Ditch your fixed rate tariff before it’s too late

British bill payers need to be on their guard as three fixed tariffs from the ‘Big Six' energy providers come to an end next month, warns moneysupermarket.com.

According to Britain's number one comparison site, Scottish Power's Capped Price Energy July 2010, EDF's Annual Fix v3 and British Gas' Price Promise June 2010 are due to finish at the end of June.

Scott Byrom, utilities manager at moneysupermarket.com, said: "Fixed tariffs have been ‘in-vogue' over the past couple of years, especially amidst a backdrop of market movements. However languishing on fixed deals could spell bad news for Brits when they come to an end. In the worse case scenario, providers could automatically switch customers across to its standard tariff meaning a potential increase of as much as £196 a year if they haven't taken action to find a better alternative already; swapping to the market leading online tariff could see them save an impressive £348 a year.1 My advice to customers who have fixed deals expiring soon is to look to swap at least six weeks before the termination date of the deal to avoid automatically being moved onto what could be a more expensive tariff from your supplier. They should be scouring the market now for the next best alternative deal to avoid paying over the odds. 

"Timing is crucial when proactively looking for a new energy product, move off your fixed rate too early and you could face termination fees of up to £75. Move too late and you might find yourself automatically moved to the standard deal or locked into a less attractive fixed deal which isn't competitive. Bill payers on tariffs that come to an end over the next month need to be ‘making the move' by June 3 2010."

Scott Byrom continued: "Recent changes to the Electricity and Gas Supply License by Ofgem also means bill payer's awareness of the small print of their energy tariffs will need to be more common place, regardless of whether it is fixed or not. Under new rules, providers are no longer allowed to offer new products without specifying an end date for initial rates. It's therefore essential as consumers we're aware when this date is and act accordingly to avoid rolling over to a less competitive deal.

"However, these changes are good news for the industry; anything that enables bill payers to be empowered to make a tariff change when necessary, and start shopping around to find the most competitive deals, is a welcome move."