MSE News: MSE Big Energy Switch Event 5: British Gas £300/yr saving for new &...

MSE_Luke
MSE_Luke Posts: 295
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MSE Staff
We've negotiated cheaper than the cheapest gas & elec prices - and locking in now protects you...
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'MSE Big Energy Switch Event 5: British Gas £300/yr saving for new & existing customers'
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  • fredandwilma
    fredandwilma Posts: 1,251
    Chutzpah Haggler I won, I won, I won! Rampant Recycler Debt-free and Proud!
    Forumite
    edited 14 September 2016 at 7:24PM
    MSE_Luke wrote: »
    We've negotiated cheaper than the cheapest gas & elec prices - and locking in now protects you


    Cheaper than the cheapest? Sorry. Both one year and two year tariffs more expensive than my current fix, (expires end of July 2018,) although technically, in retrospect, my tariff is no longer available on the market.


    (You may wish to rephrase your headliner?)


    (Also "locking" opposed to fixed?)


    What i love about these MSE threads is, someone posts a thread, but never returns to take part in the conversation.
    Fred - Where's your get up and go?

    Barney - It just got up and went.



    Carpe diem
  • This is probably really obvious, but I am confused about exit fees.

    I switched last February (to the MSE collective) with BG.

    The email about the new BG tarrif suggests that BG will not charge me if I take up the current offer; but when I log into the Energy Saving Club site it warns me I may be charged up to £60 if i switch.

    Could :money: please clarify?

    Many thanks!
  • Cheaper than the cheapest?

    Indeed not cheaper than the 8 deals which appear on your Cheap Energy Club above the BG offer.
  • polymaff
    polymaff Posts: 3,903
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
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    Once again MSE makes over-the-top claims. "We've negotiated cheaper than the cheapest". When will you learn that you cannot hunt with the hounds and run with the fox. You can't be vociferously opposed to dubious advertising and yet plumb the depths yourself.

    And NO claim of yours is valid whilst you change the "fixed" prices - and you did change them on the fly today - didn't you, MSE?
  • polymaff wrote: »

    And NO claim of yours is valid whilst you change the "fixed" prices - and you did change them on the fly today - didn't you, MSE?


    Several times.
    Fred - Where's your get up and go?

    Barney - It just got up and went.



    Carpe diem
  • wizk1
    wizk1 Posts: 911
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    edited 14 September 2016 at 8:22PM
    polymaff wrote: »
    And NO claim of yours is valid whilst you change the "fixed" prices - and you did change them on the fly today - didn't you, MSE?

    I can confirm this. I took up their "fixed" BG offer at 9.408p/unit elec and 2.604p/unit gas yesterday.

    It is now advertised "fixed" at 9.293p/unit for electricity and 2.562p/unit for gas. Standing charges are the same.

    This is misleading. :mad:
  • wizk1 wrote: »
    I can confirm this. I took up their "fixed" BG offer at 9.408p/unit elec and 2.604p/unit gas yesterday.

    It is now advertised "fixed" at 9.293p/unit for electricity and 2.562p/unit for gas. Standing charges are the same.

    This is misleading. :mad:

    you might be lucky and end up with the lower prices? The only reason I say that is because I also took the previous BG fix (Till Feb 2017) and my tariff was supposed to be 18.9p daily charge yet on my actual bill I am being charged 18.00p (its not going to make a massive difference but it is making it difficult to calculate if I should consider switching to the new BG fix).

    I am in a similar position to the previous person in that when I log into my account on MSE energy club it suggests that I will be £1 per month worse off if I fix , however I have calculated that this doesn't take into consideration the £30 cashback (and I'm unable to confirm if this is the case?). However I have assumed I will not pay the penalty charge of £60 for exiting early because that is what MSE email suggested.
    So in theory I might be able to switch and the cashback would make my annual bill £18 cheaper AND I would be fixing my energy prices until October 2017 (instead of the current fix till Feb 2017).

    I'm unsure what to do as its not that clear
  • Wilt
    Wilt Posts: 100
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Forumite
    No luck required, it's been confirmed (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/latesttip/):
    How it compares for someone with typical usage
    Avg price on Ofgem typical dual-fuel direct-debit use (varies by region)

    Typical cost: Current avg Big 6 standard tariff: £1,063/yr
    Typical cost: Current British Gas standard tariff: £1,044/yr
    MSE Special: BG fix: £755/yr + £30 cashback, £40 exit fee
    Next cheapest open-market 1yr fix: Eon £760/yr - £30 cashback, £30/fuel exit fee

    Get YOUR EXACT PRICE & saving via a full market comparison

    Ps. This is actually a touch cheaper than at first launch on Tuesday night as Eon then launched the above tariff and BG undercut it. Anyone who signed up to this BG collective before the change will get the lower rate.
  • MSE_Dan_L
    MSE_Dan_L Posts: 655 MSE Staff
    eeyorepace wrote: »
    This is probably really obvious, but I am confused about exit fees.

    I switched last February (to the MSE collective) with BG.

    The email about the new BG tarrif suggests that BG will not charge me if I take up the current offer; but when I log into the Energy Saving Club site it warns me I may be charged up to £60 if i switch.

    Could :money: please clarify?

    Many thanks!

    Hi there

    British Gas has told us that you won't pay exit fees if you switch from one tariff (including the February collective) to this new collective tariff with it. This applies whether you're with British Gas or Sainsbury's Energy.

    Just to add, the warning note on the CEC homepage is based on the fact you're getting a full market comparison - so if you did choose to move elsewhere, you would pay the exit fee.

    I hope that helps.
  • MSE_Dan_L
    MSE_Dan_L Posts: 655 MSE Staff
    edited 15 September 2016 at 9:10AM
    wizk1 wrote: »
    I can confirm this. I took up their "fixed" BG offer at 9.408p/unit elec and 2.604p/unit gas yesterday.

    It is now advertised "fixed" at 9.293p/unit for electricity and 2.562p/unit for gas. Standing charges are the same.

    This is misleading. :mad:

    Hi all

    Just to confirm on this, at the point the tariff was launched the average price was £765. But in response to a cheaper tariff being released overnight, we pushed British Gas to try and improve the price, pleasingly it was able to do so, meaning that on average the cost is now £755.

    British Gas has done this via a reprice on the original fix, meaning that all users who switched before the cut in the unit rates will also receive this.

    I hope this helps to reassure you, ultimately this is positive news as it means your costs will be reduced.

    I'm not going to add much to the previous discussions around the 'cheaper than the cheapest' messaging. The basis for this is highlighted in the email around it being based on average prices (according to Ofgem usage) and of course through Cheap Energy Club we do always provide you with a full market comparison. The main thing is to encourage people to switch - it makes not difference to us if this is to a collective or non-collective tariff.

    I hope this helps.
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