Is it worth switching to fix ?

nearlyretired2004

(also posted as a reply the the British gas thread but thought it may be useful as a thread on it's own)


I am currently with British Gas and was looking to switch to fix.....

However, on checking, it was still going to cost me slightly more to fix than British Gas will be AFTER the price rises.

Gambling that wholesale energy prices should in fact come down slightly after tomorrows rise, I phoned British Gas to ask whether they could offer me anything to stay.

They offered me a £50 credit to stay for six months or £75 to stay for nine months - but with no tie in or penalties if I did leave.

So I've taken the £75 and if there does happen to be a second round of price rises I'll look at it again then ....

Hope that all makes sense....

cooking-mama

Yeh i got offered the £75 loyalty bonus too...well basicaly advisor said "if your still with us in 9months time we will credit your account with £75"...tempting,but im still switiching to EDF fixed 2014 it should save me £150(or £226 compared to BG's fixed tariff)

macman

There's only one cheap fix left now anyway, the EDF Fixed 2014. A week or two ago you'd have got a much cheaper one.
But a £75 loyalty bonus isn't bad-did you check at what point that would be credited though-at the end of the 9 months?

nearlyretired2004

Dont know whether it's area or consumption related - but NONE of the fixes would save me money over British Gas according to the comparison sites - they were all going to cost more - albeit only £4 more for the cheapest!

And the credit will allegedly be applied to the bill following the nine month anniversary - so guess that depending on timing (haven't worked out when the billing will be yet ...) could be upto a year ......

Ah ! Just reread the post above!

'saving .....Compared to British Gases FIXED tariff' - I'm staying on the VARIABLE Websaver 11 which gives me 6% discount on their standard variable tariff .....

macman

I don't know when you did your comparison, but the cheaper fixes have all but disappeared over the last 3 weeks or so. Fixes are not necessarily intended to save you money-you are simply paying for an insurance policy to protect you against future rises. If you could have fixed for a year or so at £4 premium to variable before the BG increase today, that is a very good deal-unless you expect prices to stay static or fall. It's what I call the Dirty Harry dilemma...do you feel lucky?

cooking-mama

UPDATE..Scottish gas(as its known up here)have just phoned and offered me £120 to stay...EDF had been in touch to start the switching process this is what prompted the call,if they'd offered £120,instead of £75 first time round I might have considered,but too late now,cooling off period expired and switching process started.sales advisor admitted BG couldnt compete or even price match EDF2014 tariff.

Plushchris

I hope those taking up BG's offer of £75 in nine months time have got that in writing (with the date the £75 will be paid)

Something tells me you are going to have to jump through some hoops and do a lot of chasing to get that £75

backfoot

Plushchris wrote: »

I hope those taking up BG's offer of £75 in nine months time have got that in writing (with the date the £75 will be paid)

Something tells me you are going to have to jump through some hoops and do a lot of chasing to get that £75

Yes. I've wondered about this.

What documentation from BG supports this offer?

Aren't they obliged to include this as a Contract term? e.g like the EDF £100 Welcome Bonus.