British Gas Major Price Rise Special Email Discussion

masonic

Ken68 wrote:

Surely capped prices lock you in, stops you shopping around.
And if the energy providers do their sums right they will still make a profit on you. They have a whole department analyzing things on a daily basis, probably forward buying too.

I've tended to think along the same lines - it seems similar to the whole Standing charges/No standing charges tariffs in that things just tend to even out in the end.

If you take out, for example, a two year price fix where the prices are 25% more expensive, then you are in essence taking a gamble on prices rising by more than 50% or more within a year. Sometimes this sort of thing will work out cheaper overall and sometimes it won't.

Of course this is just my own speculation - I'd be interested in hearing about any 'real' sums people have done.

IvanOpinion

Here is just a random thought for you .. but my brain is currently working (or otherwise) on overtime. The utility companies are putting the price up which hits everyone ... the government is determined to wipe out fuel poverty .. the price rise is going to put more people into the 'fuel poverty' bracket .. the government will need more money to subsidise the governments plans which they will probably get from the tax payer.

Therefore is there a risk that the tax payer could end up paying a lot more than the announced rises?

I have said it before and I will say it again stop thinking of UNFAIR, stop thinking of COMPLAIN .. start thinking of ways to REDUCE. I have seen various reports that detail how the latest price rises can be revenue neutral to certain categories of user .. but in all cases they need to REDUCE their consumption.

ivan

Jeddy

Well that was interesting. Following my earlier post about starting a switch of my gas and leccy I had a call from B Gas (new leccy supplier). Alas the guy I was speaking to couldn't confirm my new tariff but suggested I spoke to the billing dept which I duly did. They said I would be on the Click tarriff as requested and confirmed the rates I signed up to (12.126 for first 225 kWh and 7.953 afterwards). Interestingly enough, they said these are increased rates following a rise on July 1st and the latest well publicised rates don't apply to the click leccy tarriff! So it appears, that not only are these rates the cheapest for me before this weeks price rises by EDF etc., but they won't be going up - for a while anyway.

I think this move is therefore the right move for me to do now.

I am not so sure about my move to equigas - that would be a lot cheaper so long as their Sept price rise I have read about isn't a huge one.

Oh well, I reckon my move I started last weekend probably still is the right thing.

newleaf

I set the ball rolling on my change of supplier (from Npower to Powergen online) on 11th May, and it has only just been properly completed today. By that, I mean my new payments to Powergen have commenced on 17th of this month and I have, today, finally, (after weeks of chasing), had my overpayments to Npower refunded. This timescale seems quite ridiculous, and you would not believe the trouble I've had in getting my money back from the greedy, grasping so & so's. They even tried to continue taking by DD after the switch - good thing I thought to cancel the DD (and when I informed Npower, they weren't remotely interested...'Oh, really? You didn't need to do that. It would be illegal for us to debit you if you were no longer our customer, bye Dearie')
Now the water temperature is changing once again. I really don't have the will to go through it all over again if Powergen turn out not to be a good deal for me after all. And if you can't trust the comparison sites, who can you get your info from?
It's not much use telling people to cut down their usage either, surely everyone on a tight budget has already pared it down to the bone? I know I have.
Sorry to go on, but I really can't see the wood for the trees now .

Capyboppy

IvanOpinion wrote:

I have said it before and I will say it again stop thinking of UNFAIR, stop thinking of COMPLAIN .. start thinking of ways to REDUCE. I have seen various reports that detail how the latest price rises can be revenue neutral to certain categories of user .. but in all cases they need to REDUCE their consumption.
ivan

And I have said THIS before....I know it is meant well, but sometimes I get so sick of people saying, "Just use less gas and electric" when we have already cut down and down until our health starts to suffer. People in our position usually already know about the tips to keep warm/cut back etc, so we don't need telling again and again. I also include those who are working too, but are on such low income they might as well be on benefit. If we cut down any more in the winter with our health problems I can see one or more of us will be in and out of hospital. If only people and the watchdogs would make more of a stand............

Ivan, How on earth can someone on benefit who say has a £12 a month rise each April afford to pay an extra £30-£50 a month for their fuel? I state this figure as that is what one or two people have said they will be having to increase their payments to. The £12 a month increase barely covers the normal increases in our other normal bills, let alone finding that sort of amount. I have been spending the same amount of food on Groceries as 5 or six years ago to try and keep finding the extra money for just everyday rises, let alone the ridiculous gas and electric rises. What do I do? Just not eat? Turn everything off so we freeze to death or die of hunger?

Cardew

Capyboppy wrote:

Ivan, How on earth can someone on benefit who say has a £12 a month rise each April afford to pay an extra £30-£50 a month for their fuel? I state this figure as that is what one or two people have said they will be having to increase their payments to. The £12 a month increase barely covers the normal increases in our other normal bills, let alone finding that sort of amount.

Nobody has had their bill increase by "£30-50 a month" due to the latest price increases. - unless their annual bills are Several thousand ponds a year.

Increases in the DD of that magnitude are because people have been underpaying for the previous period and have run up a large debit balance - which they now have to pay back.

The_Economist

squibbs25 wrote:

i'm still amazed that these companies can hold us to ransom like this. I too am a BG customer (for both my gas and elecie) and now like many others i'm left wondering where the hell am i going to find the extra "quote" £10 - 12 a month? "unquote"
How can they be allowed to do this to us?
Why dont the goverment or Senior Body take a stand and minimalise these prices increases?
Or allow our wages to go up at the rate of the rises (at least this would balance the scales )

Maybe we should all refuse to pay!

squibbs

Squibbs, I totaly agree with you. It seems funny that they have put up the prices when it is blazing hot and bright till late. I feel for the old age pensioners because it is them that suffer the most. We have got this to come on all issues when we become older. It is time to get it sorted out. The thing that realy bugs me is this. When you get your wages (if you are lucky to have a job these days) you are expected to make sure your bills are payed on the mega money you earn. But were companys are making BILLIONS of pounds its ok for them to just throw the money away and ask us for more. And as usual we have no choice but to do as they ask......

IvanOpinion

Capyboppy wrote:

And I have said THIS before....I know it is meant well, but sometimes I get so sick of people saying, "Just use less gas and electric" when we have already cut down and down until our health starts to suffer. People in our position usually already know about the tips to keep warm/cut back etc, so we don't need telling again and again. I also include those who are working too, but are on such low income they might as well be on benefit. If we cut down any more in the winter with our health problems I can see one or more of us will be in and out of hospital. If only people and the watchdogs would make more of a stand............

What do you want them to do? Gas is being sold at a loss, the gas price has been going up and up and is likely to do so (according to reports I have seen until at least 2009/2010). You can tell me you are sick of it all you like but things are going to get worse .. do you want to go back to unreliable supplies?

My electrciity bill (which is with an uncompetitive supplier) is £23 per month .. I live in a 2000+ square foot detached house and am a total gadget freak (you name it I have it) .. we don't have gas, we have oil which is about £50 per month and we don't freeze. Our direct neighbours (same house) have an electricty bill of £56 per month and an oil bill of £85 per month .. and he keeps telling me that he has cut it to the bone ... NOT EVEN CLOSE.

Remember under Kyoto WE ALL have to look at reducing our energy footprint by at least 8% ... mmm that would almost about wipe out the latest rise .. and the 8% figure is the start .. the absolute minimum .. much tougher is on the way. As a country we are signed up to meet the targets and that affects us all.

Ivan, How on earth can someone on benefit who say has a £12 a month rise each April afford to pay an extra £30-£50 a month for their fuel? I state this figure as that is what one or two people have said they will be having to increase their payments to. The £12 a month increase barely covers the normal increases in our other normal bills, let alone finding that sort of amount. I have been spending the same amount of food on Groceries as 5 or six years ago to try and keep finding the extra money for just everyday rises, let alone the ridiculous gas and electric rises. What do I do? Just not eat? Turn everything off so we freeze to death or die of hunger?

If someone has £12 a month rise then that means thay are currently spending at least £100 a month on energy .. if they have £50 a month rise then that means they are spending over £400 a month on energy (although more than likely the rise is to do with non-payment and not the rise itself).

This is only my theory and has no basis in scientific fact (yet) ... but people have become far too molly coddled in their centrally heated houses .. they have every radiator burning on in every room, they hop from their house into a car with their big winter coats on and wind the heat up as high as it can go .. they have absolutely no resistance to the cold. Some people need to toughen up and in some cases put on a layer of fat to see them through the winter.

Grab yourself one of those literature packs that provides advice on reducing consumption. Find the expensive units in the house (usually anything that generates heat) and look at ways of improving their usage ... one example may be to use smaller pots when cooking .. always put lids on pots when cooking .. often when things come up to the boil they can be turned off rather than simmered. Has anybody done a 'tips on how to reduce energy usage' thread on this board?

Ivan

Babbler

All this talk of switchin/not switching... what do you do if you are mioving home? How do you find the best deal then if its to a completely different situatuion?

irnbru_2

Babbler wrote:

what do you do if you are mioving home? How do you find the best deal then if its to a completely different situatuion?

You either wait for a full year worth of information OR do some nasty arithmetic to arrive at a best guess of usage in your new house.