British Gas - I Have Been Cheated

theloft

Last year I consulted various comparison sites and the best deal for us was British Gas Duel Fuel. I was already with BG for gas anyway, so switched.
When the swingeing price increases came in last year I asked British Gas, what was my best option and also on here (MSE), it advised going for fixed price deals. So although switching to this meant I would be paying a higher price (even with the price increases), I would have the comfort of knowing that my price for Gas & Electiricity would be fixed until Dec.2009. I was assured over the phone that in the event of a price REDUCTION (most unlikely they said), this would be passed on to us. Now the recent 10% price reduction has been announced and we have received a letter from British Gas to say that we are not eligible for this on our tariff as we have a fixed price. I have telephoned them and basically they are saying "tough"!
If I move to another supplier they say that I have to pay a penalty of £35 for each fuel. I proptested that as pensioners this was unfair, but they were not interested. Can anyone help with advice as to how I can get out of this or negotiate a better deal ? Thanks.

spiro

Unfortunately 'Fixed' means just that, as opposed to 'Capped' which means it would go up but it can come down.

Magentasue

theloft wrote: »

If I move to another supplier they say that I have to pay a penalty of £35 for each fuel. I proptested that as pensioners this was unfair, but they were not interested. Can anyone help with advice as to how I can get out of this or negotiate a better deal ? Thanks.

I don't think it is unfair, as such, because the penalties were part of the terms and conditions. As said, you opted for 'fixed' which means that your kwh cost will not go down. If you were told that the rate was capped, ie could go down, then either you were misinformed or you misunderstood. Not sure where you can go with that.

It may be worth you finding better tariffs and switching with cashback. This would offset the penalty you would have to pay to cancel your current contract.

NME_2

Hi there,

If you signed up for PG December 2009 it means your prices were fixed at the Pre-july 31st prices (Plus 9.8%, I forgot!). This means that you will already be saving 25.2% on your Gas compared to everybody else. I sympathise that it kinda sucks if you were told you would be eligible for price reductions if there were any, but that's why it's important to read your T&C's carefully when you receive them...

However, changing would seem like cutting off your nose to spite your face at this point as even with the price reduction you're still going to be paying 15.2% less than everybody else and you would have to pay cancellation fee's too?

Even though perhaps the deal isn't as good as you thought it was, it will still be a darn sight better than what you'll get anywhere else TBH so I would probably stick with it esp. as they're already bandying about with putting prices back *up* come the autumn.

1carminestocky

NME wrote: »

Hi there,

If you signed up for PG December 2009 it means your prices were fixed at the Pre-july 31st prices, this means that you will already be saving 35% on your Gas compared to everybody else. I sympathise that it kinda sucks if you were told you would be eligible for price reductions if there were any, but that's why it's important to read your T&C's carefully when you receive them...

However, changing would seem like cutting off your nose to spite your face at this point as even with the price reduction you're still going to be paying 25% less than everybody else and you would have to pay cancellation fee's too?

Even though perhaps the deal isn't as good as you thought it was, it will still be a darn sight better than what you'll get anywhere else TBH so I would probably stick with it esp. as they're already bandying about with putting pricces back *up* come the autumn.

That would tend to suggest that the fixed tariff had no premium loaded onto it. Is that true? (I genuinely don't know, btw)

alleycat`

elsewhere on the forum i think i've seen it was +9.8% of the SVR in May 2008.

I also think the get out penalties were unevenly loaded(?) but it probably works out at about £70 whatever way you work it.

--
Richard

basmic

Next time don't be a sheep that follows the flock.

1carminestocky

I've always considered 'locking yourself in' with an energy company akin to selling your soul to the devil. Let's face it, most sane people who DON'T work for one of these rip-off merchants simply know that they are a thoroughly discredited bunch....so why commit even more than a nano second of your future to them? I was saying this at the time when Martin was shouting 'CAP CAP CAP' on gmtv so please don't think I'm speaking with the benefit of hindsight.

General rule of thumb with this shower is if they start really pushing a tariff/product, best to give it a VERY wide berth.

kjsmith7

alleycat` wrote: »

elsewhere on the forum i think i've seen it was +9.8% of the SVR in May 2008.

I also think the get out penalties were unevenly loaded(?) but it probably works out at about £70 whatever way you work it.

--
Richard

I am on this tariff for dual fuel. You pay a 9.8% premium on the unit prices, and if you leave in advance of 31 Dec 2009 you pay £55 and £25 for gas and elec respectively. What this means now is that even after price decrease you're still saving roughly 20% on the gas, however due to the price rise (and no decrease yet) for Elec last July you're paying 0.8% too much on your elec. For me, I think the fees are pretty fair on this tariff (better than them being £70 each, eh?) and the premium (THANKFULLY!) worked out okay for me. I think that if you move house you don't pay the cancellation fees, either, only if you move to another plan or another provider.

larmy16

My experience of switching to BG was such a fiasco that I willingly agreed to pay the £70 to get away from the stress of it all. I am back with my now beloved EDF and I will not switch again. Think I am jinxed when it comes to changing anything except car insurance!

tripled

If your rates are higher than the current dual fuel rates, and you are certain that you were told that rates would drop (as a capped tariff does), then call back and make a complaint that you have been mis-sold to. Their sales complaints department should then trace the call and verify if this is the case, and if so transfer you to the standard rate for nothing. However, they will never let you go back on that particular tariff again, so check your rates before initiating the process so you don't end up making a costly mistake!