Consumer champion Martin Lewis issued a fresh warning to households who have recently fixed their energy bills to stem soaring prices ahead of the October price cap increase.
Ahead of Liz Truss’ support package announcement to tackle soaring energy prices rumoured to involve freezing the price cap, Mr Lewis has urged consumers who have just fixed their energy bills to consider cancelling it to save money.
The prime minister is expected to announce she will freeze the energy cap at £2,500 and scrap the ban on fracking when she sets out a new package to help deal with the energy crisis.
Writing on the MoneySavingExpert site, Mr Lewis said: “If you fixed within the last 14 days, do check when the cooling off period ends, as on Thursday when we hopefully know what’s actually happening you may want to cancel.”
The Ofgem price cap only applies to people on variable rate energy deals – around 80 per cent of the country, or 24 million people. But many energy users recently locked into fixed rate deals to avoid soaring prices but now may not benefit from the potential price cap freeze.
For people who fixed more than 14 days ago, Mr Lewis said: “The ‘should I fix’ call has never been easy. That’s one reason when explaining the level it’s worth considering at, I’ve always described as ‘crystal ball gazing’ with no way to know if it’s the right call.
“Some who have made the call to fix recently may feel frustrated by this.
“Yet ultimately remember, you made the call based on the information available at the time, that’s all you can do, it was a good decision for you based on what you knew, even if the outcome doesn’t turn out to be the best.”
The MoneySavingExpert founder has said he cannot think of “anything worse” than serving in Liz Truss’s cabinet as he warned the new prime minister she was entering Downing Street with the country in an “awful state”.
Congratulating Ms Truss on becoming prime minister this week, he was asked by a Twitter user if he was trying to land a cabinet job to which Mr Lewis replied: “Literally couldn’t think of anything worse. Yet we have a new PM. Country is in awful state. We have to hope she does a good job & things improve.
“So I want her, as I’d want anyone of any party, to succeed in making people’s lives better. It’s better than the alternative.”
Ms Truss came under intense fire at her first Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday when she flatly rejected the alternative of extending the £5bn windfall tax imposed by Rishi Sunak earlier this year.
Labour accused Ms Truss of making working people foot the bill while allowing energy firms to keep reaping huge profits during the cost of living crisis.
“Every single pound in excess profits she chooses not to tax is an extra pound on borrowing that working people will be forced to pay back for decades to come,” said Sir Keir Starmer. “Families and public services need every penny they can get. How on earth does she think now is the right time to protect Shell’s profits?”
The SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford branded the plan a “Truss tax” amounting to “a decade-long raid on the bank accounts of ordinary taxpayers”.
Speaking to The Independent, anti-poverty campaigners raised concerns that the cost of repaying the massive borrowing will eat into funds available for public services like health, education and care over many years.
Rebecca McDonald, chief economist at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said it was right for Ms Truss to “act boldly to tackle energy prices and do so immediately”.
