Shocked at increase in my tariff

missile

I was shocked to find my DD will increase from £128 to £518.

I am on Fix Total Service Aug24v2 dual fuel tariff with EDF.
The unit rates seem very high
Electricity 59.49p/kWh + 50.06p/day
Gas 17.276p/kWh + 27.22p/day

I live in Aberdeen. EDF estimate I will use 2,884kWh Electricity and 14,341kWh gas / year. British Gas and SSEB would be slightly more expensive. 
 
My account is £1572.02 in debit and I will have this + £100 penalty to pay to change tariff.

It would appear, I should change tariff asap?

ArbitraryRandom

First off, please be aware that your direct debit isn't the same thing as your bill - think of it like a bank account that you pay money to each month. The money is yours, held by the energy company, and they deduct your bill from the balance. Your direct debit should be set so that, over the 12 months, it stays at or around £0. 

Secondly, you should have a look at your bills and see if they're based on actual readings or estimates. If you can find a bill from around 12 months ago and compare it to a meter reading taken now, you can work out for yourself what your 'average' usage is - then you can work out what you would expect to use over 12 months. Add on your debt (because the expectation is you will pay that off over 12 months) and you can work out for yourself if their suggested direct debit is unreasonable or not. 

Finally, you might be able to swap to the EDF variable rate (you would need to check the rate for your region but it could be cheaper) - but you won't be able to change supplier until/unless you first clear the debt. 

On-the-coast

I’m shocked that you willingly (I assume?) chose that tariff.  But I agree with everything written above by your first responder. 

QrizB

missile said:

I am on Fix Total Service Aug24v2 dual fuel tariff with EDF.
The unit rates seem very high
Electricity 59.49p/kWh + 50.06p/day
Gas 17.276p/kWh + 27.22p/day

According to https://www.energylinx.co.uk/latest_energy_price_updates.htm that tariff was launched in August 2022. Energy prices at that time were approaching their peak, and the tariff you quote is typical of 2-year fixes that were on offer then.

It was not thought to be a good deal at the time, and is even less of one now.

Here's an MSE article from about that time. for comparison:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2022/08/energy-bills-to-rise-from-october-for-millions-as-new-price-cap-/

missile said:

I live in Aberdeen. EDF estimate I will use 2,884kWh Electricity and 14,341kWh gas / year.

On your current tarrif, that's £4465 a year.

missile said:

British Gas and SSEB would be slightly more expensive.

I don't know why you're saying that a switch to BG or SSEB would be more expensive? Neither supplier is offering a tariff anything like as expensive as the one you're currently on.

On the current capped SVT, you'd be looking at something like £2130 for the year. Less than half your current fix.

missile said:

It would appear, I should change tariff asap?

Yes it does look as though a switch to the SVT would offer you a significant saving. In your position I would look to exit your fix ASAP.

Gerry1

Check your Ts&Cs very carefully to see whether the exit fee applies to a switch of tariff or a switch of supplier.

Scot_39

missile said:

I was shocked to find my DD will increase from £128 to £518.

I am on Fix Total Service Aug24v2 dual fuel tariff with EDF.
The unit rates seem very high
Electricity 59.49p/kWh + 50.06p/day
Gas 17.276p/kWh + 27.22p/day

I live in Aberdeen. EDF estimate I will use 2,884kWh Electricity and 14,341kWh gas / year. British Gas and SSEB would be slightly more expensive. 
 
My account is £1572.02 in debit and I will have this + £100 penalty to pay to change tariff.

It would appear, I should change tariff asap?

You don't need to switch supplier - only tariff - at least initially.

Iif Ive read the EDF table corectly - see here 

https://www.edfenergy.com/sites/default/files/dm1903_standard_variable_deemed_and_welcome_rate_card._for_customers_with_standard_e7_smart_payg_and_prepayment_meters.pdf

The new October 1st SVT rates for Direct Debit in N Scotland are 27.26p/kWh and 6.85p.  Those are less than half your current fix.

The SC will be slightly higher 89p combined vs 77p.  12p - but that's  the amount you'll be saving on half a kWh of electric or 1kWh of gas daily.

Even if you have to pay a couple of hundred £s in exit fees - you will soon  make it back.

If you stay with EDF - I am not sure they will expect you to clear debt - would expect them to add it - around £130pm (c1600/12)  to clear that debt into the revised DD.

Have done it with lower debt elsewhere - and a lot less to save on rates and didn't have to clear - but it was under £400 in debt.

You would definitely  have to clear the debt before you could change supllier.

So I'd talk to EDF - pay the £100 and get onto their SVT and those rates that are about half your fix - before tge heating goes on in real earnest -  then relax a bit and take time to think about other options.

missile

Many thanks for all your responses.

Sorry I posted in a bit of a rush.
When I changed to that tariff. Energy prices were going up exponentially and it seemed like a good deal.
I ought to have clarified BG and SSEB tariffs are higher than a "new" fix with EDF

EDF essentials tariff is
Electricity 28.91p/kWh + 59.39p/day
Gas 7.145p/kWh + 29.63p/day

EDF Standard variable rates are
Electricity 27.26p/kWh + 59.39p/day
Gas 6.84p/kWh + 29.63p/day



EDF estimates are a bit higher than my usage but using that as a guide:

EDF essentials >
Electricity 883.76 + 216.77 = 1,100.53
Gas 1024.66 + 108.15 = 1132.81
Total £2233.34

EDF SV > 
Electricity 804.92 + 216.77 = 1021.69
Gas 980.92 + 108.15 = 1089
Total £2110.76

I guess my choice is whether to choose new fix or SV 

ArbitraryRandom

I'd stick on the variable, but if your money is tight and there's a chance you won't be able to make your debt repayments if your bill goes up then you might consider the fix for the security.

EDF essentials is £2233.34 (have you added on the 5% VAT to both the unit rate and standing charge or are the rates inclusive?)

That would suggest your base DD on that tariff should be around £186 per month. Add on your debt of £1572.02 (As scott indicates, around £130 per month) and that brings us to £317.11 - hopefully that's more manageable. 

Not sure if exit fees are payable if you switch internally (they probably are given it's a cheaper tariff) but you could also try contacting them to negotiate (they are under pressure to be 'reasonable' with customers facing bill shock or struggling to pay). 

If I were you I would try: suggesting they switch you to the cheaper tariff immediately, ask them to add the cost of the move to the debt on your account, agree a payment plan and ask them to confirm they won't report it to the credit reference agencies as long as you stick to it. 

You don't really have any leverage if EDF haven't made any mistakes, but always worth asking (nicely) to see if they will help. 

Scot_39

It's not just current pricing - but perhaaps that over the fix term - that should guide your decision - if purely down to price.

Latest set of cap predictions - Sep 27 2023 market close based

https://www.cornwall-insight.com/predictions-and-insights-into-the-default-tariff-cap/

Electricity	Q124 Forecast	Q224 Forecast	Q324 Forecast
Standing Charge (£/day)	0.52	0.60	0.60
Per Unit Costs (p/kWh)	28.25	25.63	24.65
Gas	Q124 Forecast	Q224 Forecast	Q324 Forecast
Standing Charge (£/day)	0.29	0.30	0.30
Per Unit Costs (p/kWh)	7.30	6.95	6.87

Edit : Removed Q4 24 and shuffled to try and align better with below

But these change frequently e.g. their last before cap change for Oct cap announcement - released 5-7 weeks before - were notably higher (c1.5p electric, 0.5p gas) next spring.

https://www.cornwall-insight.com/press/cornwall-insights-final-forecast-for-the-october-price-cap/

including VAT (dual fuel, direct debit customer, national average figures)

Electricity	Q423 Forecast	Q124 Forecast	Q224 Forecast	Q324 Forecast
Standing Charge (£/day)	0.53	0.52	0.60	0.60
Per Unit Costs (p/kWh)	26.96	29.48	27.12	26.12

Source: Cornwall Insight

Gas	Q423 Forecast	Q124 Forecast	Q224 Forecast	Q324 Forecast
Standing Charge (£/day)	0.29	0.29	0.30	0.30
Per Unit Costs (p/kWh)	6.93	7.72	7.43	7.27

And not sure what is going to happen re that 9p forecast SC increase - with the network or supplier cost charges to the cap SC vs unit rate costs split argument - given the political "noise" over current SC levels.

So only as I say a rough guide at best.

And in recent past - some other suppliers have chopped and changed fixes regularly - EOn loyalty went though v1 to V4 in at a guess 3-4 months - so the EDF fix may well adjust to reflect those lower CI forecasts - if their own analysis follows that trend. 

A gambling man might be tempted to wait and see if fixes do follow.  Someone wanting security - wouldn't bother too much about the c5% difference.

Only you can make that call.

Scot_39

@missile

You might want to check your fix offer again - as according to the thread

"

EDF Essentials - New fixes 5th October 2023"

by @dealyboy

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6476935/edf-essentials-new-fixes-5th-october-2023

They might have changed slighty today  if those werent prices from today (and seem to have a new 3 year fix - assuming thats what the Oct 2026 means.)

missile

Hi,
Thanks again for your comments, please be advised:
Tariffs include 5% VAT to both the unit rate and standing charge

The "experts" don't seem to agree on whether variable rates will go up or down. Fixed rate did not work well for me :-:blush:

I believe I will have to pay the exit fee = £100 if I change to Essentials or SV
I am hopeful I can pay the outstanding debit over the next 12 months