Switch now and pay exit fee or wait for tariff to end?

Badja

Hi all,

I'm currently on British Gas Fixed 14M v1 which ends 27/08/25. I've used the Cheap Energy Club to find 2-3 tariffs that are currently slightly cheaper than mine.

My current usage:

• Electricity: 5,469 kWh/year
• Gas: 6,730 kWh/year
• No EV

My current rates:

• Electricity: 21.90 p/kWh, standing charge 55.86 p/day
• Gas: 6.13 p/kWh, standing charge 23.32 p/day

New tariffs I'm considering:

• Home Energy (Fair Variable Dual - Price Capped tariff):
  • Electricity: 19.423p p/kWh, 63.601p p/day
  • Gas: 6.271p p/kWh, 31.664p p/day
  • Estimated saving: £67/year
• Outfox The Market (Fix'd Dual Feb25 v4.0):
  • Electricity: 20.205p p/kWh, 63.61p p/day
  • Gas: 6.245p p/kWh, 31.67p p/day
  • Estimated saving: £26/year

I saw on TikTok that Martin Lewis was recommending fixing ASAP as rates will likely go up in April and October with only a slight decrease in summer.

My concerns:

• I'd need to pay £100 in exit fees to leave my current contract
• I'm also £160 in debit on electricity (balanced on gas)
• So I'd potentially owe British Gas £260 before switching

Given that the new tariffs are only slightly cheaper right now, is it worth switching and paying these fees, or should I wait? What would you suggest?

Thanks for any advice!

Alnat1

I would wait, you're not going to save enough on a new tariff to make up the exit fees.

PRAISETHESUN

Estimated savings of £93/year vs. £100 exit fees (per fuel?). Doesn't sound like there's anything to be gained by switching early

born_again

I saw on TikTok that Martin Lewis was recommending fixing ASAP as rates will likely go up in April and October with only a slight decrease in summer.

I think people need to stop blindly following & acting on everything he says.

As @PRAISETHESUN POST. 
Simply doing what he says, without doing your own maths would see you worse off..

RelievedSheff

Yu would make bigger savings by looking at why your electric consumption is so high!

Badja

RelievedSheff said:

Yu would make bigger savings by looking at why your electric consumption is so high!

2 massive fish tanks and a home server

Badja

born_again said:

I think people need to stop blindly following & acting on everything he says.

Fully agree here - hence wanting to ask - my thoughts were that if the raise in October was going to be too high, in August, I'd get a bad fix - but looks like I was right to stick for now

spot1034

The present predictions of future prices are just based on wholesale prices for particular dates as they are today - or in fact as they were a few days ago the last time the predictions were updated. True, prices for  six months or more ahead are not the same as now or very near future, but if you look you'll find they aren't much different at the moment, and prices for all dates have come down sharply in the past few weeks. As ML himself often says, predictions beyond the next quarter are little more than crystal ball gazing.