british gas standing charges

magggs

hi i wonder if anyone can help or shine a light on british gas standing charges.  i have been on the standard variable tariff and the standing charges are 57.44p for electric and 31.97 for gas, crazy expensive anyway in my opinion but it is what it is.

they advertised a new price promise tariff which looked ok so signed up but when ive looked closer the standing charge for electric is 71.66p and gas 31.97p.  what i want to know is how can they do this? surely a standing charge is supposedly the cost involved to get the utilities to you, so nothing has changed, they dont have to do anything, just change the tariff so how can they get away with hiking the charge on a "cheaper tariff"?

is it not the case that whatever the tariff the standing charge remains the same? how can the same company providing the same service to the same property can vary the cost i really dont understand as i really did think this was a fixed thing.

has anyone else signed up to this new tariff and not noticed this or has anyone costed it and is it not the cheaper option as now im a bit confused.

any help would be really appreciated as im now thinking i shouldnt have changed but im still in the cooling off period so could go back
cheers in advance
mags x

MattMattMattUK

magggs said:

hi i wonder if anyone can help or shine a light on british gas standing charges.  i have been on the standard variable tariff and the standing charges are 57.44p for electric and 31.97 for gas, crazy expensive anyway in my opinion but it is what it is.

they advertised a new price promise tariff which looked ok so signed up but when ive looked closer the standing charge for electric is 71.66p and gas 31.97p.  what i want to know is how can they do this? surely a standing charge is supposedly the cost involved to get the utilities to you, so nothing has changed, they dont have to do anything, just change the tariff so how can they get away with hiking the charge on a "cheaper tariff"?

is it not the case that whatever the tariff the standing charge remains the same? how can the same company providing the same service to the same property can vary the cost i really dont understand as i really did think this was a fixed thing.

has anyone else signed up to this new tariff and not noticed this or has anyone costed it and is it not the cheaper option as now im a bit confused.

any help would be really appreciated as im now thinking i shouldnt have changed but im still in the cooling off period so could go back
cheers in advance
mags x

On the SVT both the standing charge and the unit rate are set by Ofgem, on a fixed tariff the supplier can do what they want, but they still have to pay for the all the costs that make up the standing charge and unit rate to the various parties (National Grid, generators, Ofgem, the government, people who do not pay their bills, low income households etc.). If you are choosing a fix it is up to you to run the numbers and see if if will make you financially better off or not based on your individual usage, as well as deciding if you would prefer the certainty of a fix over the risk of the SVT.

magggs

ok, thank you for the clarification, it seems really unfair that the standing charge is not a standard thing that cant be changed , but i guess what else should you expect, giving it with one hand and taking it back with the other.  ill haveta try and figure out which is the better option but thank you for taking the time to explain it to me, it really is apprectiated   

bristolleedsfan

magggs said:

ok, thank you for the clarification, it seems really unfair that the standing charge is not a standard thing that cant be changed , but i guess what else should you expect, giving it with one hand and taking it back with the other.  ill haveta try and figure out which is the better option but thank you for taking the time to explain it to me, it really is apprectiated   

Large suppliers BG, EDF, Octopus  have already launched fixed rate tariff versions that reflect SC increases that will apply to SVR from 1 April together with unit rate reductions.

Cheapest fix with no exit fees according to MSE is Outfox The Market, as of yesterday had not changed SC/UR combination. ( Standing charges considerably cheaper for both fuels before yesterdays OFGEM energy cap announcement)