Octopus £0 exit fee tarrif

natrapx

Hi MSE forum

Looks like Octopus no longer charges an exit fee with their tarrifs, which are cheaper than the current price cap. Does that make it a no-brainer to swap now? It locks you in for 12 months, but i'm assuming if the prices drop, you can sign up for a new tarrif straight away at a cheaper rate if the exit fee is £0? Or are you locked in with Octopus for that 12 months fully, but can change to a new supplier?

Feel like its an obvious question but want to check!

bristolleedsfan

natrapx said:

Hi MSE forum

Looks like Octopus no longer charges an exit fee with their tarrifs, which are cheaper than the current price cap. Does that make it a no-brainer to swap now? It locks you in for 12 months, but i'm assuming if the prices drop, you can sign up for a new tarrif straight away at a cheaper rate if the exit fee is £0? Or are you locked in with Octopus for that 12 months fully, but can change to a new supplier?

Feel like its an obvious question but want to check!

Correct, well spotted

[Deleted User]

My fixed rate Octopus tariff runs until this summer and, when signing up, I agreed to a penalty if leaving before the fixed term ends.

Does this mean that, when the price cap changes in April, I can now switch to an Octopus cheaper rate without having to pay a penalty?  If so, Is there a link to this, thanks?

ArbitraryRandom

I think it's for new tariffs (it says £0 if you get a quote) - but you could try using chat to ask a friendly customer service agent and take a screenshot/save their response?  

MikeJXE

According to the Sun there are many current fixed tariffs that the exit fee is being scrapped 

• Super Green Octopus 12M Fixed August 2022 v1
• Arsenal Green 12M Fixed August 2022 v1
• Octopus 12M Fixed August 2022 v1
• Loyal Octopus 12M Fixed August 2022 v1
• Super Green Octopus 12M Fixed July 2022 v2
• Arsenal Green 12M Fixed July 2022 v2
• Octopus 12M Fixed July 2022 v3
• Super Green Octopus 12M Fixed July 2022 v1
• Loyal Octopus 12M Fixed July 2022 v4
• Arsenal Green 12M Fixed July 2022 v1
• Loyal Octopus 12M Fixed July 2022 v3
• Octopus 12M Fixed July 2022 v2
• Loyal Octopus 12M Fixed July 2022 v2

bristolleedsfan

MikeJXE said:

According to the Sun there are many current fixed tariffs that the exit fee is being scrapped 

• Super Green Octopus 12M Fixed August 2022 v1
• Arsenal Green 12M Fixed August 2022 v1
• Octopus 12M Fixed August 2022 v1
• Loyal Octopus 12M Fixed August 2022 v1
• Super Green Octopus 12M Fixed July 2022 v2
• Arsenal Green 12M Fixed July 2022 v2
• Octopus 12M Fixed July 2022 v3
• Super Green Octopus 12M Fixed July 2022 v1
• Loyal Octopus 12M Fixed July 2022 v4
• Arsenal Green 12M Fixed July 2022 v1
• Loyal Octopus 12M Fixed July 2022 v3
• Octopus 12M Fixed July 2022 v2
• Loyal Octopus 12M Fixed July 2022 v2

None of those tariffs had exit fees .which is why no mention of how much exit fee was/would have been.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/22929693/british-gas-octopus-energy-scrap-fixed-deal-exit-fees/   Published: 15:25, 5 Jul 2023Updated: 12:56, 8 Jul 2023

[Deleted User]

Thanks MikeJXE.  My fix has a £75 penalty per fuel so £150.  Unfortunately it is not on the list : Loyal Octopus 12M Fixed June 2023 v1 to 30 June 2024.

BellaBlondykeTheThird

[Deleted User] said:

Thanks MikeJXE.  My fix has a £75 penalty per fuel so £150.  Unfortunately it is not on the list : Loyal Octopus 12M Fixed June 2023 v1 to 30 June 2024.

As others have said Octopus tend to be fair so if I were you I would strike up an X (twitter) conversation and remark how you have seen in the news all their new fixes have £0 exit fees would they do the same for you moving to their latest fix.

If that's what you want.

mac.d

BellaBlondykeTheThird said:

[Deleted User] said:

Thanks MikeJXE.  My fix has a £75 penalty per fuel so £150.  Unfortunately it is not on the list : Loyal Octopus 12M Fixed June 2023 v1 to 30 June 2024.

As others have said Octopus tend to be fair so if I were you I would strike up an X (twitter) conversation and remark how you have seen in the news all their new fixes have £0 exit fees would they do the same for you moving to their latest fix.

If that's what you want.

I'm going to try this for someone's account who I help manage. Otherwise its another 5 months before they can switch without the £150 fee. No harm in asking is there?

jak22

Switching from a fixed term with no early exit fee to another should they fall in the future is complicated by the link to the tariff options screen seeming to disappear from the dashboard after you've signed up to a fix.

Without it you can't see the current loyal fix rate (or the variable or normal fix rates without logging out) or quickly switch to them.

However the 'Choose your tariff' page is still available as

octopus.energy/dashboard/accounts/accountnumber/tariff-renewal/#/

I would suggest noting or bookmarking the tariff switch link when taking out a loyal fix.

QrizB

jak22 said:

This means you cant see the current loyal fix rate (or the variable or normal fix rates without logging out) or quickly switch to them.

They should all be accessible from https://octopus.energy/tariffs/ even if you're logged in.

I agree that it can be useful to bookmark some account-specific pages for ease of access, esp. as Octopus keep changing the account homepage!