have tariff protection if you switch suppliers and the old supplier is notified of a switch in progress BY INDUSTRY data flows no later than end of contract date plus 20 days.

victor2

Mstty said:

Alnat1 said:

I think it might be only 49 days, not 90

https://www.edfenergy.com/for-home/help-centre/faq/our-tariffs-and-services#chapter-23144-2

Suggests 3 months here @pochase

Under changing your tariff menu option

I would take a link copy and screenshot of this if I were an EDF customer for safe keeping👍

That is if you move to another tariff with EDF. I think the 49 days would apply if you switch supplier.

Mstty

@victor2

Well that is superb as most taking the unknown of the 2 year fixed rate with EDF may want to move to the standard variable rate tariff by then (if the reductions to the price cap happen) and they can after 21 months fixed out of their 24 month deal.

Additionally there is probably nothing stopping customers moving to the SVT with 3 months of their fixed deal ending then the very next day transferring away as they SVT cannot legally have an exit fee or tie in once you are on it👍

victor2

Mstty said:

@victor2

Well that is superb as most taking the unknown of the 2 year fixed rate with EDF may want to move to the standard variable rate tariff by then (if the reductions to the price cap happen) and they can after 21 months fixed out of their 24 month deal.

Additionally there is probably nothing stopping customers moving to the SVT with 3 months of their fixed deal ending then the very next day transferring away as they SVT cannot legally have an exit fee or tie in once you are on it👍

That's great if there is some sort of "loophole" that can be exploited. Do/will EDF allow a customer to leave their existing fixed tariff early and go onto the SVT, before the tariff ends and that automatically happens though? Genuine question I don't know the answer to.

FIxed tariffs used to be pretty much a no-brainer, as they had either no exit fee at all or a relatively small one in comparison to what they seem to be today.

MattMattMattUK

wittynamegoeshere said:

I'm amazed that Ofgem don't stipulate a maximum charge for exit fees.

They do not need to because a fixed tariff is something a consumer enters into voluntarily. 

wittynamegoeshere said:

The supplier can exit at any time without paying the consumer anything - they just say "whoopsie we've gone bust", the customer gets shoved onto paying the maximum tariff and everyone else pays off their debts.

That is not the same as exiting the contract in the way you think it is. Also, the consumer could in theory do the same and "go bust" by declaring themselves bankrupt. Neither are a good position for the company (which ceases to exist) or the consumer to be in.

wittynamegoeshere said:

If this tariff ever becomes too beneficial for the customer then it will be a matter of time before they pull the plug, as lots of suppliers have done.

No suppliers have pulled the plug on fixed tariffs, what some suppliers have done is become insolvent. Some have done so because of inadequate hedging, others because Ofgem forced them to sell below cost on the SVR when they had hedged all their fixed tariff supply requirements. 

wittynamegoeshere said:

I would assume that EDF Energy is structured in such a way that it can go bust without taking down EDF as a whole.

It is, as is the case with every large multi-national company. However EDF will be looking to weather the storm and be one of the few that comes out the other side when the energy market becomes profitable again in a few years. They will be aiming to stay in business, but will have an exit plan as any decent operation would.

wittynamegoeshere said:

It's a totally one-sided bet, in which the customer never wins and the supplier never loses.

The customer can win as well, many have with fixed deals, I was winning until the end of May as I was paying half the SVR, three are people on long fixes now that are paying less than the current cap and will be paying less than half of the October cap. A supplier going bust is them losing, none of them want to do that.

pochase

wittynamegoeshere said:

It's a totally one-sided bet, in which the customer never wins and the supplier never loses.

How do you explain all the suppliers that went bust if they cannot lose?

MattMattMattUK

pochase said:

wittynamegoeshere said:

It's a totally one-sided bet, in which the customer never wins and the supplier never loses.

How do you explain all the suppliers that went bust if they cannot lose?

They seem to think that a supplier going bust is "winning".