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Sam Barker & Aaron Morris

Martin Lewis issues warning to anyone in the UK with a fixed-term energy deal

Martin Lewis has warned UK households who have just fixed their energy deal that they should be prepared to cancel to save money in the long-run.

As Liz Truss reportedly considers freezing Ofgem's energy price cap to deal with the cost of living crisis, the MoneySavingExpert has warned that this would be little to no help to those on fixed rate packages.

Although the Government has not set anything in stone just yet, speculation is that Truss could announce a freeze on energy bills in the region of £2,500 per household from Thursday.

Read more: Martin Lewis gives his verdict on Liz Truss' leaked energy price freeze plan

The Mirror reports that this would come along with the £400 energy discount that has already been announced.

Martin has told Britons to prepare to cancel their new deals if they've just fixed in, as it could save them substantial amounts of money in the long run. Writing on the MoneySavingExpert site, Martin 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% of the country, or 24 million people, but many energy users have recently locked in to fixed rate deals and may not benefit from any price cap freeze. This price cap is due to rise to £3,549 in October.

Because of this, up to 15% of households have taken out fixed rate deals higher than the current price cap, thinking it would save them money in the long run - but if Truss does freeze the price cap tomorrow, these fixed rate customers will face paying above-average energy bills going forward.

For people who fixed more than 14 days ago, 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."

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