B Gas Boss says "wear two jumpers"

SwanJon

MrsTine wrote: »

I think the advice is sound - and would have been well recieved if it had come from a different source - for it to come from a man earning £1mil + a year it's just plain insulting.

Why should it matter where the advice comes from? Because it was him saying it it has been all over the news and reached millions of people.

MrsTine wrote: »

The man makes more profit the more he makes his customers pay - hello! Talk about arrogant!

Yet here he is saying use less of my company's product. The biggest drive in energy prices is not high earners in the companies, it is not companies taking excessive profits, it is the price they are forced to source the energy at.

MrsTine wrote: »

Seriously hope that comment costs him his job I really really do!

Ah the universal solution - sackings & resignations. Always made things better in the long run. Is that how your job is?

[Deleted User]

Most households are reckless re their energy usage and we all know people who walk around in their homes in their t shirts while the boiler is working overtime to heat the house for the cats. Not long ago I was in a house where the oven was on to warm up one croissant.

A bath was a luxury when I was growing up. Once a week and one after the other in it but now a bath full to the brim is a must every day of the week for each member of many households. Someone on the `cut down on e and g thread` costed a bath and it costs just over £1 for a bath :eek:

There is absolutely nothing wrong in speaking home truths and I don`t care where it comes from

mardatha

So am I the only revolutionary thinking of Marie Antoinette and her "so let them eat cake" famous last words ??? :)
...drat - you can never find a guillotine when your really really need one ...

Premier_2

Flexible_Friend wrote:

Boycott British Gas so this man's bonus won't be so high next year.

MrsTine wrote:

Seriously hope that comment costs him his job I really really do!

There'll be no bonuses or sackings for Mr Ulrich - he already announced his retirement last March!

But in the spirit of his advice, he's keeping the seat warm for the new incumbant, Mr Mark Hanafin, who takes up the position at the end of this month.
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS49447+31-Mar-2008+BW20080331

dad-of-4

to be honest we know that companies are profit & dividend driven so why do we keep deluding our selves that these people care? we do we get outraged at price hikes?

i wouldnt turn his job down, and i wouldnt givea toss who thought my 1 million salary is outragious.

but what we should be outraged at is that all our nothsea oil and gas is sold on the international wholesale market to the highest bidder.

so we now pay such a high price for energy cos instead of keeping our oil & gas for our selves we offer it to the rest of the world as if we dont realy need it our selves. then outbid them to keep it.

sounds rediculous, but its true and why we should be outraged.
remeber as a country we chose to set things up this way, its all man made, we were never forced to play by the rules that are now making many suffer, its all our own doing. and will likely be our undoing.

gas and electricity are without doubt the most unapreciated energy sources the consumer has, we take it totaly for granted, cant immagine we could ever live without or would ever have to, and as such its costing us, were over a barrel, taking it up the wrongun as usual.

if we think a 70% increase is worth the convenience of not having to chop a bit of wood, more fool us eh?

WestonDave

To start with British Gas (just like any of the other retail energy companies) are more or less powerless when it comes to domestic energy prices. They can hack a bit off margins (although the market is already pretty competitive) which will save people maybe 1 or 2%, but that is very small beer compared to 40%+ rises in global gas commodity prices which will simply pass through British Gas to the producers. His solution (if crassly expressed) is correct on two counts. Firstly we will use less gas and therefore pay for less energy, and secondly because we are using less, demand on global markets will be reduced which will help reduce future price increases.

However lets not forget the Daily Hate's ability to twist anything into a have a pop story. This http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7512971.stm is the BBC's much less inflamatory version of the same story.

Cardew

kittie wrote: »

Someone on the `cut down on e and g thread` costed a bath and it costs just over £1 for a bath :eek:

I would like to see those calculations!

20p to 50p would be more realistic.

milliemonster

I just feel for the elderly and vulnerable on meagre state pensions, how on earth are they supposed to afford these increases?, yes we can all run around and keep active but these people don't have that luxury, its disgusting that in a developed country our elderly have to choose between eating or heating

alared

milliemonster wrote: »

I just feel for the elderly and vulnerable on meagre state pensions, how on earth are they supposed to afford these increases?, yes we can all run around and keep active but these people don't have that luxury, its disgusting that in a developed country our elderly have to choose between eating or heating

Couldn`t agree more.
Then again if they freeze to death this winter,the government won`t have to pay their state pensions,let alone their fuel allowance!

They should force the greedy power suppliers to give the old folks special rates.
At the moment this government can`t even sort out the scandal and rip-off, by the power companies,of the pre-pay meters.

Joyful

Of course we are all struggling to pay our higher prices but when I worked on the phones in the debt department of an energy company you would be amazed at how many elderly people thought the Government extra payment for their winter bills was to pay for Christmas presents! Perhaps the government should pay this direct to the companies. After talking to them I was able explain that they would pay a smaller monthly amount for their bills if this money was added.