Difference between tariffs at Switch and Renewal?

@Firedog I don’t see a ‘get-out’ if you sign up to a particular rate. I do see both costs are estimated so your only sure fire way of seeing which is best for you is if you work out the detail using the different rates. 
I know that wasn’t your question as such but I would have thought that at the point of your sign up, you would see the rates confirmed?

I think I’d fix again if I was you. I went through this dilemma last year (well Jan this year) and it paid off as prices went up and up…

Doesn't the estimate mean it may not reflect your actual usage ?

That would be nice. However, there is no way to ‘sign up’; the page just tells me You don’t need to do anything to choose this plan. You’ll automatically roll onto it if you don’t renew. So there is no ‘renewal’ - just an automatic migration to a different tariff.

That said, Ofgem decrees that suppliers must give consumers at least 30 days advance notice of price rises, or changes in their contract which leave them significantly worse off. My situation is clearly in a grey area. I’ve been working with the figures quoted on the Renewal page for some weeks now, and there’s less than 30 days until I’m automatically migrated, so I could claim that I haven’t been given the mandatory notice of this latest hike. If I were the litigious sort, I might think of complaining.

Oh yes - sorry - it’s been a long day...

Were we ever able to select the variable tariff on the renewal page? 

Was it just fixed rates? With the default being you rolled onto the variable rate if you did nothing. 

I honestly can't remember.

Does the 30 days start from the 1st day you start your new variable contract rather than now?

When i just looked the tariff name and rates were the same via both links for me but i don't have E7, so it could be ovo have multiple E7 rates setup in their database. 

I found my old renewal screenshots. Does look like we have never been able to select the variable rate when coming off a fixed rate. It is just the auto do nothing option. 

Interestingly the section on 30 day notice for changes to the variable rate plan tariff has been removed in the most recent Terms and Conditions

https://www.ovoenergy.com/terms/2022

  
  Chance would be a fine thing! From the same renewal page: During the energy-price uncertainty, we’re not able to offer a fair priced fixed-rate plan. Our variable-rate Simpler Energy plan is the only one available at the moment.
 

No. I’ve been watching this page for some weeks now. The “Estimated  Yearly Use” (EYU, a rose by any other name ...) is pretty close to my consumption for the last 365 days, but it only updates sporadically - about once a week. Their estimate for my  yearly cost is just about spot on for my day/night usage ratio over the last 365 days. I just used the same figure on the switch page to get comparable results.

It irks me that while urging us to push consumption to the quiet hours, they have seen fit to increase the night rate by 22% since 1 October. It will now be an overnight increase of 138% in my heating cost (in p/kWh inc. VAT, from 9.65 on 30 Sept to 18.86 on 1 Oct and now to 22.98). I’m tempted to nip out and chop down some of their precious trees to feed my fire.  

[Sorry, you didn’t, but BP did 😶]

I took my quotation from Ofgem: 30-day-rule-280311.pdf (ofgem.gov.uk) and a search of the site didn’t find anything newer. I don’t think they could wriggle out of that if it came to the crunch. 

Interesting i think the opposite. You aren't on the tariff yet so the 30 days doesn't apply? 

In normal times the rates would go up on 1st Jan.

The renewals page has always had the old variable rate tariff info right up to the switch date to the updated price cap. We went through an example like this with my switch over and the  variable rate when Jess was around. It makes the variable rate tariff info on the Renewal page of rather limited value, particularly with quarterly updates to the variable from 1st Jan in normal times. 

I will see if I can find the thread again.

We didn't get 30 days notice last time for the variable rate. 

Fixed rates would be eye watering expensive at the moment as the wholesale gas price has shot up again, up 60% since October, feeding through to electricity prices. We had a record next day electricity price recently.

The 20% increase in the Energy Price Cap on 1st April from 2500 to 3000 could be better communicated as well... Am not sure how many people are budgeting for this... This was in the Autumn statement. 

That 20% increase ought to be mentioned by us when people are appalled by their raised dd.