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[CurlyWhirly]

This is just a warning to other people that migrating back to British Gas (or even trying them out for the first time) may not be a wise move as they used a crafty tactic with me  

I was with EDF Energy and after reading that you can make substantial savings of around 6% by moving to an online tariff I contacted EDF and asked if I could be put on a online tariff.
They said that because I was already an existing customer, I couldn't do this.

So I moved to the British Gas Websaver 6 tariff in late February of this year.

Last week I had my first online bill and was astonished to learn that I had been put on their standard tariff i.e. making no saving at all and in fact I was saving British Gas money on postage as they didn't have to send me electricity and gas bills via Royal Mail !

I contacted British Gas last week and asked them why they had done this, they said that this was a technical error - yeah right  

Anyway after threatening to leave them after a breach of contract, they have applied a 6% discount on my first quarterly bill and have now put me on to their Websaver 7 online tariff (as Websaver 6 is obsolete now)

This isn't a rant as it's all sorted now just a warning what may happen if you migrate to another energy company and are not on the ball  

[chrissie]

Good job you're on the ball Mike, a lot of firms seem to be employing crafty tactics and I guess some peeps don't realise it or take much notice.  You really have to have your wits about you now don't you, guess the maxim would be don't trust em....ever! 

[UncleUB]

Tbh I wouldn't touch British Gas with a barge pole.Saying that all the energy companies are extortionists imo.

We are with EDF at present.We have their online dual fuel saver 5 tariff which has been replaced now.When I put our usage in the Uswitch checker there is still nothing cheaper for me.

I must admit their customer service is very good,you always get through pretty quick and all the staff I have spoken to have been Geordies.

There are more energy price plans on the market than you can remember.I think they keep on changing regularly to confuse the consumer.

As for switching,if you have switched before tbh I don't think you will make big savings,but anyone who has never switched and doesn't use an online tariff I think you could make considerable savings.

Personally I think the online tariffs are better as you get an email when your readings are due,just login to your account,submit the readings and next day (or sooner in some cases)you can view your bill

[silversurfer44]

Well I use the old folks Staywarm scheme. It's not as good as it was when it was run  by the charity, however, I know in advance how much I will pay for the year and never have to worry about how much I have used. I like many others don't use energy just because I don't have to pay extra if I use a bit extra so the following years increase is always in line with any other tariff, it's set for the entire following year.
I have checked with the comparison websites, as I keep a rough check on how much I use, and there is none that could make a real saving. Plus when the cold sellers come to the door I just say Staywarm and they go away.

[UncleUB]

Plus when the cold sellers come to the door I just say Staywarm and they go away.

I just say I only switched a month ago,which usually stops them in their tracks.If that doesn't work the baseball bat usually does the trick 

[tuftedduck]

@ AdrianH

>>they regularly lie like this << ............it may be an idea to amend that comment, or at least the wording of it.
I would not wish to see either you or the site being faced with a libel suit.

[CurlyWhirly]

You really have to have your wits about you now don't you, guess the maxim would be don't trust em....ever! 

I think your right  

The idea with privatisation was that it would increase competition resulting in lower bills, unfortunately, this doesn't seem to have happened.

The energy companies are quick enough to put up your bills when the wholesale price of energy rises but are slow to respond when the wholesale price drops.

The cynic in me believes that it was a delibrate ploy to charge me more for my energy and hoping that I didn't notice  

[CurlyWhirly]

Tbh I wouldn't touch British Gas with a barge pole.Saying that all the energy companies are extortionists imo.

We are with EDF at present.We have their online dual fuel saver 5 tariff which has been replaced now.When I put our usage in the Uswitch checker there is still nothing cheaper for me.

I must admit their customer service is very good,you always get through pretty quick and all the staff I have spoken to have been Geordies.

There are more energy price plans on the market than you can remember.I think they keep on changing regularly to confuse the consumer.

As for switching,if you have switched before tbh I don't think you will make big savings,but anyone who has never switched and doesn't use an online tariff I think you could make considerable savings.

Personally I think the online tariffs are better as you get an email when your readings are due,just login to your account,submit the readings and next day (or sooner in some cases)you can view your bill

I would have stayed with EDF Energy but they refused to put me on an online tariff hence the reason why I left.

It seems a crazy policy as it results in people migrating away when they realise that they can save money by switching to an online tariff 

I used to collect Nectar points when I was with EDF Energy and I can no longer do this 

Never mind, when my contract runs out with British Gas in July 2011, I might go back to EDF Energy as they may then allow me to go on to an online tariff as I will no longer be an existing customer 

I agree with you that managing your energy online is more convenient and it's no problem not having bills sent as you can print them off.

[CurlyWhirly]

British Gas are  incompetent they regularly mess up like this, I am another that would never ever use them again under any circumstances.

Time for everyone to change and get a real saving, take a look here >> http://www.atcostenergy.com/  << this is rapidly becoming a reality, the license is now in place and trials are to begin soon.

If they pull it off bills will be considerably less than the mainstream suppliers who will all be forced to drop prices or go out of business.

I replied to your other thread about this - interesting.

[sevenlayermuddle]

British gas cynics may want to be aware they have another (in my view) hidden agenda currently being rolled out, and that is the ability to remotely turn off your supply at the flick of a switch.  Until now, it has been very difficult for them do so so, as restoring the supply would have meant a gas-man calling at every single household to check out the supply when it was restored, making sure any pilots etc are lit.

But if you accept one of their 'smart meters', even though you haven't signed anything, you are deemed to have accepted a change to the T&C allowing them to disconnect you.  I, for one, do not think BG are sufficiently competent to be allowed that degree of empowerment.

Even more worryingly, it came out in the news last winter that UK energy suppliers stock-pile only a few days' gas storage in winter, against the several months stored by other European countries.    Assuming they're not going to rectify that problem, and if we have another bad winter, it would be entirely conceivable that BG may find themselves 'forced' to disconnect people as the supply dries up, which will actually be fine (for BG) as it'll be nice and easy for them to do.

[CurlyWhirly]

But if you accept one of their 'smart meters', even though you haven't signed anything, you are deemed to have accepted a change to the T&C allowing them to disconnect you.  I, for one, do not think BG are sufficiently competent to be allowed that degree of empowerment.

Nor me as they couldn't manage to put me on to their Websaver tariff without me getting involved.

[poppy]

Well I use the old folks Staywarm scheme.

Yes, we have it too and you are correct - it has gone up enormously despite the fact that in the news it says that prices are coming down.
Since Eon took it over from Powergen it hasn't been so good and I have the feeling that they are trying to discourage people from staying on it.
We have just gone onto a slightly different version for certain categories of people but it has still jumped up by just under £25 per month.
It isn't easy to do a comparison because although we have the meters read they don't send documentation with usage.
If you telephone them they still often say that you are a high user of gas and/or electricity (or both) but I can't understand why this should be mentioned at all because when we took it out the deal was that you could use what you liked.
Anyway, I like the security of knowing what the bill is going to be and not worrying about using the heating and light. I suspect that it would probably be higher if it was metered.