Irene, British Gas, me and ITV

Yesterday I went to talk to an elderly lady called Irene who lives on a south London housing estate, as part of an ITV News feature on rising energy prices - which was of course sparked by the latest British Gas price-hikes.

She had been put on a pre-pay card some time ago, although she didn't seem to understand why, as previously she'd paid bills. Pre-pay runs on the same tariff as paying quarterly, which is the most expensive, with the added disadvantage that Irene finds it hard to keep a record of what she pays.

She 'could' save about 12% by switching to paying by direct debit - although if she had problems paying bills in the past, British Gas might not agree. And she 'could' save even more by switching to a cheaper supplier - if she had the means of finding out what the cheapest option would be and how to do it.

While journalists and experts like to go on about how easy it is to 'switch and save', not everyone finds it so. This is where the wonderful world of competition and choice breaks down: everyone isn't equally informed or equally able to take advantage of it.

So, is it worth Irene grasping the nettle and maybe getting a relative to help her through the process of switching? Is it worth it for any of us if the company we switch to is just going announce a price-rise in a few weeks’ time?

You can read my answer this question here.

Comments

[jan perry]

British gas have been charging increased prices on estimated gas consumption figures. I challenged my last statement and was re-imbursed with £30 as a gesture. With no evidence on actual gas consumption available as my meter had not been read for about a year it, is impossible for British gas to say how much gas I had used within each price band. When challenged a regional manager told me that it was impossible to read all meters with every gas price change (with 10m plus customers)- hence estimates which it seems can be questioned.

If they gave me £30 as a gesture for raising the question of whether it is in fact legal to do this, and with 10m plus customers, I reckon British Gas owes about £30 million to its customers! Everyone should do what I have done. Perhaps someone should also challenge the legality of imposing price increases on estimated consumption - surely it would be fairer to insist on an increase only after a meter reading!