Didn't use a comparison site, can I claim back money lost?

Talldave

leroyJ said:

I don't think it's necessarily a case of people defending BG, it's just advising whether they think you would succeed.  They are telling you want you need to hear rather than what you wantto hear;

I guess what I was expecting to hear is some kind of agreement that the practise of these “exclusive rates” is misleading and unfair. 

I’m still going to complain, and will write to offgem also. If everyone just accepts this then this is exactly what we will continue to get.

I’d ideally like to see the rules enforced where the suppliers have to let the customer know about their best rates. Kind of like the changes they made with mobile phone contracts expiring and having to communicate this to customers. 

That's all a bit nanny state?  The regulator already ruined the market because apparently it was too complicated and there was too much choice.  Even price comparison sites are obliged by the regulator to quote ludicrous savings that often lead people to switch to a more expensive tariff than they're on because they don't understand what they're being told.

Personally, I think the market should be left alone and those of us clever enough to research the cheapest deals get them.

Your best option would be to show BG what you think of their tactics and take your business elsewhere and never use them again - actions speak louder than words.

leroyJ

That's all a bit nanny state?

I don’t really see what’s negative about ensuring companies are transparent with their consumers?
Your bias is that the you’ve understood the complexities has given you a discount (although I would disagree with categorising this as “clever”). But there’s no reason to keep things this complicated.

Gerry1

It's strange the way that BG seem to be operating in a completely different way to other markets.  Hotel, airlines etc always actively encourage you to book directly with them so that they don't have to pay commission fees.  Even if the comparison sites ban undercutting their prices, you often find that you don't get rewards or miles if you don't book direct.

BG doubtless know that savvy customers will use comparison sites and they simply won't get any business if their best tariffs aren't shown there.  Presumably they want to rip off the most vulnerable consumers, e.g. little old ladies who ask Directory Enquiries for the number of the Gas Board.

Nebulous2

I posted about this recently on another thread. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/76844325#Comment_76844325
It surprised me to discover it, but when I did I made use of it. Seems to be they are trying to have their cake and eat it. Worried about losing customers they have offered some competitive deals through comparison websites. Not willing / able to lose the income from existing customers who wouldn't consider switching company they don't offer these deals direct.

Takmon

leroyJ said:

I don't think it's necessarily a case of people defending BG, it's just advising whether they think you would succeed.  They are telling you want you need to hear rather than what you wantto hear;

I guess what I was expecting to hear is some kind of agreement that the practise of these “exclusive rates” is misleading and unfair. 

I’m still going to complain, and will write to offgem also. If everyone just accepts this then this is exactly what we will continue to get.

I’d ideally like to see the rules enforced where the suppliers have to let the customer know about their best rates. Kind of like the changes they made with mobile phone contracts expiring and having to communicate this to customers. 

They are required to tell you the cheapest tariff and this should be stated on your bill somewhere, they have had to do this for quite a few years now but they don't have to tell you before you join them. 

But i am surprised you thought contacting just one company by telephone and signing up was going to get you a good deal. Surely the logical thing to do would have been to use a comparison site first just to see the kind of deals available so you at least had a benchmark tariff price before you spoke to British Gas. 

Also savy moneysavers are not really going to agree with what you are saying because we know that taking a few minutes to use comparison sites is the best way to save money and people like you pay more and subsidise us to allow cheaper rates. This happens in insurance, telecommunications, TV and all similar industries where the "financially lazy" subsidise the people who take a few minutes to look for the best deal. If it was changed so the lazy people got the same deals as the people who shopped around then the lazy may pay slightly less but all the cheap deals will dissapear. 
Considering that most people know this i don't think it's unfair.

leroyJ

But i am surprised you thought contacting just one company by telephone and signing up was going to get you a good deal. 

There's a bit of a back story behind this, which I didn't get into as it wasn't really relevant.  But I will now.

When I moved into the property, the meters were on pre pay.  Now I'm not sure who here has had the pleasure of switching from pre-pay to credit, but let me tell you it was one of the most painful experiences I had throughout the entire moving process.  It took 5 different engineers come round to switch the meters, one day of no electricity, and hours upon hours of phone calls.  

So yeah, the reason I called British Gas was to try and sort out the mess, and it worked.  I complained to them and got a dedicated customer service rep, who managed to make sure the change to credit went through.  

Also savy moneysavers are not really going to agree with what you are saying because we know that taking a few minutes to use comparison sites is the best way to save money and people like you pay more and subsidise us to allow cheaper rates. 

This is exactly the kind of attitude I am frankly disgusted by.  You are complicit in a system were a certain type of person is ripped off.  Like @Gerry1 mentioned, there are members of the population who can't use comparison sites, for whatever reason (sure it's a few minutes for you, but this is not the case for everyone).

The fact you are perfectly happy for them to subsidise your energy is what is alarming to me.  

leroyJ

 This happens in insurance, telecommunications, TV and all similar industries where the "financially lazy" subsidise the people who take a few minutes to look for the best deal.
...
Considering that most people know this i don't think it's unfair.

Totally 100% disagree.

Quite often the best deal is direct with the supplier (like someone mentioned before on here, with airline flights).  Mobile phone contracts are the same when going direct, as with broadband deals (at least when I signed up to BT, I got the same deals direct as on price comparison sites, so I ended up going direct to cut out the middle man).

There was nothing to suggest to me this was the case with energy tariffs.  I've obviously learnt my lesson now, but it has cost me £250 in the process.  I also would definitely not consider myself "financially lazy".  

Takmon

leroyJ said:

But i am surprised you thought contacting just one company by telephone and signing up was going to get you a good deal. 

There's a bit of a back story behind this, which I didn't get into as it wasn't really relevant.  But I will now.

When I moved into the property, the meters were on pre pay.  Now I'm not sure who here has had the pleasure of switching from pre-pay to credit, but let me tell you it was one of the most painful experiences I had throughout the entire moving process.  It took 5 different engineers come round to switch the meters, one day of no electricity, and hours upon hours of phone calls.  

So yeah, the reason I called British Gas was to try and sort out the mess, and it worked.  I complained to them and got a dedicated customer service rep, who managed to make sure the change to credit went through.  

Also savy moneysavers are not really going to agree with what you are saying because we know that taking a few minutes to use comparison sites is the best way to save money and people like you pay more and subsidise us to allow cheaper rates. 

This is exactly the kind of attitude I am frankly disgusted by.  You are complicit in a system were a certain type of person is ripped off.  Like @Gerry1 mentioned, there are members of the population who can't use comparison sites, for whatever reason (sure it's a few minutes for you, but this is not the case for everyone).

The fact you are perfectly happy for them to subsidise your energy is what is alarming to me.  

It does sound like it was an over involved process to change the meters but nothing would have stopped you spending 5 minutes on a comparison site just to benchmark the prices before you rang them. The biggest issue is that you went in blind and have now only discovered that your paying more than you needed too, if you knew this before you could have done something about it. 

I wouldn't call it a "rip off" because you got the services supplied at the price you agreed, you just paid more than you needed too. Just like you might be able to go Tescos and get an item cheaper than Waitrose it doesn't mean its a "rip off". But like i said i'm happy for people like you who are "financially lazy", for want of a better phrase, (who could have got a cheaper price but chose not) to subsidise my lower price. I don't think you will get many people at all who would happily say they would pay more than the cheapest price just because they didn't like how the system works. 

Yes some people can't use comparison sites and they deserve to get help to use this and i have personally helped several people to make sure they were getting the best deal. But then some people who could do it choose not too even when i said i would check for them so if they don't care they are paying more then why should i worry about them subsidising my deals?

Takmon

leroyJ said:

 This happens in insurance, telecommunications, TV and all similar industries where the "financially lazy" subsidise the people who take a few minutes to look for the best deal.
...
Considering that most people know this i don't think it's unfair.

Totally 100% disagree.

Quite often the best deal is direct with the supplier (like someone mentioned before on here, with airline flights).  Mobile phone contracts are the same when going direct, as with broadband deals (at least when I signed up to BT, I got the same deals direct as on price comparison sites, so I ended up going direct to cut out the middle man).

There was nothing to suggest to me this was the case with energy tariffs.  I've obviously learnt my lesson now, but it has cost me £250 in the process.  I also would definitely not consider myself "financially lazy".  

I understand what your saying but you really need to do a whole market comparison of all suppliers when looking at pricing so you can benchmark them. I've had mobile phone contracts and broadband contracts cheaper through third party sites because you can go through a cashback site and get the same deal direct so it works out cheaper with the cashback. I've also had mobile phone contracts that were not on Three's website or available by phone and only available through a third party site in the past. 

The rule is never to assume and always benchmark prices across the whole market before agreeing to any deal, if you don't benchmark then you have no idea if what they are offering is good or not.