E.ON E7 to flat rate - tariff change

bereavementfather

We are currently on E7 with a fixed rate till June. I've contacted EON a couple of times via WhatsApp to change from E7 to a flat rate. On 2 occasions the agents have mentioned that I can switch without a charge. 

Now after working out what tariff to go to, the agent is saying that I have to pay exit fees... 

Swipe

They should be able to switch you from E7 to single rate and remain on the same named fixed tariff without exit fees but if you change to a different tariff i.e. leave within the fixed term before the remaining 49 day period, then exit fees will apply.

MattMattMattUK

bereavementfather said:

We are currently on E7 with a fixed rate till June. I've contacted EON a couple of times via WhatsApp to change from E7 to a flat rate. On 2 occasions the agents have mentioned that I can switch without a charge. 

Now after working out what tariff to go to, the agent is saying that I have to pay exit fees... 

Are you sure that changing from E7 to a flat rate would cheaper for you? How do you heat your water and do you have storage heaters? 

bereavementfather

Yes, I use about 35% of my energy at night. Loaded shifted as much as I can. Have a HP.

Netexporter

You might be better off on Octopus Cosy, as you have a heat pump.

Scot_39

Normally E7 is cheaper than single rate on SVT if you use around 40% or more of the night off peak units versus peak - in terms of comparing to single rate.

So I assume you have checked your split and average cost on one deal vs the other.

If not do so.

So then it comes down to whether the savings - in your case for upto 5 months (possibly as little as 3.5 months at some as they used to allow free switches 30-45 days before end of term) - and if covers heating - some of those likely to be lower use months - covers the say £75 exit fee  - per fuel - that seemed typical (but iirc one suppliers fix was as high as double that).

The current TDCV is around £900-1000 per fuel for dual fuel - that £75 then needs a pretty large kWh unit rate saving - for 5 months use.  For instance if only had a spend of £500 forecast per fuel to end of term - new rates would have to be 15% cheaper.

Which isn't unrealistic if the price drops as current recent CI update (to c£1620/1497/1542 as of mid Jan market pricing - but note the if (and for some its a big IF).   Vs current Jan 2024 cap of £1928 - that forecast  c16%,22%,20% down respectively.

In which case any recent fix might soon seem expensive - and for many with a significant period remaining and reasonable to high energy consumption remaining in term - for many fixing late last year - that will now include many lower use summer months so not a simple n/12 of total calc - may more than cover fees.

And so many will be reviewing whether to stay or pay an exit fees - and will learn that not only the headline prices that potentially the terms for applying such fees mattered. (As some providers at least used to allow internal switches to other fixes for free - iirc BG offered this, others even allowed internal switches to fix or SVT - so only charged if left them - iirc that was the SP deal.)

And always remember why you took the fix - if was for certainty. 

And those CI forecasts - Q3 and Q4 more at risk than Q2 / Apr  - may yet not come to fruition (e.g. just 3months ago in Nov 2023 - CI themseleves were forecasting all of 2024 would be higher than Oct 23 cap).

No one really expected energy cap to nearly quadrouple recent levels - the real world cap to £4279 not the £2500 EPG cap we paid in Jan-Mar 2023 (at least directly - if you pay taxes you will of course pay the govt debt that financed the EPG plus interest over time).

bereavementfather

Netexporter said:

You might be better off on Octopus Cosy, as you have a heat pump.

Octopus cosy doesn't work for us as we don't have batteries - I think it's really bad that they advertise it as a HP when they have such an expensive rate. I've done the figures here and we'd have paid more on cosy.

dunstonh

bereavementfather said:

Yes, I use about 35% of my energy at night. Loaded shifted as much as I can. Have a HP.

Have you modelled the costs, as that puts you right at the lower end of E7 viability?  It will be borderline with the supplier terms.  
Generically, you may likely be looking for an E7 provider with a higher off-peak rate and lower-peak rate than the market average.   The lower off-peak rates tend to favour those with a higher off-peak ratio than yours.

bereavementfather

My real issue, is that 2 customer service agents have said that I can switch tariff but they've now said that isn't possible. I've raised a complaint with them. They've offered to switch me to a flat rate, but that's more expensive than what I'm on currently. 

Tbh, this experience reaffirms my view that the energy market is completely broken. 

I'm tempted to switch over to Octopus and one of their smart tariffs.

I'm not a massive fan of smart meters & the inheret complexity they will bring the energy market.

MattMattMattUK

bereavementfather said:

Netexporter said:

You might be better off on Octopus Cosy, as you have a heat pump.

Octopus cosy doesn't work for us as we don't have batteries - I think it's really bad that they advertise it as a HP when they have such an expensive rate. I've done the figures here and we'd have paid more on cosy.

You do not need batteries to make Cosy work, you just need to not heat your water or run the heating in the peak window, but that is easy with a heat pump, you have the heat pump warm the house up in the Cosy window which runs right up until the start of the peak rate and you heat your water tank up in the Cosy windows as well. It might not work if you do nothing to change your usage pattern, but that is not the point, you modify your usage pattern and you end up with considerable savings. 

Netexporter

I'm not a massive fan of smart meters & the inheret complexity they will bring the energy market.

They bring choice, rather than complexity.