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OVO contract ends in November - should I renew now?

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Shall I wait to renew or apply for a new contract now & pay more? I'm confused

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Best answer by Jeffus 15 August 2022, 20:47

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Blastoise186
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Hi @Rinsky ,

If you do a renewal now, you’ll lock in the agreed rates immediately but will still get to see out the rest of the existing contract rates. The new ones won’t take effect until the old ones expire, so now would be a good time to lock in again. The longer you wait, the worse it’s likely to get I’m afraid!

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R
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Hi Blastoise,

Gosh, I didn't know & will ring OVO poste haste.

Thankyou so much

 

 

Jeffus
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@Blastoise186 is there a time limit on locking in?

If the renewal isn't until November, am i correct in assuming there won't yet be any renewal options on the website? They only appear 6 weeks before the end of the contract?

So if customers phones up can then lock in if their plans aren't due to end in November or December for example? 

Blastoise186
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Well, self-service doesn’t unlock until 49 days ahead, but you can make changes a different way whenever you want… Albeit with an exit fee in some cases. :)

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Jeffus
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Well, self-service doesn’t unlock until 49 days ahead, but you can make changes a different way whenever you want… Albeit with an exit fee in some cases. :)

So @Rinsky would have to pay an exit fee to lock in today? 

Blastoise186
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Possibly, but it depends on the timing.

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Oh! Shall I wait until the 49th Day prior to my contract ends to avoid to the £30 exit fee?

Do  energy prices (Electricity) rise or fall on a day basis, like the stock market?

 

Blastoise186
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They can do that sometimes, but not always. I’d still recommend using the renewal process as soon as possible though so that you can lock in a deal at the earliest opportunity that avoids an exit fee.

Securing energy by zapping security bugs... For that is The Blastoise Way!
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Thankyou very much . I will ring them in the morning 

Jeffus
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Updated on 19/10/23 by Abby_OVO

Oh! Shall I wait until the 49th Day prior to my contract ends to avoid to the £30 exit fee?

Do  energy prices (Electricity) rise or fall on a day basis, like the stock market?

 

OVO will automatically give you some fixed rate options to choose from 6 weeks prior to your fixed rate ending in November. They will send you an email and you will also be able to see them on the website and on the app. 

If you choose one of these at any time after receiving them, you stay on your current contract till the end of your contract and then start the new contract. The 49 days doesn't matter in that case. 

The 49 days is useful if you want to switch supplier,  so if you are less than 49 days to your end of contract,  you can switch to another supplier without paying OVO an exit fee. 

As you are more than 6 weeks away till the end of your contract with OVO, you won't yet have received any renewal quotes. 

If you phone up today and ask for a renewal quote i honestly don't know what they will say. I suspect they may give you a quote for a new tariff you can select today and start today, but you would have to pay the exit fee for your current contract and you would start on the higher tariff from today. Alternatively it would be nice if they ignored the 6 week rule and let you select a good rate now that would trigger in November at the end of your current contract. 

You may even think it is worth paying an exit fee to lock in a reasonable fixed rate, but that would need a lot of thought. 

OVO fixed rate quotes have been creeping up for weeks, sometimes every few days, as wholesale gas prices in the UK have risen. 

 

R
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'NO Joy after ringing OVO. 

Must await my fate

Jeffus
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'NO Joy after ringing OVO. 

Must await my fate

Am not surprised.

Feel free to come back when you get your renewal offers cira 6 weeks before your current contract expires in case any of the regular posters have any views that might help. 

In some ways it is a shame as it would be in OVOs and customers benefit to forward buy energy now for use later.  

Perhaps something @Tim_OVO  to discuss with the appropriate OVO teams as an idea for the future?

Tim_OVO
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In some ways it is a shame as it would be in OVOs and customers benefit to forward buy energy now for use later.  

Perhaps something@Tim_OVO  to discuss with the appropriate OVO teams as an idea for the future?

 

It’s an interesting idea that has commercial implications. Although exactly what those implications are I’m not sure. 

 

For example, if we buy energy in advance at the market rate, x months before the contract start date, and the customer chooses to cancel the renewal and switch supplier, or fix in on a different tariff, the supplier may have to take the hit. 

 

But the more I think about that, the more I’m unsure. If prices have increased since they bought the energy, then in theory they wouldn’t make a loss in selling it back. Only if prices decrease would they take the hit. 

 

I think the process of buying energy in advance (hedging) and settlement (paying for what customers actually use vs what we think they use) is a bit more complicated then what I’m making it out to be. 

 

Thoughts welcome.

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Jeffus
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In some ways it is a shame as it would be in OVOs and customers benefit to forward buy energy now for use later.  

Perhaps something@Tim_OVO  to discuss with the appropriate OVO teams as an idea for the future?

 

It’s an interesting idea that has commercial implications. Although exactly what those implications are I’m not sure. 

 

For example, if we buy energy in advance at the market rate, x months before the contract start date, and the customer chooses to cancel the renewal and switch supplier, or fix in on a different tariff, the supplier may have to take the hit. 

 

But the more I think about that, the more I’m unsure. If prices have increased since they bought the energy, then in theory they wouldn’t make a loss in selling it back. Only if prices decrease would they take the hit. 

 

I think the process of buying energy in advance (hedging) and settlement (paying for what customers actually use vs what we think they use) is a bit more complicated then what I’m making it out to be. 

 

Thoughts welcome.

One option is simply to try giving the renewal quotes 3 month rather than 6 weeks prior to the end of a fixed contract.

I would have thought OVO would love holding onto customers on fixed rates. OvO will have pretty good data on the number of people who exit contracts early. 

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