MSE News: MSE Big Energy Switch Event 5: British Gas £300/yr saving for new &...

MSE_Dan_L

singhini wrote: »

I am in a similar position to the previous person in that when I log into my account on MSE energy club it suggests that I will be £1 per month worse off if I fix , however I have calculated that this doesn't take into consideration the £30 cashback (and I'm unable to confirm if this is the case?). However I have assumed I will not pay the penalty charge of £60 for exiting early because that is what MSE email suggested.
So in theory I might be able to switch and the cashback would make my annual bill £18 cheaper AND I would be fixing my energy prices until October 2017 (instead of the current fix till Feb 2017).

I'm unsure what to do as its not that clear

Hi Singhini

Just to confirm, the cashback isn't included into the savings shown on the site (and indeed you wouldn't pay the exit fee if you're already with British Gas).

Thanks

wizk1

MSE_Dan_L wrote: »

I hope this helps to reassure you, ultimately this is positive news as it means your costs will be reduced.

Thanks for the clarification.

DonnySaver

Just done a comparison for myself and also my Dad. This latest Collective Switch comes nowhere near the top on my comparison. Sainburys (which is British Gas anyway) beats it by miles.

Sosumi

MSE_Dan_L wrote: »

Hi all

Just to confirm on this, at the point the tariff was launched the average price was £765. But in response to a cheaper tariff being released overnight, we pushed British Gas to try and improve the price, pleasingly it was able to do so, meaning that on average the cost is now £755.

British Gas has done this via a reprice on the original fix, meaning that all users who switched before the cut in the unit rates will also receive this.

I hope this helps to reassure you, ultimately this is positive news as it means your costs will be reduced.

I'm not going to add much to the previous discussions around the 'cheaper than the cheapest' messaging. The basis for this is highlighted in the email around it being based on average prices (according to Ofgem usage) and of course through Cheap Energy Club we do always provide you with a full market comparison. The main thing is to encourage people to switch - it makes not difference to us if this is to a collective or non-collective tariff.

I hope this helps.

Dan,

Upon what legal basis do you rely to regard it as legitimate to alter, retrospectively and unilaterally, in any way, the terms of a fixed tariff to which somebody has already contracted?

teddysmum

singhini wrote: »

The only reason I say that is because I also took the previous BG fix (Till Feb 2017) and my tariff was supposed to be 18.9p daily charge yet on my actual bill I am being charged 18.00p (its not going to make a massive difference but it is making it difficult to calculate if I should consider switching to the new BG fix).

I think this may be because quoted rates are inclusive of VAT (at 5%), but bills are calculated ex-VAT , with a separate VAT addition.


5% of 18p is 0.9p, making the total unit price 18.9p.

polymaff

singhini wrote: »

I am in a similar position to the previous person in that when I log into my account on MSE energy club it suggests that I will be £1 per month worse off if I fix ...

Even if you take into account switching penalties and switching bonuses There is far more to working out if a dual-fuel tariff MSE-CEC says is cheaper than another for you really is better value. Take a look into the relative costs of gas and electricity. If it is this time of the year, a better tariff will be that which offers cheaper gas - as that is what you will be using as lot of for the first six months of the tariff you are just about to opt for. The same argument, in reverse, will apply when, six months later, you re-assess your circumstances.

As an example, look at the state of the MSE-CEC offering to Eastern Region customers at 0900 on Tuesday. The gas unit price being offered by MSE-CEC was 57% more than that being offered by Sainsbury's, whilst the electricity unit rate was 33% the other way around. CEC reckons that, for me, by going with Sainsbury's I'll save £278 on gas units purchased, but lose £133 on electricity units purchased over the year - but because I use 80% of my gas in the October-April, I'll actually save at a rate of £426 per annum for the six months I chose Sainsbury's.

Of course, daily charges enter the equation - along with discounts and incentives (dual-fuel, switching bonuses, nectar points, etc.) but, with such different unit prices in the competing offerings, you need a calendar as well as a calculator to be a true MSEer - and need to consider whether now is the time to have separate gas and electricity contracts.

br9ian

I'm trying to do this big energy change as i can save up to 565 a year.

However there is one problem.

I stay in a a large flat share with 7 other people so we have 3 different boilers (so 3 separate british gas accounts). When applying online to transfer it asks for only one customer account number.

What is the best way to get round this? Is it even possible to apply it to all 3 british gas accounts?

Help me out if you can, thanks!

silvercar

It is number of accounts that count not number of boilers. So if you have 3 accounts then you need to move 3 accounts to the new provider.

I assume you have 3 meters if there are 3 separate accounts, if not you will need to explain in more detail your set up.

silvercar

I'm not sure what to do as I've just had a new boiler fitted that is more efficient than the previous one, so assume I should reduce my estimated gas usage?

JStewer

silvercar wrote: »

I'm not sure what to do as I've just had a new boiler fitted that is more efficient than the previous one, so assume I should reduce my estimated gas usage?

It is quite easy to amend your usage in your CEC account at any time

It's unlikely that a small reduction in your gas usage (say 10%) will have any major effect on choice of supplier/tariff, but whatever reduction you decide upon, it's easy to check the effect.

Keep a close eye on your actual usage, and update your usage again in the CEC if you ever think it is not accurate