Latest big fix I’m told not eligible with British Gas

FrugaiMacDugal

BG customer, I switched this morning using CEC at 7.31 and had email from BG at 8.36, switch completed.

MrAlun

I'm currently with Ovo looking to switch to one of the Big Switch options and getting a message telling me I'm not eligible. I don't get why as I pay by DD and I have been signed up to the CEC for years on this same email address.

This is the message I get:

Unfortunately, you're not eligible for this tariff

This may be because it's not compatible with how you pay for energy (eg, it's Direct Debit only, and you pay by cash or cheque). Alternatively, it could be because your email address wasn't registered with Cheap Energy Club or subscribed to the MSE Money Tips email by Friday 26 September. The rules of a Collective Switch state that this Big Switch tariff can only be offered to a defined membership group.

If it's the latter, you've got three options:

• If you receive the MSE Money Tips email (and were signed up by Friday), try restarting the Energy Club sign-up sign-up process using the email address we send the Tips email to.
• If you were already a member of Cheap Energy Club before Friday, but with a different email address, log out and log back in using that email.
• If neither of those apply, scroll down to see the cheapest deals available to you.

mikefarnham

What is Cec?

mikefarnham

Ah! Cheap energy club!

mikefarnham

Yes, very clever. By changing the providers details in the personal information stored on the website the British Gas option then becomes available. Can I just check before entering my name and bank account information as requested, since it now thinks I’m not a British Gas customer that there is no downside for example, that it will not try and charge me an exit fee? Thanks for everyone’s help.

mikefarnham

Presumably in many, although not all, cases the fault is that the programming does not see current subscribers as eligible??

Gigabit1

VoucherMan said:

QrizB said:

There have been a few people with similar poblems.

Have you tried changing your current supplier in the Cheap Energy Club (not in reality!) to one that isn't Octopus?

Try this. It worked for me. 

Just bear in mind the results won't show true savings, so you'll have to do your own maths.

Didn't work for me!

mikefarnham

Mr. Lazy says that, calculators aside, he is just looking at the unit costs and that is enough for him!

mikefarnham

Although, Mr Lazy notes that the standing charge on each fuel is about 10p extra per day therefore totalling about £73 per year.

mikefarnham

Update: thought I would just start by going on the British Gas website to see if I could get them directly to transfer me to the  Collective Nov26 tariff. Having passed swiftly through their chatbot I was then quickly passed to their advisor who tried to fob me off with their ordinary Nov 26 tariff. Although that is rather better than my current one, it is not as good as the collective tariff overall although the staining charges are somewhat lower.

The British Gas operative then employed all of the usual cynical tactics to dispatch me as quickly as possible since the question I was asking was inconvenient or, rather, beyond his remit.

Thus, I changed my provider details on the website and was then able to apply for the British Gas offer. Obviously, then it was necessary to enter a few details as if I were a new British Gas customer including the meter details. It will be interesting to see how it goes if it goes. It states very clearly on the British Gas website that the £50 per fuel early exit charge does not apply if transferring to another British gas tariff. Whether they will try to charge it as the system may now see me as transferring from Octopus who knows?! I certainly will not be out of pocket, even if I were to decide not to argue the toss with them. Nevertheless, there may be other unforeseen wrinkles. Watch this space.