Switching to a new plan during fixed term contract? Will I face an exit fee?

Thanks.  It looks like I can switch without paying a fee from August 28th so it might be worth hanging fire until then.  I don’t believe rates will change again until October.

I’d rather not go onto another fix though as I have had shocking service from OVO and plan to go to a different provider when it is feasibly possible when they sort out the complex metering fiasco.

• Your current rate won’t change until you get to the end of your contract.
• Fixed-price rates you might fancy are always changing; sometimes you have to be really quick to grab a favourable-looking one before it disappears.
• The rates for the Standard Variable Tariff will indeed change on 1 October. It’s widely expected that the average will increase by about 10%.

Im on a fixed rate, exit fee it says is only applicable if i leave ovo.

My bill says I can get a cheaper rate and to switch press here, I press it and I can see no way of switching tariffs on line....

Hi ​@alinbongo54 ,

You can only renew online if you’re in the renewal window. Otherwise, please call the Support Team on 0330 303 5063 and someone can do this over the phone for you.

I have 30 days left of my fixed term contract, when comparing it came up that no exit fees to be paid because I was within the time, so I switched, check my ovo account and it showed contract end date was now 31st july, £50 exit fee on electric & gas see attachment, I phoned ovo customer services, she said that I had to pay the fees, I rechecked and phoned again, this time I was told that I do not have to pay the exit fees, she confirmed it with an email. 

confused or what😀    

When you say that you switched I assume that you mean to a different supplier?
(Which would explain why your plans is now ending at the end of July and not at the end of August).

Confusion yes, but to me it sounds that whoever processed your switch made an error.

As I understand it the computer process for switching to another supplier (or indeed for switching early to a different OVO tariff) has the exit fee(s) included by default and the agent doing the switch has to cancel the exit fee(s) when appropriate.

I’m guessing that whoever did your switch just assumed it was a normal switch and didn’t realise you were in the end period of your fixed plan; so they didn’t click the button to waive the exit fee?
(Or they did know but just forgot to click the button?)

You say that that has now been corrected, as it should be, and that message from ‘Charlotte’ confirms it will not be charged. 😊

PS. My current plan also ends at the end of August (I’m staying with OVO and I’ve already signed up online for another year which will start the day after on 28th August).
Because I’m in the end period then where mine did previously show an exit fee it now clearly shows that no exit fee applies. eg if I change my mind before the new one starts on Aug 28th and switch supplier instead then there will be no exit fee.
 

Nukecad

The firm that I switched to are 3.5p a KW cheaper, and 14.3p standing charge cheaper than the LOYALTY offer from OVO.  Thats a lot of difference.

I had noticed that both my current Fixed Loyalty, and the new one that will replace it are have a much lower SC than rhe rates you posted above.

Of course rates do vary depending on where in the country you are, and on exactly when you fix. OVOs fixed rate offers changed on the 24th and had changed again when I checked this morning.

Standing Charges are predicted to rise quite a bit when the Ofgem cap next changes.

You have to go with the best fix that you can find to suit you at rhe time.

I only found one elsewhere that might save me about £1 over the next 12 months. It was a ‘small name’ supplier which also went against them in my decision.

PS. You are still welcome here after you switch , it's a general help forum for energy matters and not just for OVO customers.

Nukecad  My OVO quote was yesterday before I started looking elsewere.

Fair enough if you are willing to take the risk with what is a fairly new supplier.

After all it's not that long since OVO was the new kid on the block.

Everyone has to start small and hopefully Fuse have done their sums and are not undercharging.

(PS. I'm sure you know that small/new supplies undercharging and so going bust a few years ago is one reason why Standing Charges rose, we are all now paying for their company failures).

Personally I would take some convincing to go with a ‘newbie’ supplier.

Nukecad  I’ll let you know in the future if i’ve dropped a clanger 🤣🤣

Beware OVO customers on a fixed contract.

OVO have screwed up this morning and deducted £100 Exit Fees from your account.

This is an IT glitch connected to their preparation for UK governments price reductions that are coming in  1st April.

OVO say they are aware of affected accounts and will be correcting them.

Thanks for the heads-up,

However I’m on a fixed contract and I’m not seeing any such deduction showing on my account at the moment.

If it was a glitch then presumably it has now been corrected (or isn’t affecting all fixed accounts)?

The £100 was credited back to my account by 12.45 today

Hey ​@spudonhill, 

Thanks for letting us know! I haven't heard anything about this being a widespread issue, so it seems like it might just be affecting a few accounts like yours. I'm really glad you reached out to support and they were able to fix things so quickly. If you have any more questions or need further assistance, just give us a shout 😃

The recent unprecedented fiddling with fixed tariffs at government diktat had suppliers scrabbling around to find workarounds within their existing billing frameworks. OVO decided that the way forward was to determine fixed tariff contracts on 31 March 2026 and start new ones on 1 April 2026. This was probably fair enough as a one-off stop-gap workaround.

However, looking at the special terms and conditions for Extended Fixed tariffs, I see a potential bone of contention:
  

These terms were last modified in August 2025, (I think) long before anyone was thinking about how to vary fixed prices. I suppose it rather depends on what ‘join’ means in this context, and lawyers would no doubt have fun debating that. The man on the Clapham omnibus would, I’m sure, think that the relevant date was that when the current contract started. I suspect, though, that OVO’s legal eagles think otherwise, arguing that they wouldn’t have used ‘join’ to mean ‘enter into a contract.’

My Extended Fixed contract expires later this year, so I’m considering changing to a different OVO fixed tariff while they’re still not totally unmanageable. Will I be charged an early exit fee if there are more than 49 days to go to the end of the current fix?

I am so glad that you have brought this up. How do I find what fixes are available to me now even though there are more than 49 days before the end of my current fix? Many companies do not charge early exit fees if you remain with them and choose a new tariff.

​@Bendog All available tariffs are listed on the Our prices | OVO Energy page. Be sure to use the filters to cut down the number of repetitions.

Yes; the more oppressive regime was, I think, first introduced with the first Extended Fixed tariffs a couple of years ago. It’s good to see that it’s now been relaxed, but I’m just not sure how far OVO’s benevolence stretches. 

Thanks again. Some of the standing charges are eye watering!!!

Hey ​@Firedog 

I reached out to one of the tariff specialists about this who’ve clarified that OVO’s position doesn’t change contractually as a result of the recent updates. 

While the technical workaround to update unit prices involved replicating a tariff to apply the government discount, this is an administrative mirror of your existing agreement rather than a brand-new commercial "joining" event and so the contract end date remains the same, and with it, the renewal window and timing of exit fee application/exemption.

I hope this helps clear that up.

Thanks, ​@Abby_OVO  
  

Yep, it does, just as I thought. It explains the use of the odd ‘joining’ terminology. It means that customers who were early adopters of Extended Fixed offerings are treated less favourably than those ‘joining’ later. It looks as if customers should be advised to switch to Simpler Energy for a day or two during the 49-day window before joining the latest Extended Fixed contract if they want to be sure of enjoying the more relaxed exit fee regime. Is this an accurate assessment, do you think?

Just so that I understand completely: my Fixed Plan end date is August 6th. Can I choose a new plan now, without penalty, or do I need to wait until I am within the 49 day period?

Sorry, I couldn’t say. You’ll have to look up the terms for the type of fixed plan you’re on. There should be a link to them in the confirmation email you received when the contract started. They’re subject to change without notice - some would think this a little bit underhand, because you have to revisit the page regularly to spot any changes. But the early exit fee terms should be at least as clear as they are for my Extended Fixed plan ...  

Hey ​@Firedog 

I checked back in with the same specialist about this as I didn’t think that would be a necessary change and they’ve confirmed there’s no need to do anything differently during the renewal period.

During that 49 days you can select any tariff, which will start after the current contract ends, the exit fees won’t apply during that period, regardless of the amount.