British Gas - how do existing customers access their better tariffs?

Roy1234

I'm trying to arrange a new annual energy fix for an elderly relative.  She's with British Gas, likes her smartmeter and costly homecare package, and cannot be persuaded to switch suppliers, so I'm stuck with them.  With this in mind, the Which? site found British Gas's Energy and Boiler Cover May 2021, saving over £250 annually.  Logging into her British Gas account however it offers fewer options to switch to, the best being the BG HomeEnergy Fix Dec 2021 and saving just £71 per month.  The short tariff list is appended by this curious footnote:

'The tariffs listed above are the only ones we sell on this site. You may find other tariffs by shopping around.'

Does that mean there are other BG tariffs available via different routes?  If I go to the BG website, as soon as it detects she's an existing customer, I'm left with the above meagre offerings.
Is this a case of 'Brand New Customers Only' or is another game afoot here?

[Deleted User]

Hi,

you would need to do the switch through the comparison site, some of them give a cashback.

MWT

Also do not pay attention to the claimed 'saving' figures.

Do you own calculations based on her current tariff and the rates for the new tariff as the switching sites often make assumptions based on things like reverting to an expensive deemed tariff on the old account and then show savings against that number, not the actual current costs.

Gerry1

Roy1234 said:

 Logging into her British Gas account however it offers fewer options to switch to, the best being the BG HomeEnergy Fix Dec 2021 and saving just £71 per month.  The short tariff list is appended by this curious footnote:
'The tariffs listed above are the only ones we sell on this site. You may find other tariffs by shopping around.'
Does that mean there are other BG tariffs available via different routes?  If I go to the BG website, as soon as it detects she's an existing customer, I'm left with the above meagre offerings.
Is this a case of 'Brand New Customers Only' or is another game afoot here?

Just like insurance companies who use the 'Boiling Frog' technique to rip off loyal customers by steeply increasing their premiums every year, BG and others hide their best offers and give them only to new customers using comparison sites.  They manage to do this so well that even their own staff are in the dark, stating that the 'secret' sister company British Gas X is a scam !

499scammed said:

Just spoken to British Gas as the switch wasn’t going through and they said that British Gas X is an absolute scam they even use their logos etc, it is nothing at all to do with them and they can’t do anything to help. 

RelievedSheff

Switch through a comparison site. We switched from BG to a better BG deal through the MSE Energy Club.

Kitchen_Sink

Roy1234 said:

I'm trying to arrange a new annual energy fix for an elderly relative.  She's with British Gas, likes her smartmeter and costly homecare package, and cannot be persuaded to switch suppliers, so I'm stuck with them.  With this in mind, the Which? site found British Gas's Energy and Boiler Cover May 2021, saving over £250 annually.  Logging into her British Gas account however it offers fewer options to switch to, the best being the BG HomeEnergy Fix Dec 2021 and saving just £71 per month.  The short tariff list is appended by this curious footnote:

'The tariffs listed above are the only ones we sell on this site. You may find other tariffs by shopping around.'

Does that mean there are other BG tariffs available via different routes?  If I go to the BG website, as soon as it detects she's an existing customer, I'm left with the above meagre offerings.
Is this a case of 'Brand New Customers Only' or is another game afoot here?

I'm not sure why Which? is showing you that tariff.
Best to stick with Ofgem accredited comparison sites.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/you-switch-gas-electricity/

MSE (which uses Ofgem accredited parent site, MoneySuperMarket as their data source) indicates that tariff is for new customers only
https://clubs.moneysavingexpert.com/cheapenergyclub/register?isCollectiveSwitchRegistration=true&target=/cheapenergyclub/results?sort=allFixedOrCappedTariffs&sort=great

If you subscribe with the correct details, MSE will not show you that tariff.

Roy1234

Thanks for all your replies.  The tariff appears one that Which cannot 'help you switch to', i.e. nothing for them.  I'll have a look at the MSE switch service and report back.  Yes, I absolutely hate the games played with loyal customers.  This lady is 80, won't look at/use the internet, seems to like watching her 'smartmeter savings' and remains loyal.  Well, we all know what loyalty gets you nowadays.

Roy1234

OK tried the MSE Cheap Energy Club but the cheap BG tariff isn't there.  Why would Which show it then?

[Deleted User]

Hi,

it's maybe hiding it, from last weeks newsletter:

 For those who want a name they know, the new dual-fuel British Gas Energy and Boiler Cover May 2021v4 1yr fix is the cheapest Big 6 tariff on the market. It's for new custs only and comes with a year's boiler cover included (this normally costs £30/yr, so cancel it after the year if you want to avoid that).

Gerry1

Kitchen_Sink said:

Roy1234 said:

I'm trying to arrange a new annual energy fix for an elderly relative.  She's with British Gas, likes her smartmeter and costly homecare package, and cannot be persuaded to switch suppliers, so I'm stuck with them.  With this in mind, the Which? site found British Gas's Energy and Boiler Cover May 2021, saving over £250 annually.  Logging into her British Gas account however it offers fewer options to switch to, the best being the BG HomeEnergy Fix Dec 2021 and saving just £71 per month.  The short tariff list is appended by this curious footnote:
'The tariffs listed above are the only ones we sell on this site. You may find other tariffs by shopping around.'

I'm not sure why Which? is showing you that tariff.
Best to stick with Ofgem accredited comparison sites.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/you-switch-gas-electricity/
MSE (which uses Ofgem accredited parent site, MoneySuperMarket as their data source) indicates that tariff is for new customers only
https://clubs.moneysavingexpert.com/cheapenergyclub/register?isCollectiveSwitchRegistration=true&target=/cheapenergyclub/results?sort=allFixedOrCappedTariffs&sort=great
If you subscribe with the correct details, MSE will not show you that tariff.

If you go straight to Energylinx (one of the Ofgem accredited comparison sites that you recommend) and tell it you are with British Gas, it will happily show you British Gas's Energy and Boiler Cover May 2021.  As it jolly well should, existing customers should be made aware that they are being price gouged; they can always leave, switch to a different provider without exit fees and switch back to BG.

Bang goes your advice ! 

Roy1234

OK, so Energylinx will only show the desired May 2021 tariff if I deselect 'ones we can help you switch with', otherwise it's hidden.

And if I go straight to BG, they hide the tariff from current customers.  So, back where I started?