is this a rip off by british gas? again?

stevehanks

having recently got my gas bill i noticed that the bill was split in 2 parts although the 2 parts were added together as on final total. when i queried this with bg they said that it was due to there being a price increase on january 17th 2008. this has resulted in there being 2 higher rates and 2 cheaper rates on the bill (you pay a higher amount for the first x amount of units and a cheaper rate for the rest). i was also told by bg that as i was a price protected customer that i would not be affected by the price increase which is true as my unit prices are the same before and after the increase. the rip off bit is that there should be only the first so many units at the higher rate and the rest at the lower rate. i reckon i am about £20 out of pocket to which bg have said basicly tough. there has been no response from an e mail i sent them either. my parents bill is also split like mine, is yours? and are you being what i perceive to be ripped off? steve.

Cardew

Sorry I don't understand your post.

If you are on a BG Price Protection tariff your price should remain the same.

I am on BG Price Protection 2010 for both gas and electricity(for 2 dwellings) and everything has remained exactly the same as it has for the past 2+ years i.e. same price per kWh, same number of tier 1 units, same discount!

The Jan 17th 2008 price increase for other BG tariffs had no effect whatsoever; in fact I had the usual letter from BG 'congratulating me on being on their cheapest tariff and telling me that my prices would not change.

I can only think that you are not now on a Price protected tariff. Could you have been on the 2007 Price Protection tariff that has now expired? If so you will be on their standard tariff.

Can you tell us exactly what tariff you are on? Also what are your old and new gas prices from your bill(i.e. before VAT) and how you pay - direct debit or quarterly?

SwanJon

How many days was the bill for? How many units were charged at the higher rate?
Before the change it should have been about 12.52 kWh/day.
If you are now on new prices it is about 7.5 kWh/day.

stevehanks

my bill read that from 21st dec 2007 (last meter reading) to 17th jan 2008 that i used an estimated 1913.65 kwh and they charged the first 315 @ 4.588 pence per kwh and the next 1562.65 @ 2.592 pence per kwh. this bill then proceeds to read that from the 18th jan 2008 to march 25th 2008 (meter read) that i used 4250.11 kwh which they proceeded to charge me 4.588 for the first 852 kwh and 2.592 for the rest of the kwh. when i phoned them to ask why the 2 higher rates and my bill being split into 2 parts for the same billing quarter they replied that there had been a price rise on january 18th, i replied that i was price protected until 2009 to which they agreed butn it was the way they did their bills. i explained that my bill should only be one and not split so that i should have the first part at the higher rate and the rest of the units a the lower rate to which the lass on the end of the phone got confused! she then went to ask her supervisor about the bill to which i got the reply that it was just the way it was and could not be changed. hope this explains a bit more, steve.

Cardew

You are on price protection December 2009(not to be confused with the earlier price protection 2009) and the prices you give above are before VAT has been added.

On your tariff you pay at the higher rate for 4,572kWh per year. This works out at 12.517kWh per day.

From 21 Dec 2007 to Mar 25th 2008 is 94 days. So you should have been charged for 1,176kWh at the higher rate and you have been charged for 1,167kWh (852 + 315) - the leap year accounts for the very slight difference; but it is pretty close.

If you take the two separate periods for the 315kWh and 852kWh - they are almost exactly correct as well.

I can't explain why they have programed their computer to present bills as they do.

However I cannot understand your reasoning that you have been "ripped off" or are "out of pocket by £20."

It seems to me that you have been charged for the correct number of primary units(tier 1) for both the total period and each of the split periods.

As the difference between the Tier 1 units and Tier 2 units is 1.996p(4.588 - 2.592) for you to have been ripped off by £20 you would have had to been charged for an extra 1,002kWh at the higher rate; and you were only charged for a total of 1,167 - which means you believe for over 3 months you should have only been charged for 165kWh at the higher rate.

I believe BG have got it absolutely right and you have got it wrong.

Comments?

stevehanks

hi, i hear what you are saying, but am i right in thinking that if it was presented as the bills are usually that i would maybe end up with less units at the higher rate and more at the lower rate? if you get what i mean? i thank you for your replies:beer: and look forward to your next reply. steve.

Cardew

stevehanks wrote: »

hi, i hear what you are saying, but am i right in thinking that if it was presented as the bills are usually that i would maybe end up with less units at the higher rate and more at the lower rate? if you get what i mean? i thank you for your replies:beer: and look forward to your next reply. steve.

No it would not!

You should be charged for 1,143 units(kWhs) at the higher rate each quarter.
That works out at 12.517 a day.

So for the 94 days(just over a quarter) you were charged for 1,167 units.

Had there not been a price rise(for other tariffs) your bill would have said:

21 Dec 07 to 25 March 2008 you are charged for 1,167 units at the higher rate. Instead it split the bill into 2 periods and still charged you for 1,167 units.