Has anyone recently looked at there providers increased tariffs? I’m with Octopus energy, I currently pay £158/month, the cheapest tariff I can switch to is £288/month!!!!!!! I knew that things were about to rise but that is absolutely staggering........the unit price for electric will be £0.25p, a think we’re in for a bumpy 12 month!!
We got Brexit done. we should stop whinging about the fallout, it’ll be better once we’re finally free of those pesky Europeans with their rules for fairness and trade deals.
Sorry. On a serious note, this will push many middle and low income families over the edge next year. It’s a long time since we’ve suffered the ill effects of inflation, and I’m not sure how young families will cope.
I assume that is to switch to another fixed tariff? If so, you'll almost certainly be better just letting your current deal run till it expires and then going over to the standard variable tariff. That has the price cap. But the price cap is going up again in April, so we can expect further increases.
Yes, that’s switching to another fixed tariff Orsen, what’s odd is that my last fixed tariff ended in September so I am now on a variable but my payments haven’t changed, Octopus have currently stopped taking calls from customers which is alarming in itself
It’s certainly amazing/ worrying when they rumour even a 1/4 or 1/2 a percent interest rise how they have folk on the news panicking. I think a lot of particularly young families have taken the low ( historically ridiculously so) interest rates and inflation as the norm and taken on too much financial debt, mortgages etc with very little ( if any) of a safety net.
With these Torys taking away that £20 of universal credit to the poorest in the country there are going to be a lot of people going cold this winter.
If you're not already doing so, I suggest monitoring your usage closely and checking that your payments are covering the costs. Especially as winter is approaching. That way, you won't get any nasty surprises down the line. I'm with Scottish Power and even though it's a fixed term, I can amend my direct debit amount via their app. As Orsen says, moving to another fixed term is inadvisable at the moment and will almost certainly cost you more. Better to sit tight for a while on the standard tariff.
I’ll be waiting till the hike domes a think, however I’ve looked at switching to utility wharehouse and I can make a good savings across multiple services, I’ve just installed a 4kw Solar system too which is going to be a absolute godsend
Also, as daft as it sounds with prices going up, the reason your payments haven't changed could be that you've been slightly overpaying and have built up a balance on your account. I reduced my direct debit last month for that very reason.
Inflation will hurt. Interest rate rises will hurt even more as they are passed into the market and fuel further inflation. The BofE seem to think this inflation is a transitory phenomenon and I'm not sure. Wage rises won't be rowed back and new skilled employees take time to train if we cant switch on the Euro tap, and with inflation pushing higher because of lack of supply and pent up demand, not to mention the good old B word which protected us on the energy front and the new costs attached to customs requirements. If inflation is to drop, it will require a significant drop in demand. Our demand is less than it was pre pandemic. If we experience a significant fall in demand, that brings other economic problems aside from rampant inflation. We're in a mess, and crossing our fingers and hoping it rights itself isn't especially helping.
BBC news item yesterday said that Lidl were planning a 6% pay increase in order to retain staff/attract recruits. They'll be the highest paying supermarket. How long before the others follow suit? And then how much longer before those costs are passed on through the checkout? Petrol. Food. Energy. Mortgages. All on the up.
I am with look after my bills who automatically switch you to the cheapest provider every year. I was with peoples energy paying £127 per month and £113 in credit. But they went bust in September so I have been put with British Gas who have taken over all their customers and am on a special. Peoples Energy Tariff with them paying the same. I can’t see that lasting long. Spoke to them last night and they haven’t transferred my credit which they said would be done and say I should be paying £160pm look after my bills have suspended their service switching folk for at least 6 months until everything calms down.
Just another quick thought, JC. I would guess you're already across this, but just in case. My Dad's energy company went under in September 2019 and he was switched over to Octopus. After he passed away in April of last year we discovered that Octopus had never contacted him to organize a new direct debit. We had to settle what he owed for 7 months from his estate. That wasn't a problem, and Octopus were good to deal with once I made contact. But it was surprising that they had allowed this situation to develop, and you could see how some customers could end up with a nasty shock if they were also at the end of this error. I'm fairly sure from what you say you'll have monitored your usage, but it just occurred to me that Octopus might have been dilatory in not altering your direct debit to take account of your switch back to variable?
It's already happening, (1st world problem I know but) £6, 7 or 8 bottles of wine this time last year are now £8, 9 or 10. That's inflation at more than 15%; the price of "teKkiN BaK kOntRol" I suppose.
This is the advice that Martin Lewis has been giving out. The price caps (at the moment) will keep the Standard Tariffs as the cheapest option if your current deal is due to, or has expired.
To be fair to them, if you're an adult in your early 30's and all you'd ever known is interest rates of virtually nothing, you're not entirely to blame for not thinking they could spike suddenly. And if you're that age and used to having housing costs that are many times higher than us Boomers had, it's not really a 'choice' to have a bigger mortgage, it's a fact of life. Stop repeating the lie that kids are responsible for the mess we made of the country.