Peoples Energy - moved to British Gas - huge energy bill

NaomiWhite

Hi 

I am not sure if anyone was moved from Peoples Energy to British Gas when they went into liquidation and has had the biggest shock in the increase in rates?

I called yesterday to set-up my Direct Debit and after submitting a meter readying was told that for 46 days worth of gas and electric I owed them £556.59!  After trying to unpick it with the customer service representative I discovered that the tariffs are so much higher than Peoples Energy and there is nothing I can do about it until my account is fully transferred from Peoples Energy. I asked when this would be as I would not be staying with British Gas and they said they do not know, it's all in the hands of Ofgem.  I feel very disappointed that I have moved to an Energy company that I have not chosen with rates that are very high.  

British Gas Rates v's People Energy

Gas Unit Rate; 4.19 v's 2.76 p/kWh
Gas Standing Charge Rate 26.12 v's 22.2 p/d

Elec Unit Rate; 20.68 v's 13.92 p/kWh 
Elec Standing Charge Rate 24.11 v's 22.2 p/d

Based on the above they wanted me to put my Direct Debit at a rate of £220 per month £150.61 per month and was in approximated £400 credit with Peoples Energy. 

Is anyone else in this same situation?  Is there anything I can do? I need to move as soon as I can and find a more competitive provider.

Thanks for any advice.

JJ_Egan

This is Oil and LPG section .

Rates have jumped a great deal in the last few months .

let us know if you can find a cheap supplier ,

Credit will be refunded eventually .

Robin9

Could you give us the meter reads from your bills please - include the letters A, C or E.  In part this looks like a big catch up bill now that PE/BG has received an actual read from yourself.

MSE_ForumTeam5

We've moved this to the main Energy board.

QrizB

NaomiWhite said:

Hi

Hello and welcome.

NaomiWhite said:

I am not sure if anyone was moved from Peoples Energy to British Gas when they went into liquidation and has had the biggest shock in the increase in rates?

British Gas Rates v's People Energy
Gas Unit Rate; 4.19 v's 2.76 p/kWh, Gas Standing Charge Rate 26.12 v's 22.2 p/d
Elec Unit Rate; 20.68 v's 13.92 p/kWh, Elec Standing Charge Rate 24.11 v's 22.2 p/d

People's Energy went bust because they were selling energy for less than it costs. BG are still selling you energy for less than it costs. The rates you have quoted are Ofgem's capped rates and you're unlikely to find anywhere cheaper before Spring 2022.

A fair price for gas would currently be around 8p/kWh, and for electricity around 30p/kWh.

NaomiWhite said:

Based on the above they wanted me to put my Direct Debit at a rate of £220 per month £150.61 per month and was in approximated £400 credit with Peoples Energy.

As others have said, this might be a fair DD or it might not. How much gas and electricity do you expect to use in a year?

NaomiWhite said:

Is anyone else in this same situation?  Is there anything I can do? I need to move as soon as I can and find a more competitive provider.

There are several million people in exactly the same position as you, having been switched from a failed supplier to a new one and moved from a loss-making tariff onto a slightly less loss-making one. The best you can do is stick with BG until wholesale energy costs fall, which we're all hoping will happen once winter is over.

Astria

Have to agree with QrizB, I'll be very surprised if you manage to find a cheaper provider than BG at the moment. Yes, it's far more than you've been paying but it's still less than what you would be paying if OFGEM had not have capped it. 

jbryce

NaomiWhite said:

Hi 

I am not sure if anyone was moved from Peoples Energy to British Gas when they went into liquidation and has had the biggest shock in the increase in rates?

I called yesterday to set-up my Direct Debit and after submitting a meter readying was told that for 46 days worth of gas and electric I owed them £556.59!  After trying to unpick it with the customer service representative I discovered that the tariffs are so much higher than Peoples Energy and there is nothing I can do about it until my account is fully transferred from Peoples Energy. I asked when this would be as I would not be staying with British Gas and they said they do not know, it's all in the hands of Ofgem.  I feel very disappointed that I have moved to an Energy company that I have not chosen with rates that are very high.  

British Gas Rates v's People Energy

Gas Unit Rate; 4.19 v's 2.76 p/kWh
Gas Standing Charge Rate 26.12 v's 22.2 p/d

Elec Unit Rate; 20.68 v's 13.92 p/kWh 
Elec Standing Charge Rate 24.11 v's 22.2 p/d

Based on the above they wanted me to put my Direct Debit at a rate of £220 per month £150.61 per month and was in approximated £400 credit with Peoples Energy. 

Is anyone else in this same situation?  Is there anything I can do? I need to move as soon as I can and find a more competitive provider.

Thanks for any advice.

For someone with average usage, prices will be the same everywhere. If you use more than average, go for a rate with high standing charge. If you use less than average, go for a rate with a low or zero standing charge.
It is winter, so likely you will be using more than average at the moment.

Others may disagree with me, but when PFP went bust, I switched the same day to another supplier.
That supplier, Entice Energy, went bust yesterday, and I've switched again. I'll deal with the fall-out when it happens, but the money is in my bank account, not theirs.

MaryNB

NaomiWhite said:

Hi 

I am not sure if anyone was moved from Peoples Energy to British Gas when they went into liquidation and has had the biggest shock in the increase in rates?

I called yesterday to set-up my Direct Debit and after submitting a meter readying was told that for 46 days worth of gas and electric I owed them £556.59!  After trying to unpick it with the customer service representative I discovered that the tariffs are so much higher than Peoples Energy and there is nothing I can do about it until my account is fully transferred from Peoples Energy. I asked when this would be as I would not be staying with British Gas and they said they do not know, it's all in the hands of Ofgem.  I feel very disappointed that I have moved to an Energy company that I have not chosen with rates that are very high.  

British Gas Rates v's People Energy

Gas Unit Rate; 4.19 v's 2.76 p/kWh
Gas Standing Charge Rate 26.12 v's 22.2 p/d

Elec Unit Rate; 20.68 v's 13.92 p/kWh 
Elec Standing Charge Rate 24.11 v's 22.2 p/d

Based on the above they wanted me to put my Direct Debit at a rate of £220 per month £150.61 per month and was in approximated £400 credit with Peoples Energy. 

Is anyone else in this same situation?  Is there anything I can do? I need to move as soon as I can and find a more competitive provider.

Thanks for any advice.

That was an very low rate you had with People's Energy compared to current prices. There's no chance you'll get that anywhere else. The standard variable tariff is as good as you'll get these days. 

Were you giving regular meter readings to People's Energy? Even with the increase in unit rates, £556.59 is an enormous amount to pay for a month and a half. 

wild666

£556.59 is my yearly usage when I was with Avro, now it is about £3 under my yearly usage given that I now don't leave anything in standby. My usage has dropped from 2200 kWh down to 1400 kWh.