British Gas could be broken up

shortchanged_2

I've never really understood why people pay British Gas rip off prices.

They are far more expensive than almost all the other suppliers providing exactly the same gas and electricity to your home that all the other suppliers would provide.

gazter

purch wrote: »

I guess the perceived problem is that British Gas is part of Centrica, and the idea is to separate it from the generating/production side.

But they are not the only supplier that is part of a bigger group that also generates or produces energy, and I don't see the moronic politicians telling the French Government to break up EDF

This is the meat of the issue. British Gas own the supply chain, competition only exists as resellers for this supply. There are plenty of opportunities for hiding profits at different parts of the process.

I think transparency would be more powerful. Oblige sellers and generators to disclose the wholesale price that they are buying at, and encourage a tariff which is based on a wholesale tracker price.

Old_Slaphead

Where Obama leads with BP then Ed Davy follows with Centrica

Let's bash profitable UK businesses which will hit both pension funds and the Treasury. These companies pay lots of tax unlike a lot of other large corporations....and let's face it, no one HAS to buy from BG.

In 15 years time when the recently announced new nuclear powerstation is operational I've read that the Government will guarantee a two fold increase in current rpi inflated prices - will the foreign owners now be subject to lower price caps?

C_Mababejive

Davey is talking rubbish. He should be sacked or voted out of his seat. There is free and open competition in the energy market and people can choose freely who to buy energy from. His big mouthed interference is an unjustified attack on a great British company which is successful, employs thousands of people in this country and clearly provides the services people want hence their millions of customers.

I say SACK DAVEY..

Thrugelmir

Generali wrote: »

The AT&T telephone company in the US was broken up in the early 80s because of monopoly abuse so there is form here. The smaller companies became known as the Baby Bells.

I don't have a problem with it personally. Competition is good and a failure to produce competition is a market failure as so liable to be regulated.

When AT & T bids for Vodafone then another great British Company will bite the dust. No one else goes around scoring own goals like the British. Everybody else protects and values their companies. The UK is so short sighted.

purch

C_Mababejive wrote: »

There is free and open competition in the energy market and people can choose freely who to buy energy from.

Dream on :eek:

C_Mababejive wrote: »

I say SACK DAVEY..

Hear Hear :T

C_Mababejive

purch wrote: »

Dream on :eek:

Why there surely is. Only this week after some spreadsheet analysis, i have switched gas and electric supplier as my contract is about to end and incredibly, ive saved again or at least drawn level/not gone up.

N1AK

wotsthat wrote: »

Politics. Every single one of British Gas' customers is able to switch to a company making a lower margin on gas supply should that be an issue to them.

Absolutely. Changing supplier is trivially easy so the issue isn't that there isn't enough competition, it's that people aren't doing something easy and in their own best interest.

Should Tesco be broken up because some people still shop there even though Asda/Lidl/whatever is cheaper? Or should we continue to expect people to make their own decision on where to shop accounting for price.

It's scary how much responsibility people seem willing to hand over the government in order to avoid having to think about, or do, anything.

N1AK

CLAPTON wrote: »

I thought that people in rented property often can't switch because the landlord controls the main contract

I changed providers at both the properties I rented before buying. Theoretically the landlord should be aware but if you look about you'll see it really isn't an issue unless you get/remove meters etc. The reason most people don't is the same as owner occupiers, they don't take the time to do a comparison and then switch; which is there fault and no one else's.

the_flying_pig

the luxury of competiting offers is obviously great when you need to actively make a purchase decision, e.g. between two cars/houses/holidays/items of clothing/whatever that you're thinking about buying.

competition is probably a little less great when it's more a case of being in a contract where there's no 'need' to switch, where you have to go out there & make it happen.

just instinctively do peopel think this difference matters a little or a lot?