It is very common for customers to miss their contract renewal date or do not submit their contract termination on time. Submitting your contract termination at the right moment is extremely important because if you don’t do it, your contract will automatically renew itself. When that happens your current contract will be rolled over and you might see yourself stuck with a deemed contract, which includes high energy prices and makes you stay with the supplier for a year or even longer.

How to know my contract is ending?

Your supplier will likely send you a renewal offer. Do not ignore any letters and emails from them as the information about your contract coming to an end, and consequently, your energy prices rising can be disguised under various headlines.

Moreover, when you first switch to a new supplier you should note when your contract ends and keep track of it so as not to miss the deadline for submitting contract termination.

Do I need to pay exit fees?

If your contract is coming to an end, you will not have to pay termination fees. For domestic customers, there is a margin of 49 days, introduced and monitored by Ofgem, before your contract ends when you can choose a different supplier or just end your current contract without paying anything. For business customers, if you want to avoid paying exit fees, you will normally have to wait until your contract expires. Business gas and electricity contracts are usually set for a fixed period of time.

If you want to leave your contract early even though you had committed to staying with the supplier for a certain period of time, you might have to pay exit fees. How much you will need to pay varies based on the supplier you’re getting your energy from.

Whether or not you will have to pay exit fees might depend on the energy contract you are on. The main types of energy tariffs are:

energy contract type	features
Fixed rate tariffs	tend to last between 12 and 24 monthsprotect customers from rising energy pricesusually include exit fees if you want to end the contract before the end of 12/24months period
Variable rate tariffs	more flexible but the energy prices fluctuateno specific contract end-datetend not to have exit fees

How to avoid paying exit fees?

If you want to leave your fixed-term tariff before the contract expires, here are some tips to help you avoid paying the exit fee.

Choose a fixed energy tariff without exit fees.
If you are a domestic customer, switch in the last 49 days of your contract.
If you’re moving home, simply change the address instead of terminating the contract and paying exit fees.
Ask the supplier if they will waive the fees if you choose a different tariff from their offer.
Calculate whether switching to a new tariff with more competitive prices early and paying exit fees can cost you less than staying on your current contract.

How to submit my contract termination?

When you receive a reminder from your supplier that your contract is about to finish, make sure you react immediately. Otherwise, you might end up forgetting about it. If you do not want to stay with your current provider and instead want to look at what other energy companies offer, you need to submit a cancellation notice. This notice should:

include your business energy account number
explicitly say that you want to terminate your contract
be signed by you
be sent to the supplier before the contract’s expiry date.

When and where to submit contract termination with major energy suppliers?

When to submit your termination notice can be different for each supplier. To help you keep track of it, the table below contains the information about minimum and maximum periods of notice with the major energy suppliers in the UK. In the table you can also find information on where to submit the notice.

supplier	minimum period of notice	maximum period of notice	where to submit the notice
British Gas	30 days	60 days	mybusinesscontract@britishgas.co.uk
CNG	30 days	30 days	terminations@cngltd.co.uk
EDF	30 days	30 days	online form
EON	30 days	30 days	smecontractterminations@eonenergy.com
Npower	30 days	30 days	to be consulted with the Customer Service team at 0800 073 3000
Scottish Power	30 days	No max	contactus@scottishpower.com
Utilita Energy	30 days	30 days	to be consulted with the Customer Service team at 03330 156 662
Yu Energy	30 days	Micro-businesses can terminate anytime	to be consulted with the Customer Service team at 0115 697 1153

What to do after submitting contract termination?

So once you’ve submitted your contract termination you might be wondering what to do next. When the process of ending your current contract is finalised, you can start looking for a new supplier and a new energy deal. Choosing the right tariff is something you shouldn’t overlook as it can save you a lot of money on energy bills each year. To find the best deal, you have to compare gas and electricity prices and various available energy deals. A few popular ways to switch to a new supplier are:

price comparison websites
energy companies’ websites
calling energy suppliers
using a price comparison service via phone
talking to a salesperson
energy auto-switching services.

Finding a new supplier with Energy Solutions

Getting a good energy deal and an energy contract that corresponds to your business’s needs is very important, but people do not always have the time to browse and compare available energy tariffs. That’s why getting help from an energy broker is a good idea.

Energy Solutions has been a trusted energy broker for over two decades and it offers unbeatable expertise and experience when it comes to getting the best deals for commercial electricity, gas, and water contracts. Energy Solutions works with the majority of suppliers operating in the UK.

‘Get in touch today to start saving time, money, and a whole lot of effort.’