BG tariff oddities after collective Nov26 switch

bodorange

I was already on a BG tariff when I opted in to the energy club's BG Collective Nov26. All seemed to go smoothly. Now, looking at my tariff details in my BG account online, I see two issues:

Though my elec meter is dual rate, BG and other providers have still supported a single rate tariff. In fact I was on a single rate tariff (also with BG) immediately prior to the switch, and this formed the basis for my comparison calculation.

Now, following the switch to the Collective Nov26 tariff, I am on dual rate electric.

Also, the dual rates in the tariff confirmation email from BG don't tally with those shown in my account online.

The dual vs single tariff leaves me slightly out of pocket and the differing rates between email & those displayed in the online account add to the confusion.

Does anyone else have experience of either of these issues?

Thanks.

Alnat1

Check that the difference in rates isn't simply 5% VAT which might be added to one figure and not the other.

[Deleted User]

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6657015/bg-tariff-oddities-after-collective-nov26-switch

One of the issues experienced when switching/transferring via any comparison site, (and even online with some suppliers) is that the comparison site knows what type of electricity meter you have, and only offers deals suited to that type of meter.

i.e

single rate meter → single rate tariffs

dual rate E7 meter → dual rate E7 tariffs.

Some suppliers will allow you to choose a single rate tariff with a dual rate E7 meter (usually they just allocate the same single rate to both registries), but you need to specifically negotiate this direct with the supplier.

I recall if you apply direct via the BG website, then they allow you to choose whether you want single or dual rate if you have a E7 meter.

A further complication you have is that you chose a CEC exclusive tariff, so if you contact BG, their frontline customer support staff do not appear to have been granted access to view that particular tariff (according to posts on this site by others). More widely, if you manually amend any deal direct with a retailer after going through any cashback site, your cashback may be declined.

I'm currently assisting someone looking to switch to a different supplier & tariff and they have the same issue.

In their situation, they could switch direct with the supplier (and get the single rate), or they could go via the CEC and get £50 from the supplier plus a possible £20 from the CEC.

I've shown them that even the £50 (and hopefully the total £70) by going via the CEC will far exceed the anticipated oncost for them on a dual rate tariff compared to the equivalent single rate over the 12m term

ETA: It is possible with some comparison sites such as uSwitch to force a change of meter type, so you see single rate tariffs with a dual rate E7 meter.

I did try once to then apply via uSwitch, but the switch request was later cancelled stating it was an incompatible meter type. Unfortunately that was to a supplier who it turned out does not allow you to have a single rate tariff with an E7 meter (often referred to as totalisation). I've never tried it again, so not sure if it would work with a supplier that does support totalisation.

bodorange

Yet another potential gotcha by the sound of things.

It doesn't though account for differences in rates quoted in the switch confirmation email from BG vs those in my last bill (06/02/26) and currently shown in the online account.

A quick comparison, accounting for the fact the rates in the email and those online are inc VAT whilst those in billing are ex VAT.

gas rate: 1.5% higher

elec rate 1: 3.3% higher

elec rate 2: 3.9% higher

electricity standing charge is 6% higher.

gas standing charge 18% higher.

I thought I must be missing something. So, for sanity's sake here's a specific:

gas standing charge:

Tariff confirmation email: 21.71p per day (inc VAT).

Recent bill (billing period entirely within the current tariff): 24.572p (ex VAT), therefore 25.801p inc VAT.

18.8% higher

bodorange

Re economy of dual vs single rate, I calculated a few years ago that, at the prevailing dual vs single rates, the break even occurred at 40% low rate use. It used to work out 35%. So I switched, possibly temporarily, to single rate. Though now I'm back on dual rate for the time being :-(. Dealing with BG is painful. I was overcharged 350GBP in 2024 and had a hell of time getting refunded.

[Deleted User]

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81900540#Comment_81900540

The break even of E7 vs single rate varies by the specifics of each supplier/tariff.

bodorange

It does seem to vary. I just compared the single and dual rate versions of the BG Fixed Tariff Feb27 v8 tariff. The break even, assuming similar standing charges (which they aren't quite) is around 32%. I've been using 100 * (dual_hi_rate - single_rate) / (dual_hi_rate - dual_lo_rate) to arrive at those figures.

On the tariff issue I posted about above, BG have acknowledged there is a discrepancy but not offered an explanation or solution yet. Hoping it's not as painful as the last time I tried to resolve their billing error. Looking back, I should have raised a complaint on that occasion as it needed loads of back and forth on their chat and by email to get them to acknowledge the overcharging.