changing to British gas. Have I made a mistake?

A_Nice_Englishman

If it's more important to you to have smaller monthly bills even though you end up paying more in the end then perhaps you shouldn't have changed?

I suppose one reason why Powergen's tarrif may be cheaper is that they might have lots of customers 'in credit' (giving them interest free loans) and they use the interest they gain to reduce their prices?

shandypants5

No sorry I think we are talking at cross purposes.
My new supplier BG has a lower Tariff (cost per unit) than my old supplier.
if my useage stays the same. Then my bills WILL be smaller.
So why do BG need my DD to be higher.?
I would just end up in credit, and I know this is a good thing generally but I would rather have the cash in my hand right now.

Mikeyorks

shandypants5 wrote:

if their TARIFF is cheaper then my bill should be smaller.
Or why am I changing..??

That's exactly right - but is the tariff cheaper? You've merely said the comparison site showed a saving of £180 - but that depends entirely on the accuracy of the data you put in! As it's fairly rare BG currently works out cheapest - on a fair and accurate comparison.

shandypants5

OOHhhh
Thanks everyone..
I think I am just going to have to spend the winter with them and test the cost...
Hopefully it will work out less.
Still not impressed with BG phone service though.

melbury

shandypants5 wrote:

Hello everyone. this is my first ever post (gotta get it of my chest)
I am in the middle of a change to british gas for both gas end electricity, it seems to be going sour allready.
I moved from British gas years ago due to the terrible customer support, and I have used Powergen as a supplier untill now.
The energyhelpline site told me I would save by changing to BG clickenergy.
So I let them change me...(BG must have got better by now I thought)
All ok so far.
This week I received the direct debit forms and was suprised to see they were higher tha my powergen payments.???

Powergen.. Gas=£38
Electric=£46

British Gas gas=£42
Electric=£61

As I am changing to a "cheaper" supplier I called them to explain...
:mad: Oh no they havent changed, an our on the phone at my own cost before they would agree to change the DD to £40 each for gas and electricity.

I spoke with 4 people in 4 departments, having to explain the whole problem every time..
The third department told me it was not possible to change the amount as the transaction was not complete yet.??
when I asked to speak to a manager,he said that someone would call me back within 4/5 days..:mad:
Eventualy he then transfered me to another lady(begin all over again)
and she said "Oh that does seem high what about £40 pound then"

why could she change it and he couldnt ? I asked.
I dont know where you were transfered from she said...

I realy hope I havent made a mistake moving, but I guess Ill have to wait and see.

One other thing..
the energyhelpline site said I would save £180 a year.
But it didnt take into account that powergen give me a £60 a year discount for paying by DD.
So my total save will only be £120... IF it all goes to plan and BG dont overcharge me..

Ill keep you informed..:beer:

I would definitely say YES you have made a mistake - they are a total nightmare and should be avoided!

ABN

Mikeyorks wrote:

That's exactly right - but is the tariff cheaper? You've merely said the comparison site showed a saving of £180 - but that depends entirely on the accuracy of the data ...

given by the comparison site in my case.

Signed up with BG about a year ago because the unit price quoted on the comparison site was a LOT cheaper than any other site. However when I got the actual details from BG the unit prices were a lot higher.
Phoned BG and they could not/would not comment on the prices given by the comparison site and insisted that the unit prices they sent would be the ones used for my account.
Used the 28 day cooling off period and canceled.

TimBuckTeeth

bebop wrote:

nice british gas man got me to change on friday evening from scottish power to british gas by these points, NO service charge, £97 d.d. discount, prices fixed from going up, prices will fall Dec 07, on the"fix and fall 2 offer".He said definitely will be cheaper with B G than Scotish Power. HELP is he correct, guess i can quickly back out if i need to, Any Advices??

I would definitely cancel now and then do some research and decide whether it will actually be a better deal. 'It will definitely be cheaper' - they all say that, as they are salesmen and may or may not be true, as they don't actually work the cost out. Bear in mind that you might have difficulty resolving problems with British gas as their customer support is poor.

Unless you have very low usage the no service charge tariffs are not any cheaper than ones with a service charge, the service charge is just hidden in the higher rate 1.
Comparing no standing charge with standing charge tariffs

With any fixed price tariff you will be paying more to start with.

Check the actual tariff on the supplier's websites, rather than rely on a switching website.

vij1366

oh you poor man .
b.g never .i was quoted to have my boiler replaced with rads for 3.5k
hahaha
never
i have just chsnged to npower and so far its good .there are a lot of sites on hte net .the other good one is s & s a lonson comp which i found to be a little cheaper than n power.
but be warned the price of gas is going to fall in 2008 as new ghas will be coming thru the pipeline from norway :eek:

bebop

thanks all, now i have had time to work it out i see that as you say unless a very low user the no standing charge is a real disadvantage, so gonna stay with scottish power at least until the capped price offer sept 07 expires. thanks all.

TimBuckTeeth

The no standing charge tariffs are not necessarily a disadvantage, but not usually any cheaper, suppliers such as British gas use them to appear better value (although not so) and to make direct comparison more difficult.

I have been calculating the costs for a friend, Scottish power have both a standing charge and no standing charge tariff, they both work out to be the same cost (give or take 10 pence) over the year for average use.
However for most British gas tariffs the equivalent standing charge works out about double that of Scottish power.