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Gas Transportation Charge - Am I being taken for a ride?
CountDrakma
Posts: 68 Forumite
in Energy
I'm with EDF on their dual fuel Online v3 Direct Debit tariff. For this, I qualify for quarterly discounts of £4.00 for being on direct debit and a Gas Dual fuel discount of £6.00 - total £10.00.per quarter. However, my last gas bill for the quarter ending mid October includes a new added charge - a "Gas Transportation Charge" totalling £9.30 (inc VAT). Obviously this virtually wipes out my discounts (and incentives to stay with EDF). When I raised this with EDF and asked if they intended to revise their discount scheme to offset this extra charge I was told their discounts aren't under review and they won't be removing the Gas Transportation Charge as it has brought them into line with competitors (they didn't add "So Stuff You", although they may as well have done).
So before I shout back at them or look to change supplier I have to ask "do their competitors also include or add this nebulous 'gas transportation' tax as well?
Ta.
So before I shout back at them or look to change supplier I have to ask "do their competitors also include or add this nebulous 'gas transportation' tax as well?
Ta.
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Comments
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Some of the big 6 don't charge for this - I think it is British Gas & SSE (and probably Ebico too)0
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Do you perhaps live on a development which is supplied via an IPGT i.e an independant public gas transporter? Is yours a newish house? If so have a look at your meter. What name(s) does it have on it?0
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Thanks SwanJon & Pssst.
Just checked my meter and yes it says "The Gas Transporter is GTC" and "This meter is the property of GTC" (The Gas Transportation Company). First time I've noticed it!
Pssst - my house is newish - 8 years old. I was initially with NPower and changed to EDF about 2 years ago but it's only now that this Gas Transportation Charge has ever appeared.
Swan Jon - you say that some of the big 6 don't charge for this, but aren't EDF part of the big 6?
So are EDF telling me porkies or fobbing me off by saying they are in line with competitors by introducing this charge? Any advice as to where/how I go from here? Thanks again.0 -
A little known snippet of info here.
Thanks to the gimps at Ofgem again...
Some time ago,National Grid were the sole public gas transporter and owned and operated all the gas distribution network.
Good old Ofgem liberalised the market which at a basic level allowed the following to occur.
A building developer building lots of new homes in one place could employ persons other than National Grid to lay the gas infrastructure on the estate. They would take this "independant" network out to a single connection point where National Grid would connect it to its network.
The new infrastructure is not owned by National Grid.
typically the builder would do a deal (£££££) with a single gas supplier to supply the whole estate. The builder would obviously make money out of this.
Now then, if you want to change gas suppliers to another perhaps cheaper one,you can do that but the company which owns your infrastructure (in your case, GTC) will charge for conveying the new suppliers gas from the public connection point on National Grids main,through the development,to your home.
This is where your extra transportation charge comes in.
Good eh?
Ofgem,,the peoples champion.0 -
CountDrakma wrote: »Swan Jon - you say that some of the big 6 don't charge for this, but aren't EDF part of the big 6?
So are EDF telling me porkies or fobbing me off by saying they are in line with competitors by introducing this charge? Any advice as to where/how I go from here? Thanks again.
Well, technically they are telling the truth. They are in line with competitors, just not all their competitors.
One company doesn't charge you for an IGT if you take electricity with them, just to add to the confusion.
Pssst - it's even more compliacted than that. There are some connection contracts that allow extra charges until 2020 (I think), some that can't charge extra now, and some that may last longer.
Check your bills, if your MPR (meter point number or supply number) begins with 74 or 75 then you are on an independent gas network.
(Someone did say that other MPRs could also be on IGTs, but I've not seen anything to back this up, or help identify them if true)0 -
Thanks v.much again you two.
Couldn't find an "MPR" number on my bill but did notice, in small print, a 10 digit "M" number beginning 74, (tucked away next to the calorific and temperature figures). I guess this would be the MPR?
From what you say it does look like I'm stuffed and I'll have to suffer this transportation charge. It would have been nice to have good grounds to have a pop at EDF about it. Swan Jon - which is that other company that may waive this charge if you also take electricity? Any idea if they just disguise this charge in the form of higher unit prices anyway?
Both your info is really appreciated.0 -
EDF was the company that I knew of that didn't charge the IGT surcharge to their dual fuel customers. It appears that that policy may have changed.
BG, SSE & Ebico do not make any surcharge for IGT. (SSE may charge on specific legacy fixed price tariffs)"Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 20100 -
Hello Premier
Notice of this extra IGT charge of 11.50p per day (inc VAT) was tucked away on the back of an August 2008 EDF circular (Ref: 382/113/F3B3) relating to gas and electricity prices going up wef 25th July. (I did mean to take it up with them then but got sidetracked - seeing my October bill prompted me). I don't feel like letting it go but need an avenue of attack - telling them this new charge cancels their discount benefits doesn't seem to bother them.
CountDrakma0 -
Unfortunately, nothing will bother them (unless it involves droves of customers taking their custom elsewhere). All suppliers have to endure this charge and it their decision on how it is passed on to consumers.CountDrakma wrote: »Hello Premier
Notice of this extra IGT charge of 11.50p per day (inc VAT) was tucked away on the back of an August 2008 EDF circular (Ref: 382/113/F3B3) relating to gas and electricity prices going up wef 25th July. (I did mean to take it up with them then but got sidetracked - seeing my October bill prompted me). I don't feel like letting it go but need an avenue of attack - telling them this new charge cancels their discount benefits doesn't seem to bother them.
CountDrakma
Unfortunately you were advised of the change back in August, even though you missed it.
All you can do now is vote with your feet and hope enough others follow suit."Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 20100 -
Perhaps you could survey the whole estate,get them to agree in principle to the whole estate using the same supplier ,then go negotiate with a supplier for an estate wide preferential rate? A long shot and might be an interesting excercise.
I wonder how many of your neighbours know about IPGTs and I'll bet when the houses were built and sold,it wasnt mentioned !0
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