MSE News: British Gas to scrap its standard variable tariff for new customers

robin58

phillw wrote: »

This is technically an improvement, you know what date the price will rise & won't be worried each month. Unless you're the type of person who is always surprised that they could be raising their prices.

Except for the BIG rise at the end of the fixed tariff.

House_Martin

robin58 wrote: »

Sensibly? Do you actually have a smart meter? The first meters don't work if you change suppliers and if you stay with your current supplier, they have trouble relaying the readings back due to the fact they use the phone mobile network.

The updated second versions are better but won't be introduced until mid 2018.

Plus they are now talking about a third standard of software.

I do not and will not allow a smart meter to be installed until they can sort out which software standard they really want.

Plus if anybody can't figure out for themselves that they will save money by turning off a light or turning off equipment instead of leaving it in standby, then they shouldn't be allowed access to a electricity supply.

Sorry, you are wrong .In my experience of many years of reading BG smart meters from around 2004 for BG I cannot recall more than a handful of complaints about the MK 1 version of the Landis and Gyr smarts with early sim card meters failing to work properly.
After a couple of years the sim card versions were replaced by a hub.
I myself have an early sim card electric smart meter, deep in the depths of my extra thick walled cellar which worked faultlessly for many years both both with BG and Sainsburys Energy and is still working fine now.
BG have fitted approx 2,5 million smart meters
But then Robin, you have more experience of them than me so I bow to your greater knowledge

badmemory

I thought the whole idea of this was to get a better deal for people who have never changed their supplier, which appears to affect a lot of BG customers. So I am going to repeat myself now.

IT IS ONLY FOR NEW CUSTOMERS

As for smart meters - according to a couple of recent stories the batteries aren't lasting anywhere near as long as they should so the gas is being turned OFF. Nice way to spend Xmas day.

AllieKat

British Gas is pretty much outright evil... and I don't say that lightly. I got home today to a debt collection letter seemingly related to a previous tenant's supply with British Gas. I'm guessing leaving them and switching suppliers is what triggered it. Utterly incompetent and useless company. This is just the latest and possibly scariest in a long string of horror story that is British Gas...