british gas fixed till 2009 - thr truth

maxfactor_3

I was very annoyed when I recieved the letter from British gas about the fixed prices that would not be reduced.What most annoyed me was the actual letter.It was like rubbing mud in my face.Hello eveyone is getting a reduction but not you! Our most loyal customers who have decided to stay with us till 2009, and if you change suppliers you pay a forfeit.Im sure many people are very angry.But its good to know they have waived the charge to move suppliers,thats something.If they played fair they would have given everyone the reduction like Scottish power did with customers of fixed prices.It shows that loyalty doesnt always pay.So I,ll keep my options open in future and not put all my egg,s in one basket.Im sure with the reduction they may win back some customers but what will really get them Is they will probably lose the most loyal customers who signed up for the price fix in the long run.The people who they win back are probably people who swop and change all the time any way depending on the rate and rewards on offer.

lynneandrea

Just read some of the other comments Cardew, you might get the message then!! BG is not popular, I think you must be on a commission.

Cardew

lynneandrea wrote:

Just read some of the other comments Cardew, you might get the message then!! BG is not popular, I think you must be on a commission.

BG is unpopular, and much of their unpopularity is well deserved. Their customer relations are abysmal, and their website is worse!

However what has any of that to do with your criticisms about PP 2009? Those criticisms just don't stand up to any form of scrutiny and that you haven't answered a single question, or said how BG had deceived its customers, speaks volumns.

As for resorting to the "you must work for them/be on a commission" comment; well its hardly original is it? but one wouldn't expect it to be.

djohn2002uk

maxfactor wrote:

Our most loyal customers who have decided to stay with us till 2009, and if you change suppliers you pay a forfeit.
It shows that loyalty doesnt always pay.
but what will really get them Is they will probably lose the most loyal customers who signed up for the price fix in the long run.

This makes me laugh. Loyal customer my foot. You were no different to anyone else. You thought you were on to a good thing by fixing and indeed you were BUT you fixed for too long. There were other options, eg. 2007, 2008 etc. but you gambled on 2009. You have gained sofar but you want your cake and eat it. Not being loyal to BG at all, just trying to look after No1 (and I don't blame you for that) but stop bleating when you didn't read the conditions of what you were signing up to.
I have no affinity to BG and I wouldn't go back to them and I agree totally with Cardews view of them BUT I also agree with everything else he has written here. Contracts are contracts and you'd better learn that when you sign one you are tied in to the end unless the company has a change of heart. And that is purely down to their generosity.

djohn2002uk

I also notice that tiger_-_lilly hasn't been back. I suspect she has seen the light now.

maxfactor_3

Hi again,I joined British gas because my step dad was working for them to encourage people to move to Bg obviously because he believed in a good British firm with very strong foundations.Id rather pay more for the service,to be honest I probably wouldnt have noticed the difference in the price reduction I wouldnt have got.Like I said before it was the letter that made be angry perhaps they shouldnt have sent it.They would have just thought well these people have a fixed price anyway so shouldnt asume they would get a reduction.I think if they dont want to lose the loyal customers they should reduce ours too as a gesture to restore our faith and their is such a thing as loyal customers.

Cardew

Maxfactor,
Lynneandrea above is complaining because BG haven't spelt out everything in words of 1 syllable.
You are commenting adversely, if not complaining, that they have written to you explaining your position.
Methinks BG are in a lose/lose situation.

As for good faith, they have waived the penalty charges, that you signed up for when you applied for that tariff.

You can now get the cheaper charges from BG if you want; or leave BG and go to another company.

Surely BG couldn’t have done more in this case? Or if you think they could have done more, tell us what you think they could have done.

tripled

I'm sure that by Cardew saying BG ain't all that bad all the time (just most of the time) his comission payment must be bulging. After all, everyone on the forum is going to PM him and sign up to them right now. Either that or he's on a profit share scheme, heh I've caught you Sir Roy.

Anyway, I digress.

"Loyalty doesn't always pay". I would fully agree with that statement, there have been people on the standard tariff with BG for years who would be hundreds better off now if they had used a switching site.

As for those on price protection, those on BG 2007 and 2010 have saved a fortune. Those on PP 2009 have saved (according to BG's figures) on average £50 since they signed up. Which is enough to pay for the cancellation fee, excpet oh no! they've waived it. Bar stewards that they are.

For some reason people seem to think that British Gas, Powergen, nPower or whoever actually give a sh*te about them. All they actually care about is figures on a balance sheet which they present to shareholders. So why complain about "how British Gas could treat you better as a loyal customer"? Get off your a*se and switch to someone else!

jem16

tripled wrote:

As for those on price protection, those on BG 2007 and 2010 have saved a fortune.

Have to disagree here. I have saved a fortune by not choosing BG 2010.

In November 05 I was seriously considering the BG 2010 tariff. Having looked at the switching sites I realised it would cost me around £360 pa for BG 2010 than if I switched to London Energy Online. I decided to switch as the money was better in my pocket.

London Energy(now EDF) have had one price rise in that time for my tariff. I am still paying less than I would have been on BG 2010 and have saved around £400.

Now this would not be the case for everyone as it depends on their electricity area and consumption. For me it has worked so far.

tripled

It is true there are exceptions.... I was quite drunk when I posted thast last night so may not have thought all aspects through 100%. BG customers will have saved a fortune, but there are other companies that have had some good fixed/discounted tariffs too.

However I think the essence is true - the big companies are here to make money from us, and it's up to us to look out for ourselves.