Outfox The Market. Tariffs changing like the wind!

SaxOnTheBeach

Hi all. 
I initiated a switch from Octopus to Outfox the Market on Wed 26th Feb. I think it was their Feb25 v3.0 12-month fixed tariff. Happy days! A saving of £468/year - and that's before the April price hike.
Barely 48 hours later, Outfox have now launched a v5.0 tariff that's £179 cheaper still: £647 over-all!
As I'm within my cooling-off period, I've emailed them asking if they can swap me over "internally" rather than the faff of cancelling & starting all over. I'll be phoning them too to chase it up. Obviously, I'll let you know what they say. 

My post is really a heads-up. If you found a good deal, even just a few days ago, CHECK AGAIN, and probably yet again too throughout March! Fixed deals, even with the same provider, are changing like the wind. 

PS: Thanks to Martin for the kick up the bum!

barker77

Such a shame that lots of their electric is non renewable 

bristolleedsfan

barker77 said:

Such a shame that lots of their electric is non renewable 

https://company.ovo.com/ovo-calls-for-end-to-industry-greenwashing/

• OVO’s new research uncovers that 81% of people incorrectly believe that ‘100% renewable electricity’ tariffs help fund new renewable energy projects, when many have no positive effect on the environment at all.

rikwill

My brother signed up to Outfox Fixed Feb 25 v3 yesterday.  I called Outfox the Market today and was told I could switch to a "similar" v5 version of the same 12 month fixed tariff, as the v3 had been withdrawn yesterday.  I asked how the v3 and v5 were "similar" (i.e. is it more expensive) but they couldn't tell me.  Does anybody know if the price has been hiked or reduced, this is not transparent at all.  A supplier should be able to tell you if one version of a tariff is more expensive or cheaper than another.  I've requested a complaint form.    

bristolleedsfan

rikwill said:

My brother signed up to Outfox Fixed Feb 25 v3 yesterday.  I called Outfox the Market today and was told I could switch to a "similar" v5 version of the same 12 month fixed tariff, as the v3 had been withdrawn yesterday.  I asked how the v3 and v5 were "similar" (i.e. is it more expensive) but they couldn't tell me.  Does anybody know if the price has been hiked or reduced, this is not transparent at all.  A supplier should be able to tell you if one version of a tariff is more expensive or cheaper than another.  I've requested a complaint form.    

v5 is cheaper

spot1034

This just shows the odd state of the market at present. Fixes are falling to reflect a drop in wholesale prices, whilst the price cap is about to rise as it is based on the period largely before prices started to come down. 

rikwill

I've now switched to Outfox Fix'd Dual Feb25 v5.0 - current customers cannot switch online, you need to use the chat function.

Gerry1

rikwill said:

I asked how the v3 and v5 were "similar" (i.e. is it more expensive) but they couldn't tell me.  Does anybody know if the price has been hiked or reduced, this is not transparent at all.  A supplier should be able to tell you if one version of a tariff is more expensive or cheaper than another.

Being Devil's Advocate for a moment, I can understand taking a cautious approach, otherwise it could be a hostage to fortune.  Whether one tariff is cheaper than another usually depends on usage (hence all the comparison sites), and this may not always turn out as expected.

Many people don't even understand so- called 'fixed' DDs and wrongly think that an increased DD is a price rise.  Adding further complexity by making a prediction that could be misunderstood would risk aggro later on.

Much safer for the agent just to quote the basic facts and let customers decide for themselves.

bristolleedsfan

Agent was unlikely to suggest changing to current v5 if it was more expensive, 

"similar" v5 version of the same 12 month fixed tariff, as the v3 had been withdrawn yesterday"

Meant not huge difference in unit rates ;

Yesterday I posted  North West Region -  Electricity unit rate: 21.922p per kWh

Today -  Electricity unit rate: 21.022p per kWh   - Gas I think very marginally cheaper, certainly not dearer.

wrf12345

"Much safer for the agent just to quote the basic facts and let customers decide for themselves."

Agreed, you always have to either click on more info button or scroll down to get to the actual details. I think it is Ofgem who has ruled that tariffs have to be delivered in this manner because it believes that customers aren't able to understand things like unit rates and s/c's, another reason to get rid of the latter and just let people see the headline unit rate but likely to be even more complex when they add in the zero s/c tariffs later this year.

Rustlingduck

I'm looking at the outfox v5 but have I've got big exit fees till the 12th March. Does Outfox let you delay the actual switch a couple weeks i.e. till within the 49 days when you sign up? And does anyone know if doing it this way would get round the exit fees my current supplier will hit me with?