Fuming Wih Bg

Cardew

midflight

Not quoted your thread as it makes the post too long.

I was very careful in the terminology in my post and it would appear you were not! I also tried not to be facetious!

What you stated was:

“my last BG gas bill would have been 70% cheaper had I switched to Ebico sooner!”

So I asked you:

Want to bet a virtual pint that you cannot give a scenario where Ebico is 70% cheaper?

Now 'Ebico being 70% cheaper than BG’ is not the same as ‘BG being 70% more expensive than Ebico’

To use your phrase “I can’t see why this is so difficult to grasp!?”;)

If it is difficult for you to grasp I will explain! Using your tier 1 unit prices Ebico is 40.22% cheaper than BG.(1.716p divided by 4.266p)

As you say I wanted a scenario and you haven’t provided one. So will you concede I have won my virtual pint?:beer:

In any case to use a scenario of a quarterly bill(75days) of £21 is hardly representative!

However a couple of more important points.

Firstly every other utility company, other than Ebico, uses an increased price for the first units in a quarter or a standing charge(and of course tier 1 charges are a standing charge by any other name).

BG’s tier 1 units at 1,143kWh a quarter are, I believe, as low as any other company and lower than some – especially those who use a summer weighted tier 1. So if BG’s units are “ridiculously high” and “unethical” so are every other utility company – some more than BG!!

Secondly, by definition, most customers are not low users. So it is not “utter nonsense” to claim that BG is cheaper than Ebico for the majority of customers.

Most customers use Electricity as well! So get dual fuel discount. Many pay by DD so get a further discount.

Ebico’s price for tier 2 gas(which is over 80% of the gas used by the average customer) is 19% more expensive than BG(or put another way BG’s price is 16% less than Ebico;) )

If you want to verify I am correct do some calculations or use the comparison networks.

midflight

Huh?

My last BG bill was £35.75
If I'd been with Ebico it would have been £21.37

Surely anyone can see that's ALMOST HALF THE PRICE!?

(£21.37 x 2 = £42.74)

Please bear in mind, I am providing a real scenario, not a hypothetical one!
These really are my bills. Not just examples. How can you argue with that?

I also wouldn't say my situation is that unusual, as you seem to claim.
We are 2 people, living in a standard end-terraced house, circa 1910 (so hardly ultra-energy efficient) using modest gas usage (as most people do) during the mid summer months. Please explain why this is somehow "hardly representative" ??? I'd say it's pretty typical.

You are just complicating the matter by talking about "initial units", "discounts for direct debits", etc... my calculations were a true "like-for-like", and do not disguise any hidden costs or discounts. Trying to wriggle out of it by claiming "precise terminology" won't help either.

My last BG bill was 70% more expensive that it would have been if I'd been with Ebico. Can you dispute that? If not, where's my pint!? I'm getting rather thirsty...

midflight

Secondly, by definition, most customers are not low users. So it is not “utter nonsense” to claim that BG is cheaper than Ebico for the majority of customers.

Ah, but I didn't say that! I said it was utter nonsense to suggest BG were cheaper than Ebico, especially during the milder months.

It's easy to disagree with something if you only include half the quote!!!

So if BG’s units are “ridiculously high” and “unethical” so are every other utility company – some more than BG!!

Yes, it's the whole "initial/subsequent units" scam that's unethical. I didn't intend to single out BG.

Most customers use Electricity as well! So get dual fuel discount. Many pay by DD so get a further discount.

Actually, you're right! I do get a Dual Duel discount from BG...
If I hadn't included that, the difference in bill amount would have been even greater!!! :eek:

If you want to verify I am correct do some calculations or use the comparison networks.

Which comparison site would you recommend, that includes the whole-of-the-market, and makes it possible to truly compare like-for-like? I only know of one that comes anywhere near that description (and even then it has it's flaws), and when I put my details in, guess who comes out on top, by a mile??? Ebico...

:j

Cardew

I appreciate that 'precise terminology' is not something you want to get involved in.

Likewise you wish to ignore average users and if you believe your examples are representative - so be it.

I don't care for the 'any fool' and 'difficult to grasp' tone of your responses; so will not contribute further to this thread.

People can read the posts above and make up their own mind on the points made.

I think we should leave it at that.

midflight

Hey, if I concede I'm being facetious, will you admit to being pedantic?

I assumed this was a light-hearted discussion, and I'm truly sorry if I've offended you in some way. :rolleyes:

In fact, I'll go as far as conceding that you were indeed right - i.e. that my initial terminology was slightly incorrect:

Instead of saying:
"My last BG bill would have been 70% cheaper had I been with Ebico..."
I should really have said:
"My last BG bill was 70% more expensive than had I been with Ebico..."

I accept there is a difference between "cheaper" & "more expensive", and as such, I believe I owe you a virtual pint...
:beer:
So, what's it to be - lager shandy or bitter shandy?

:cool:

p.s. BG are still far more expensive than Ebico for low users, during mild weather. That's all I was ever trying to say, and the maths is there, as you rightly say, for all to see...

Cardew

Pedantic? Absolutely! Although ‘precise’ sounds so much better!

I took your comments at face value instead of being light-hearted.– so as I am trying to be 'Green' I’ll have a pint of Crème de Menthe please!

olly300

Terrylw1 wrote: »

In the elec Change If Supply process it is always the new Supplier you give readings to. This is because you are now their customer and the process makes the new Supplier communicate with their appointed reading agent who then passes on your redaing to the old Supplier appointed reading agent, then they pass it onto your old Supplier.

BGas may be contacting you about a problem. Does the letter just ask for a reading? There are many occassions where a new Supplier scraps your reading and a Deemed (estimated) 1 is produced. Now, at this point oyur new Supplier hasn't got a clue whether this is correct and just uses it. Your old Supplier however can check and may spot that it is incorrect. They then contact you to sort it out and they log a disputed reading claim back through this whole process.

There is also scope to get around this process know if the process becomes too lenghty.

So, if they are not just asking for a closing reading, how do you know there isn't a bigger problem? That may be your new Suppliers fault so may be worth giving the benefit of the doubt.

Absolute rubbish.

BG want you to contact them so they can convince you not to leave them.

BG are not the only utility company that does this. EDF recently did this to me. I happily rang them to tell them that basically accusing someone of fiddling their meter readings because they didn't fit their estimates coupled with an expensive tariff was not a good way to keep customers.

Terrylw1

olly300 wrote: »

Absolute rubbish.

BG want you to contact them so they can convince you not to leave them.

BG are not the only utility company that does this. EDF recently did this to me. I happily rang them to tell them that basically accusing someone of fiddling their meter readings because they didn't fit their estimates coupled with an expensive tariff was not a good way to keep customers.

Olly, Suppliers send out retention letters, yes fact of life. Other industries do it as well.

It's not utter rubbish to have a problem with a closing account. The poster suggested a letter but not state exactly what it was for. Not quite sure why you felt the need for an aggressive start to you post?

So, how do you know that it is not a letter about an incorrect CoS reading that has been deemed and caused a large bill? In that scenario a Supplier trying to contact you rather than sending you a huge bill would be good service. FACT!

If BGas have sent a letter out asking for a reading (where the query over giving a closing reading has come about from the poster) then it's not a retention letter.

Of course, even Energywatch advise you to give the reading to the old & new Supplier.

midflight

The poster suggested a letter but not state exactly what it was for.

They actually sent me 2 identical letters (one for gas, one for electric, but with different phone numbers on!). Here's what they said:

"I'm sorry to hear you're leaving British Gas.
If you have not already spoken to one of our advisors please call us on 0845 964 6464/0845 850 2235 as soon as possible in order to talk about the closing of your account. This will enable us to make sure that all of your account details are settled & that the switchover process is as smooth as possible for you"

It kind of implies that if I don't contact them, then the switching process will not be smooth.

I found the whole "please contact us" tone of the letter(s) to be particularly hyprocritical, as my decision to leave was based on an intolerable 5 months of appalling service, during which I mentioned to several BG customer "service" advisors I was considering leaving, and not one of them tried in any way to convince me to stay. When I finally snapped and said I was definitely leaving, I asked - who I should notify? Which department? What telephone number? What address? I was told - nobody! I just had to contact my new supplier & that would be enough. What about my final readings, I asked? No need to supply those, I was told - your new supplier will pass them on.
The whole attitude was one of couldn't-care-less/good-riddance.
The letters seem to contradict this, but then again that's British Farce for you - full of contradictions & mis-leading information! Even the signature on the letters is terribly scanned/pixelised - they can't even be bothered to get somebody real to sign them, or even make sure they look like real signatures!

Anyway, just to sure - I supplied my final readings to both new new & old supplier, and I would recommend anyone else does the same. Sure enough, when I rung BG they did ask why I was leaving. After 3 hours, I think they eventually got bored & hung up...

Terrylw1

Hi Midflight,

That is a retention letter as it's worded the same as other Suppliers I've seen.

When you call through, I'll bet you get a sales dept, not a customer service on.

You can't go wrong giving your readings to both. However, BGas may not close you account yet incase your new Supplier decides to estimate for any reason. Otherwise, they would need to re-issue your bills. If thats happens, don't wory about it as it's a standard thing. I would say that if you get a bull from your new Supplier and still have not had a closing bill from BGas, there is a problem so check the opening reading from your new Supplier on the first bill is what you stated. If so, then give BGas a shove but email them, don't waste your money on the calls.