Ethical question for switching.

brownbun

We are tenants and must vacate our current house in mid-December after living here for almost five years.

I was just doing a price comparison. We are currently with Octopus Energy and have noticed that we could save a significant amount (£35 per month) by switching to Home Energy or Outfox (we only have electricity, and this is a dreadfully inefficient old farmhouse).

My preference is to move to Outfox because they've got more history. But there is a £75 cancellation fee. Obviously, if you move house, there's no cancellation fee. Still, part of me feels like I'm being a little bit unethical, setting up a 12-month fixed contract when I know damn well that I'm going to be moving in between three and four months, I won't have to pay the early termination fee.

I'm being ridiculous, right?

mmmmikey

I don't see it as unethical at all, you'll just be following the rules which are specifically put in place to help people in your situation. You face enough challenges as tenants without worrying about this so my view is you should go for whichever contract you choose with a completely clear conscience  

MyRealNameToo

brownbun said:

We are tenants and must vacate our current house in mid-December after living here for almost five years.

I was just doing a price comparison. We are currently with Octopus Energy and have noticed that we could save a significant amount (£35 per month) by switching to Home Energy or Outfox (we only have electricity, and this is a dreadfully inefficient old farmhouse).

My preference is to move to Outfox because they've got more history. But there is a £75 cancellation fee. Obviously, if you move house, there's no cancellation fee. Still, part of me feels like I'm being a little bit unethical, setting up a 12-month fixed contract when I know damn well that I'm going to be moving in between three and four months, I won't have to pay the early termination fee.

I'm being ridiculous, right?

Nothing unethical about signing up when you know you will be moving and then transferring the account to your new property. If the energy firm didnt think it was acceptable they wouldnt give the option of avoiding the fee my keeping the account or would say it only applies at month 9 of the year or whatever. 

QrizB

I posted this originally on the "Home Energy" thread, but it might be better here since it's not really about Home Energy at all.

brownbun said:

Yes, thanks you two. I think it's closer to 15%, but even so, a significant amount. For some reason, I thought Octopus were really competitive.

Octopus's mainstream tariffs are rather middle-of-the-road, as you might expct from the UK's biggest domestic energy supplier (they're not an upstart challenger any more).

Their smart tariffs are more competitive. I'm on one of their EV tariffs for electricity, and Tracker for gas. I'm paying about 10p/kWh on average for electricity, and 5p/kWh for gas.

Do you have electric heating? What sort - panel heaters, storage heaters, heat pump, something else? There might be a better tariff for you.

Gerry1

brownbun said:

We are currently with Octopus Energy and have noticed that we could save a significant amount (£35 per month) by switching to Home Energy or Outfox

Are you comparing the so-called 'Fixed' DD amounts?  They're pretty meaningless.  You need to compare the costs based on kWh calculations derived from actual meter readings 12 months apart (smart, customer, or meter reader, never estimated ones).

brownbun said:

My preference is to move to Outfox because they've got more history.

Sister company to the 'magic dust' non-storage heaters.  They do have history...

brownbun said:

Obviously, if you move house, there's no cancellation fee.

Is that clearly stated in the Ts & Cs, or have you merely assumed that will be the case?

brownbun

Gerry1 said:

brownbun said:

We are currently with Octopus Energy and have noticed that we could save a significant amount (£35 per month) by switching to Home Energy or Outfox

Are you comparing the so-called 'Fixed' DD amounts?  They're pretty meaningless.  You need to compare the costs based on kWh calculations derived from actual meter readings 12 months apart (smart, customer, or meter reader, never estimated ones).

brownbun said:

My preference is to move to Outfox because they've got more history.

Sister company to the 'magic dust' non-storage heaters.  They do have history...

brownbun said:

Obviously, if you move house, there's no cancellation fee.

Is that clearly stated in the Ts & Cs, or have you merely assumed that will be the case?

Since I originally asked, I looked at the kWh to compare and the figure is closer to 15%.

As a renter, I've conducted a lot of research on the rights and responsibilities of landlords and suppliers, 

With most services that are to a property. If you move and your current supplier cannot service you at the new address, it's almost impossible for them to enforce a fee legally, even if it were in their Terms and Conditions.

Whether I'd get into a fight over £75 is another matter. But I did battle one of the biggest rental companies in the UK for £90 and got it back.