How do Utility Warehouse's fixed energy deals stack up?

To get access to these fixes, you'll need to take a certain number of the other services below from Utility Warehouse. For the cheaper Fixed Saver 6 tariff you'll need take at least two other services. For the Fixed 6 tariff, you'll need at least one of other service. 

You'll need this for at least the life of the energy fix (there's no loophole where you can sign up for an extra service and cancel, do that and you'll lose the fix and move to its standard tariff):

• An 18-month broadband & line contract. It's £24 a month for its 35Mb deal, or £31 a month for 63Mb, both on an 18-month contract. Both have a £5.99 delivery fee and offer a 10% discount if you own your home and also take its mobile phone service. If you need a new phone line installed, there is an extra £1/month charge. 
  
  This is pricier than other switchers' deals as you can often get fibre broadband for under £20 a month when you factor in the sign-up incentives you can get elsewhere (eg, Amazon vouchers or bill credit). To see how it compares against other deals, use our Broadband comparison tool.
  
  Important: The broadband contract is 18 months, while the energy fixes are only 12 months, so you would be locked into the broadband six months longer than energy. When the energy fix ends you'll be moved onto its standard tariff.
  
  
• A rolling one-month Sim-only contract. For 5GB a month of data and unlimited calls and texts it's £12 a month, if you want unlimited data it's £20 a month. Both are on a rolling one-month contract, and use EE. You can get this substantially cheaper (for example, around £3 a month for 5GB of data), see our Cheap Mobile Finder tool for the cheapest deals.
  
  
• A 12-month boiler and home cover contract. This is not its home insurance policy, this is boiler and home cover, which covers an annual service, boiler and breakdown cover, plumbing, drainage and electrics, and security, roofing and pests. It costs £18 a month on a one-year contract.

This makes things more complex as you have to factor in the cost of these on top of the energy bills. Though right now, as energy bills are still so expensive, even though its fixed tariff is only a few percentage points cheaper than the July Price Cap, that can still be a significant amount.

That means this is a better bet for those with higher use, rather than lower use. As while its other services are usually far from the best buys, if you have high energy bills the savings on that can trump the extra you'll be paying on the other services (and really high users could save £100s). The gain is increased if you can make use of its cashback card.

Plus as we're MSE, we compare it to the very best current deals, and you may not be on those already.

So if you strongly value price certainty, and your existing supplier doesn't offer a deal or you're desperate to switch away from your current firm, this could be worth considering.

Warning: Do check you're not tied into an existing contract. As you need other services to get the energy deals, you'll likely need be out of contract for some of them. With both broadband and mobile, early exit penalties can be very high, and you may need to pay off the full amount remaining on your contract to leave. However, UW says it will pay up to £400 in early terminations when you switch at least three of your services from other providers. If you switch two or fewer, you'll have to cough up the exit fees yourself and that could kibosh any gains. Plus, private renters will need to install a fully functioning smart meter to be eligible for the £400.

More than 20 energy firms have gone bust since July 2021. We have no information to suggest Utility Warehouse is at risk (that's not our expertise), and in some ways it has the advantage that it is not reliant solely on supplying energy for its income.

Yet these days, with huge firms such as Bulb having gone under, it is a sensible question to ask – especially from a firm undercutting the rest of the market – of all but the very biggest energy firms (and probably even with them too).

If it were to go under, you are protected by the Ofgem safety net. That means if it went bust you'd get continuity of supply and any credit you built up would be protected (you would be owed it by whichever firm took over the supply).

However, it is very likely you would lose the fixed tariff and be moved to a standard, price-capped tariff at whatever rate it is then, which is no worse a position than most are in now (though obviously you may have lost the chance to fix elsewhere).