British gas confusing prices

ilikepoints

ok I tried some of the price comparison services for Gas and Electricity and British Gas came out pretty cheap for Electric (am currently with Southern Electric).

however the prices per unit on the comparison sites don't match the prices on the BG site. I know there is a one off £25ish discount after 12 months, and also you save £15 for online sign up (and another discount for online billing). Does it basically mean that you get loads of discounts the first year and then you need to switch again?

Or is there a genuine discount as well as these one off discounts too?

Cardew

Being an existing BG customer I don't know about the introductory discounts for new customers. However I get 2 continuing 'discounts'. One for dual fuel and another for 'paperless billing'(on-line account) on both gas and electricity. That said they are pretty small discounts.

With BG, and most other companies, there are so many different tariffs it is a nightmare to work out what is the best deal.

Shez

Cardew wrote:

Being an existing BG customer I don't know about the introductory discounts for new customers. However I get 2 continuing 'discounts'. One for dual fuel and another for 'paperless billing'(on-line account) on both gas and electricity. That said they are pretty small discounts.

With BG, and most other companies, there are so many different tariffs it is a nightmare to work out what is the best deal.

I'm with BG - they keep ringing me to offer a deal for dual fuel - can I ask are they competitive for both do you find? Im with London Energy for electric.

sometimes I am a bit reluctant to change as I keep reading about people getting loads of hassle, whereas at the moment I dont - I get my bill and pay it - without getting wrong tarrif etc - sometimes the saying "if its working well, then leave it alone" springs to mind!! know what i mean?

jem16

Shez wrote:

I'm with BG - they keep ringing me to offer a deal for dual fuel - can I ask are they competitive for both do you find? Im with London Energy for electric.

BG are usually dear for gas and competitive for electricity but in saying that it depends where you live. I'm with London Energy Online for dual fuel and for me this is significantly cheaper than dual fuel with BG. However this tariff is only available for dual fuel via the switching sites and is cheaper than London Energy's standard tariff.

It really depends on your usage and your area so what is right for one person might not be correct for another. Try doing a comparison and see if you feel it's worth it.

Cardew

Shez wrote:

I'm with BG - they keep ringing me to offer a deal for dual fuel - can I ask are they competitive for both do you find? Im with London Energy for electric.

sometimes I am a bit reluctant to change as I keep reading about people getting loads of hassle, whereas at the moment I dont - I get my bill and pay it - without getting wrong tarrif etc - sometimes the saying "if its working well, then leave it alone" springs to mind!! know what i mean?

I would agree with Jem16 above that BG are one of the most expensive for gas but pretty good on electricity. The dual fuel discount is not worth a great deal.

There is no easy way for checking what is the best for you. It depends where you live as some companies are more competitive in one area of UK than others. You simply have to do your homework.

Having a crystal ball to forecast future rises would also help.

I agree with your reasons about being reluctant to change and that was one reason I went for the BG fixed to April 2010 tariff.

ilikepoints

I'm also finding that the 2 comparison services reccomended by Martin give lower prices that BG quote. I wonder if they are showing incoorect prices or if they get some special deal??

jem16

ilikepoints wrote:

I'm also finding that the 2 comparison services reccomended by Martin give lower prices that BG quote. I wonder if they are showing incoorect prices or if they get some special deal??

Are you meaning BG's electricity prices by any chance? The comparison sites mention a discounted electricity tariff or online electricity tariff which is cheaper - it is on BG's site but you need to look carefully. However be careful as this tariff is set to rise at the end of the month.

ilikepoints

Yes that's the one - I just signed up to it too

I saw it mentioned on BG's site but couldn't find any mention of the unit rates (or of the price rise for that matter).

Could someone please point me in the direction of the prices please? (and likely future prices too)

smartie1976

ilikepoints wrote:

Yes that's the one - I just signed up to it too

I saw it mentioned on BG's site but couldn't find any mention of the unit rates (or of the price rise for that matter).

Could someone please point me in the direction of the prices please? (and likely future prices too)

It's impossible to predict future rises or prices. rises are driven by the market in which the gas in bought, and the instability of this recently fuels prices. However, there is a possibility that once the pipelines to europe have opened up more (with deregulation of more european markets) then the price of gas should fall as availability increases. That said companies still have overheads.
The largest companies have to buy the most gas and supply the most gas. usually up to 12 months in advance, anf the prices are agreed at the time of contract sale. Smaller companies have the advantage of being able to purchase lesser amounts of gas more often, and can take advantage of more competitve prices throughout the year.

This means that when a price change happens they are likely to be the first to rise the price, as they cannot accommodate to take the losses for as long as smaller companies.

Eg
large company 10 million customers lose £1 per day holding off a price rise over 4 weeks = £280 million lost
small company 1 million customers lose £1 per day holding off a price rise over 4 weeks = £28 million lost

You can therefore safely assume British Gas will be the one of the first to raise their prices if market values of gas continue to rise. But, you should always try and take opportunity of any fixed price type deals as these will likely be the best, and then you can guarentee you will know the price of your gas for that set period. I too have the BG price freeze until 2010, so I may pay a little more on my tarriffs, but they will not increase for 4 years now. Look around for the offers).
(That said BG has some good changes coming up in the next two years, which will improve delivery, service and cost efficiency - you will have read about them off-shoring BACK office in the press this year).

jem16

smartie1976 wrote:

But, you should always try and take opportunity of any fixed price type deals as these will likely be the best, and then you can guarentee you will know the price of your gas for that set period. I too have the BG price freeze until 2010, so I may pay a little more on my tarriffs, but they will not increase for 4 years now. Look around for the offers).

The BG price freeze may not necessarily be the best course of action for everyone. I would have to pay an extra £30pm on top of what I currently pay to be on this tariff.

Also the tariff mentioned by ilikepoints is not the Price Freeze tariff, it;s the Discounted Electricty tariff which isn't frozen.

jem16

ilikepoints wrote:

Yes that's the one - I just signed up to it too

I saw it mentioned on BG's site but couldn't find any mention of the unit rates (or of the price rise for that matter).

Could someone please point me in the direction of the prices please? (and likely future prices too)

Sorry BG website is having severe problems - it wants me to log in to view a page

If you use the UK Power comparison site it shows both the old prices and new prices. Perhaps your comparison was already based on the new prices?