Resident on British Gas Business for dual fuel

makerfield

I am a newby and wonder if someone can advise me on a problem with British Gas. I am self-employed and approx. 3 years ago, two British Gas representatives called at my office to convince me to switch to British Gas for the electricity at my office and I went along. They then convinced me to switch to Britsh Gas Business for my gas and electricity at my home - I recall them saying that l can qualify for this as l do some work from home (evenings, weekends etc) and that l would be better off. I did not have time to look into this and in haste, agreed to switch. I have never attempted to claim the VAT charged on my home bills.

Some 3 years on, I looked into this and find that that my bills are very high. I have also realised that l should not have been put on a business tariff for gas and electricity at my home in the first place. I suppose it is my fault for not reading the terms/conditions when l signed up.

I think I need to switch to another provider on a basic domestic tariff. The question is should l first contact British Gas to remove me from the business tariff to a domestic one first, before considering a switch to another provider? In a recent phone call to British Gas, they say l am no longer tied to a contract and have offered a new 3 year fixed deal with lower charges for each fuel on a kW basis, each with a standing charge per day of 8.9p for Gas and 36.37p for Electricity.

I have just recieved this offer in the post and this offers a 9-day cooling off period ending on on 20 Sept. 2007, if l do not agree.

I am confused and could do with some advice on the matter.

Cardew

Before that question can possibly be answered by anyone on here, you need to supply three vital pieces of information.

What is the price per kWh for gas and electricity(including VAT) they are offering?

How much gas and electricity in kWh do you use each year?

Which area of the country(for supply purposes) do you live?

are the standingcharges VAT inclusive?

Terrylw1

Hi,

If your main use of gas/electricity is domestic, you can change to that. You need to do some work on how much you use, work out the savings for switching to domestic etc before you decide anything.

I take it that they charge you everything at home as business? Normally this should be the case if the larger part of any consumption is business or a supplier may offer to work out your bill seperately e.g. dom 75% bus 25% (but this is a big hassle for them so most won't want to)

At the end of the day, if you don't tell them you are working partially from home, they won't know. So, you could just tell them thats changed or not tell your new supplier, if you change.

If your tax is not effected in any way e.g. paying additional rates to cover say a room in your house used for business, then your supplier can't do much.

They may try and sneak someone out to take a look at your property but if it's a house and there is no obvious trading going on, they won't stand in your way.

You need to do all the sums first though a Cardew suggests. Add them onto here and I'm sure you will get some advice off the helpful people on here...

makerfield

Cardew wrote: »

Before that question can possibly be answered by anyone on here, you need to supply three vital pieces of information.

What is the price per kWh for gas and electricity(including VAT) they are offering?

How much gas and electricity in kWh do you use each year?

Which area of the country(for supply purposes) do you live?

are the standingcharges VAT inclusive?

Hi Cardew

Thanks for your prompt message - I can provide you with the following information;

The price British Gas Business are now offering me for gas and electricity is on a fixed 3-year contract, as below;
Gas - 3.004p/kWh and standing charge of 8.900p/day
Electricity - 36.370p/kWh and standing charge of 36.370p/day

My annual useage is rounded to the following approximated figures;
Gas - Approx. 3,000 kWh
Electricity - Approx. 4,500 kWh (this seems high)

My home is in Bolton, Lancashire

Note that before the above offer, I was being charged 3.574p/kWh + standing charge of 9.9p/day for gas and 16.550p/kWh + standing charge of 63.14p/day.

I look forward to your comments/advice on whether I would be better off switching to a basic residential tariff for both fuels?

Cardew

Hi,
Well those rates you have been offered are so unbelievably high I would normally be convinced you had made a mistake. In fact with Electricity @ 36.370p/kWh and a standing charge of exactly the same(36.370p) I would wager you have; it was late when you posted!!!!

For comparison purposes, the Domestic rates for your area(which I have assumed is MANWEB) with BG Click Energy 3(an internet account) are: (rates include VAT which for domestic properties is only 5%)

Electricity 11.995p/kWh for the first 225kWh per quarter, then 7.995p/kWh

Gas 4.346p/kWh for the first 1,143kWh per quarter, then 2.210p/kWh

On top of those rates there are attractive discounts and of course no daily charge. See:

http://www.britishgas.co.uk/pdf/Click 3 elec tables.pdf

http://www.britishgas.co.uk/pdf/Click 3 gas tables.pdf

Are you sure you only use 3,000kWh pa for gas? The average is over 20,000kWh.

makerfield

Cardew wrote: »

Hi,
Well those rates you have been offered are so unbelievably high I would normally be convinced you had made a mistake. In fact with Electricity @ 36.370p/kWh and a standing charge of exactly the same(36.370p) I would wager you have; it was late when you posted!!!!

For comparison purposes, the Domestic rates for your area(which I have assumed is MANWEB) with BG Click Energy 3(an internet account) are: (rates include VAT which for domestic properties is only 5%)

Electricity 11.995p/kWh for the first 225kWh per quarter, then 7.995p/kWh

Gas 4.346p/kWh for the first 1,143kWh per quarter, then 2.210p/kWh

On top of those rates there are attractive discounts and of course no daily charge. See:

http://www.britishgas.co.uk/pdf/Click 3 elec tables.pdf

http://www.britishgas.co.uk/pdf/Click 3 gas tables.pdf

Are you sure you only use 3,000kWh pa for gas? The average is over 20,000kWh.

Hi Cardew

Yes l have made a mistake - it was late when l posted the message!
The electricity deal offered by British Gas Business is 11.73p/kWh with a standing charge of 36.370p per day. With regard to the annual useage of gas, I made another error - the estimated amount is 30,000 kWh.

It looks as though l would be better off contacting British Gas to remove me fom the business tariff and switch me to a domestic one. Do you agree?

Do l have to stay with British Gas for such a switch or can l go elswhere? By the way, my area is covered by NORWEB.

Cardew

You will be £hundreds better off with a domestic tariff. In fact roughly a saving of £1,000pa.

Personally I would change to BG initially to get your domestic tariff established. Then you can move after the first bill - although BG Click Energy 3 is a very competitive rate, but their service very poor at the moment.

You might run into problems trying change direct from a BG Business tariff to a Domestic tariff with another company.

NORWEB prices are fractionally lower tnan the Manweb prices I quoted.

makerfield

Cardew wrote: »

You will be £hundreds better off with a domestic tariff. In fact roughly a saving of £1,000pa.

Personally I would change to BG initially to get your domestic tariff established. Then you can move after the first bill - although BG Click Energy 3 is a very competitive rate, but their service very poor at the moment.

You might run into problems trying change direct from a BG Business tariff to a Domestic tariff with another company.

NORWEB prices are fractionally lower tnan the Manweb prices I quoted.

Hi Cardew
Thanks very much for your valued responses to my problem with BG. :T

I have today phoned British Gas and they are now proceeding with the switch to the domestic Click 3 tariff although l am told this could take up to 3 weeks or so. I have also written to BG, complaining on how their two reps who came into my office some 3 years ago, managed to put my residence supply onto a business tariff. I suppose they will choose to blame me for not reading the small print, terms/conditions etc. If this happens, I am mindful of reporting their behaviour to the energy watchdog.

By the way, my first experience of this web site is excellent - it is also an eye opener on other money saving tips.

Cardew

makerfield wrote: »

I have also written to BG, complaining on how their two reps who came into my office some 3 years ago, managed to put my residence supply onto a business tariff. I suppose they will choose to blame me for not reading the small print, terms/conditions etc. If this happens, I am mindful of reporting their behaviour to the energy watchdog.

Don't hold your breath for 3 weeks, given BG's performance of late.

I would most certainly take up you legitimate complaint with Energywatch or ofgem. You were clearly 'ripped off'.

Let us know please!

Cardiac_2

You could actually claim all the moneyback you paid to british gas business for your domestic property as long as you have the proof that it has been domestic all along. According to their licences Business suppliers cannot supply domestic properties and are required to do what is called an Erroneous Transfer back to the previous supplier and refund all the money paid by the customer. Once your previous supplier agrees (and lets face it they are hardly going to pass up on 3 years free money) you can arrange a back dated contract with them to cover the period you were away, you could end up getting a fair chunk of cash back. If you want to go onto the domestic side of british gas i guess ou could still do it but it seems silly to throw away the extra money you paid on the business tariff. hope this helps...:rolleyes:

sorry this has come so far down the track but i've only just come across this thread...

Terrylw1

Hi,

Whether you can change to domestic on a tariff change will depend on your meter as well but since it's in your home there should be no reason why you can't. If your meter didn't support it, your Supplier would need to change it.

This means that you could go straight to a new Supplier and sign on domestic. As long as your meter is compatible with a domestic tariff (an item known as Profile Class or PC that will be recorded against your property with your Supplier, Meter Operator & Distribution Network, your suplpy number on your bill etc) you can easily change this way. If you simply change with BGas, they have got to do it anyway. Your accountant would spot the profile class as a way to show that your bills are business related since it makes up your supply number, as shown on your bill.

So, this shouldn't hold you up but I agree with Cardew in that you should change with your current Supplier now just to get the costs down. It will also add weight to your case for any refunding.

Just one thing to be aware of...have you paid any tax at 17.5% on your bills? If so, reclaiming against your bills may effect your tax and you may need to discuss whether you need to get a rebate on it since you will have overpaid (domestic customers are 5% only but businesses that use over 34 units a day get charged 17.5% and pay Climate Change Levy also)

Just a thought for you...good luck. Sorry if I'm waffling about the technical side but it's just so you know how tariff changes work with these Suppliers and what can hold them up.

In my opinion, you were ripped off but when it comes down to assessing your home property & business use you need to decide which is the higher % use...your own use or that of your business. The Supplier should advise you from there (you can always ask your accountant about that as well) as they are legally responsible to Customs & Excise for your VAT charging.