EXCLUSIVE: Worst deals on the market include British Gas, npower and Shell – save £500

It appeared as though Britons had received good news when Ofgem cut the price cap for energy bills, making them £75 cheaper, on 7 August. 

At the time Ofgem said: “These customers can be confident that whatever happens, the price they pay for their energy reflects the costs of supplying it.”

However, on closer inspection it appears that many UK households are still being ripped off by expensive bills that cost even more than the current cap.

Express.co.uk and Look After My Bills can reveal the worst deals on the market, all of which cost most than the £1179 limit imposed on Standard Variable Tariffs (SVT) by Ofgem as of 2 August 2019.

Energy companies, including a number of the “Big Six” are charging more than this limit.

Companies are charging customers more for being on certain tariffs that are not SVTs because these tariffs do not have to comply with the price cap.

Working with automatic switching service Look After My Bills, Express.co.uk can exclusively reveal the worst deals on the market.

Three of the Big Six British Gas, SSE and ScottishPower all have tariffs as much as £80 higher than the cap.

Worst energy deals from the “Big Six”

ScottishPower

Help Beat Cancer Fix and Save August 2021” deal – £1,239

Help Beat Cancer Fixed Saver August 2021 – £1,219

Online Fix and Save August 2020 – Paperless – £1,203

Online Fixed Saver August 2020 – Paperless – £1,183

SSE

SSE 2 Year Fixed v2 – £1,228

1 Year Fixed v16 – Paper and Paperless – £1,203

npower

Go Green Energy Fix Oct 2021 – Paperless – £1,203

British Gas

HomeEnergy Secure Green Dec 2021 – £1,220

Shell

Fixed July 2022 – Paperless – £1,181

Most expensive deal

The most expensive tariff comes from Ebico at £1312 a year, £133 more than the new price cap of £1179.

In fact, the three most expensive deals are from EBICo, with Ebico Prime Fixed 18 v2 – Paperless costing £1,267 and Ebico Prime 12 Fixed v3 costing £1,251.

Fourth up is Engie with the Green Fixed Sept 20 v2 costing £1,246.

At fifth place is Green Star Energy with the Fix for Longer 24M v4, which costs £1,240. Check our table to see if your energy deal is ranked among the worst in the UK.

Lily Green, Head of Research at the UK’s largest energy autoswitching service Look After My Bills said: “This is really awful to see from suppliers.’

“It’s hard to see how they can justify encouraging people to ‘lock in a price’ for such an extended period of time and for so much money.

“People need to avoid these tariffs like the plague! Just because it’s a fixed deal does by no means mean it’s a good deal.

“Energy regulator Ofgem needs to look at these tariffs urgently”

“With autoswitching we make the tough decisions for you and find the best deals – no catch. We would never switch you to such an expensive tariff.”