Next MSE Collective Switch Coming to an End

Wind&Solar · 30 August 2017 at 7:04PM

singhini wrote: »

Having just read your post I googled "BG Senior Customers" and found this PDF which might be related to your comments (it suggests help is available for groups of people such as of pensionable age, disabled, chronically sick or on means tested benefits with children under 5)

Also I though you were exaggerating your price increase of 50% so I just logged into my MSE Collective Switch account to find that my current price plan is £643 annually which will go up to £961 after the fix ends (so a 50% increase for me too)

All the potential alternative companies listed I have never heard off:

OneSelect £695
Green Network £697
IRESA £701
Economy Energy £702

Hope MSE can get a collective switch in place ASAP

Hi, thanks for the link, going by that criteria I (un)fortunately I don't qualify, however.....I have the BG customer service reps name and a recording of the telecon and he has said he will confirm the £75 offer in writing (we will see). There was no mention of any of the conditions in that pdf. Either way it's probably not going to be cheaper than the hopefully upcoming 5/9 collective fix.

Yes I had to do a double take when I got the letter from BG with personal projection figures, Gas from £380 to £550 and Elec from £400 to £630, BIG jump!

This from MSE calculations:
WHAT YOU'RE CURRENTLY PAYING £74/month £888/year
DUAL FUEL
Collective Fix Oct 2017
Early exit fees: £40 (unless you're 50 days from the end)
End date: 03 Oct 2017

WHAT YOU'LL PAY AFTER YOUR FIXES END £113/month £1,362/year
DUAL FUEL
Standard
Early exit fees: None

Now all I need to do is negotiate a 50% pay rise and I'm sorted lol !

Mchambers · 30 August 2017 at 7:27PM

Gone with EON. Was with BG. Not the lowest price for me but not far off; especially as I get cash back as well. Also a shareholder with EON.

operator · 31 August 2017 at 4:38PM

HI

According to MSE Energy if you are 50 days to the end of your contract then there are no exit FEEs. But just rung British Gas and they said 30 days.

So who is right and who is wrong

fussypensioner · 31 August 2017 at 5:00PM

operator wrote: »

HI

According to MSE Energy if you are 50 days to the end of your contract then there are no exit FEEs. But just rung British Gas and they said 30 days.

So who is right and who is wrong

From Martins newsletter

Energy giants British Gas and Npower have been wrongly telling customers coming to the end of their fixed-term contracts they'll have to pay exit fees if they switch to a different provider, MoneySavingExpert.com can reveal. Don't be fooled though – if you're in the last 49 days of your fix, you CAN switch penalty-free.

From UK Power website

You can begin arranging a new energy contract as soon as your switching window opens, which is 49 days before your tariff end date. You will not incur any cancellation fees by agreeing to a new energy contract within your switching window.

I agree with posters previous comments about some of the cheapest suppliers having problems with customer service, I had real problems with Extra Energy a couple of years ago.

The next best company for me is not necessarily the cheapest, but will be cheaper than BG, is SO Energy. They have had very positive feed back, a good mission statement as well, so I started the switch this week and they are signed up to the energy switch guarantee.

Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly.

P.S there is a 14 day cooling off period so maybe they are counting from after that date.

singhini · 31 August 2017 at 11:16PM

operator wrote: »

HI

According to MSE Energy if you are 50 days to the end of your contract then there are no exit FEEs. But just rung British Gas and they said 30 days.

So who is right and who is wrong

My understanding is FussyPensioner is right

Also might be worth reading through the thread on this website entitled "British Gas Collective to Standard Oct 2017" covers exactly the same point you raise and it concludes that there are no exit fees if your within the 49 day period (that's what I concluded from reading the thread).

fredandwilma · 1 September 2017 at 7:40AM

Have a read of this:-

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/energy/2017/03/regulator-to-quiz-energy-firms-over-exit-fees-after-mse-investigation

What ARE the rules?

Ofgem's rules state that customers must not be charged exit fees if they leave during or after the ‘switching window’, which is defined as "49 calendar days before a fixed-term contract ends".

You can apply to switch at any point during a fixed-term contract without having to pay exit fees, as long as the switch is actually completed during the switching window.

mikeyorkie10 · 1 September 2017 at 8:20AM

I looked at MSE Energy Clubs estimate based on 12400kw gas and 6400kw Electricity usage. Cheapest tariffs that came up were not recommended suppliers and the cheapest recommended Top Pick supplier was Avro. I also looked at TogetherEnergy – doesn’t come up on any comparison sites, stumbled across it by accident on a random Google search but looks OK . These are the results for me below:

Cost for one year, current British Gas / MSE Collective Fix, ends October 3rd next: £942, BG currently billing at £1038 (after unexplained DD hike!) and so will expect a refund of around £100
Cost for one year, British Gas standard tariff from October 3rd next: £1567!! That's £553 more than is being paid now. I make that a 53% rise. I should point out that BG offered to move me to their new 12 month fixed tariff for an annual reduction of £23.24 but I didn’t even bother doing the maths on that!

Cost for one year, Avro 12 month fixed tariff: £1213. That's £354 cheaper than BG
Cost for one year, TogetherEnergy 12 month fix , £1,153. That's £414 cheaper than British Gas. So, I initiated the transfer on the 27th August, already had emails from BG and Together stating that switch in progress and will be completed by 18th September.
Only downer so far is that, apparently my BG Smart Meters will go 'dumb' after the switch. Info from Together states - "First Generation smart meters turn “dumb” once you change suppliers, so you will have to either email, call or log into our customer portal to provide your meter readings.Next year a new generation of meters will come out that follows the customer and not the supplier, and we will be able to provide our customers with those."
Any one any smart meter switch experience? The email response from Together took only 15 mins, bit of a change from BG's 5 days!

Will keep you posted on the experience

British_Gas_Rep_Matt · 1 September 2017 at 11:04AM

operator wrote: »

HI

According to MSE Energy if you are 50 days to the end of your contract then there are no exit FEEs. But just rung British Gas and they said 30 days.

So who is right and who is wrong

Hi operator, it's disappointing to hear you were advised it was only 30 days as you can switch to another supplier within 49 days of the end of your deal without any cancellation fees.

We've popped a message out to advisors to remind them of the timescales to avoid cancellation fees and sorry again you weren't advised the correct limit. Thanks, Matt

British_Gas_Rep_Matt · 1 September 2017 at 11:52AM

Wind&Solar wrote: »

Hi I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before but it might be worth bearing in mind when doing price comparisons?
I just spoke to BG about the upcoming increase (50% in my case from the amazing MSE collective fix to Standard or HomeEnergy Secure tariff!) and they have said that "Senior Customers" will receive a £75 credit on each fuel to slightly offset the increase. I'm not sure if by 'senior' they mean age or how long I've been a BG customer but either way it's a £75 credit x2, £150.
!

Hi Wind&Solar, I'm sorry my colleague wasn't clearer when explaining these payments. It sounds like my colleagues were referring to the Warm Homes Discount scheme, which provides qualifying customers with a payment of £140 to help with their energy bills. We're adding a further £76 to payments for the most vulnerable customers who automatically qualify for the scheme this year to offset the effect of the price increase.
You can check if you'd be eligible for the Warm Homes Discount Scheme at https://www.britishgas.co.uk/energy/energy-saving/warm-home-discount.html & we'll be open for new application later in September. Thanks, Matt

Raine_E_Day · 1 September 2017 at 1:07PM

British_Gas_Rep_Matt wrote: »

Hi Wind&Solar, I'm sorry my colleague wasn't clearer when explaining these payments. It sounds like my colleagues were referring to the Warm Homes Discount scheme, which provides qualifying customers with a payment of £140 to help with their energy bills. We're adding a further £76 to payments for the most vulnerable customers who automatically qualify for the scheme this year to offset the effect of the price increase.
You can check if you'd be eligible for the Warm Homes Discount Scheme at https://www.britishgas.co.uk/energy/energy-saving/warm-home-discount.html & we'll be open for new application later in September. Thanks, Matt

So, as I am in the Core group July this year (which I believe is the qualifying date), even if I leave BG before payment is made, I will receive £216? If this is the case, as I usually receive this around December, and I am away from home for several weeks prior to then, it would be worth my while delaying any switch from BG until New Year perhaps....

Matt - please confirm £216 will be paid, whether with BG or not if a customer at qualifying date. Thank you.

Next MSE Collective Switch Coming to an End

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