British Gas see's profits of £2million a day

British Gas was dubbed a ‘recession-free zone’ yesterday for scooping profits of £2million a day from its ten million customers who were forced to keep the heating on during months of dismal weather.

The company triggered a furious reaction when it said its profits for the first six months of 2012 had jumped by 23 per cent to £345million.

British Gas revealed it had made £64million more from its residential customers than during the first half of last year.
Unions accused the company, Britain’s biggest energy giant, of ‘sidestepping austerity Britain’.

Last night, British Gas ignored a clamour of calls to cut its rates, or to pledge not to raise them for the rest of the year, like some of its rivals, such as E.on.

In 2003, a typical family spent £530 a year on their annual ‘dual fuel’ bill, which includes gas and electricity.

Today the same family would pay £1,260 a year, despite using exactly the same amount of fuel, according to the watchdog Consumer Focus.

In May, British Gas’s parent company, Centrica, which revealed profits of £1.4billion, said wholesale energy prices for next winter had increased, warning the trend for tariffs ‘remains upwards’.

Audrey Gallacher, director of energy at Consumer Focus, said the ruthless tactics of profit- hungry energy giants had led to a major breakdown in trust with their customers.

Utility companies were suspiciously quick at passing on rising wholesale costs to consumers, but slow to drop prices when they fell, she said.

‘Hard-pressed consumers will be shocked to see such a big rise in profits when British Gas has been warning of the need for price increases,’ she
added.

‘The disconnection between profits and prices risks deepening consumer distrust over energy bills.’

Consumer Focus chief executive Mike O’Connor said the energy industry seemed to be ‘a recession-free zone’.

He said he would like to say to British Gas: ‘You’re making £2million every day of the week; I think it’s about time you gave consumers a break.’
But Sam Laidlaw, chief executive of Centrica, will not struggle to pay his energy bill, unlike many of his customers who are battling to cope with pay freezes, pay cuts or redundancy.

Last year, he scooped a pay package of £1.29million – and was also eligible for a discount of his energy bill of up to £684.

Last night, British Gas refused to reveal whether Mr Laidlaw took the staff discount, but said it had been scrapped this year.

Caroline Flint, the shadow energy secretary, said: ‘People will not understand why just a couple of months ago British Gas was threatening more price hikes this winter, while it has seen profits soar.

‘The public will be getting a raw deal if they are forced  to stomach even higher bills and bear the cost for investment  in our energy infrastructure, while the big energy companies get away with making more  profits and paying out more to their shareholders.’

Mike Jeram, head of business at the union, Unison, said: ‘British Gas seems to have sidestepped austerity Britain and passed the pain of the double-dip recession onto their domestic customers.

‘How can it be right that families across the UK are suffering from pay freezes, job cuts and struggle to pay their fuel bills, at the same time as the company is posting a profit hike?

‘We need strong regulation and government action to protect families and pensioners from profiteering.’

26/07/2012 – Dailymail.co.uk

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Nine in ten customers say gas and electricity statements are too confusing

Customers could have lost hundreds of pounds because household bills are too complicated for them to understand, researchers claimed today.
Utility firms are confusing consumers with energy, phone and water bills they cannot follow, a survey found.
Energy suppliers were accused of being the worst offenders, with 82 per cent of customers surveyed claiming they found electricity or gas charges more baffling than any other bill.

Eighty-six per cent of those questioned said energy bills were too complicated, with 76 per cent saying the statements used too much jargon and 71 per cent claiming they could not find the information they needed.
Worryingly, almost half of survey respondents said they feared they had lost money because an energy bill was too difficult to understand.
Comparison website uSwitch branded the quality of bills received by millions of households in Britain 'shocking'.

It said companies were guilty of sending bills and statements that were confusing, overly-complicated and full of jargon, leaving many consumers unable to tell whether there had been a mistake or not.
The study claimed confusing energy bills leave consumers vulnerable to issues such as overcharging or being on the wrong product or service for their needs.
Consumers were overcharged by £6billion on household bills last year and 95 per cent of cases were noticed by consumers themselves rather than the companies concerned.
However, the survey found companies were taking steps to improve bills, with energy suppliers leading the way.
Almost half of consumers said energy bills had become more customer-friendly over the 12 months.
A third of respondents said the same for home telephone bills and a quarter of those surveyed agreed that broadband and water bills were becoming easier to understand.
Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com, said: 'Consumers are spending thousands of pounds a year on household bills - the least they should expect is for them to be easy to understand.
'At a time when money is tight, households need to be able to account for every penny spent.

'Bills that leave them confused and potentially out of pocket are not worth the paper they're printed on.
'The difference in the quality of household bills is astonishing, with some sectors such as banking and personal finance leading the way in giving people clear and simple information that they can act upon.
'At the opposite end of the spectrum are energy suppliers.

'However, even here there is some good news with almost half of consumers saying that energy bills have become more customer-friendly in the last year.
'This is a step in the right direction as a well-written, clear and concise bill should leave consumers feeling empowered and in control.
'In the meanwhile, despite the difficulties, it's important that consumers continue to check their household bills carefully to ensure that they are not being overcharged and that they are on the correct deal or service for their needs.'

23/07/2012 - Dailymail.co.uk

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Households at risk of losing energy discounts

Consumer groups yesterday waned that government plans to offer fewer, simpler tarrifs will leave many people “much worse off” as energy companies scrap discounts and cheaper online deals.

The warning comes as the Prime Minister prepares to meet the bosses of Britain’s biggest energy companies to discuss soaring gas and electricity bills, which remain at near highs of £1,300 a year per household.

However, the Daily Telegraph has learned that major suppliers have already begun quietly removing their best tariffs from the market, including many “fixed” and online saver deals.

According to Uswitch, the price comparison website, hundreds of thousands of British Gas, E.On and EDF customers have seen the very cheapest bills rise by an average of £249 since September 2010, a third more than customers on standard tarrifs.

In a second blow for bill-payers Ofgem, the energy regulator, is trying to abolish discounts worth up to £130 for around 20 million customers on standard gas and electricity deals.

Four in five British homes are on these deals, qualifying for discounts if they have “dual fuel” accounts, settle bills promptly and opt for paperless billing.
Under current plans, customers on these tariffs would no longer get money off for any of these options.

They would also lose discounts for using energy at off-peak times, collecting loyalty points or low consumption rates.

The plans were drawn up by Ofgem, after the Prime Minister last year urged companies to “clear up their bewildering array of tariffs and special offers”.
Mr Cameron and Chris Huhne, the former Energy Secretary, suggested simplifying deals would lead more people to switch their supplier and ultimately save people money.

Since then, Ofgem has argued that scrapping discounts on standard tariffs will give a single clear rate that can be quickly compared across all suppliers.
However, it also acknowledges the loss of discounts risks “frustrating a significant number of consumers”.

The energy regulator’s own research admits it “could attract a backlash from people who could blame Ofgem for increasing their bills”.
The proposals have also been criticised by groups such as Consumer Focus, which argues the loss of existing discounts could leave some groups of customers “much worse off”.

Ian Peters, managing director of British Gas Energy, warns of “unintended consequences” if the plans are allowed to go ahead.
He said many customers would “immediately lose cash discounts” of almost £70 a year for online and duel fuel accounts.
Many could see further bill increases by losing prompt payment, off-peak or other discounts.

The Government is under pressure to encourage people to shop around for good deals, after the level of people switching supplier this year dropped to an all-time low.

It argues getting rid of loss-leading bargains could help small suppliers break into a market dominated by the “Big Six” – British Gas, E.ON, npower, Scottish Power, SSE and EDF Energy.
Millions of standard tariff customers set to lose their discounts could also be more likely to shop around for bargain “fixed price” deals from alternative suppliers.

However, many of the best discount deals have been withdrawn after companies responded to Mr Cameron’s calls for a simpler market.
A British Gas spokesman said scrapping some of its cheapest deals improved tariffs for the majority of customers.
“Whilst our current online products aren’t as discounted as they have been it also means that we have managed to keep costs down for the majority of our standard customers,” she said. “We think this is a fairer way to run our business.”

The proposals have also been criticised by groups such as Consumer Focus, which argues the loss of existing discounts could leave some groups of customers “much worse off”.

“There is a serious risk that the proposals could entrench the divisions between passive and engaged consumers,” Consumer Focus said.
The consumer group argues people who are not used to switching supplier will end up with higher bills as they will remain trapped on“restrictive and stagnant” standard deals.

Tom Lyon, an energy expert at uSwitch, said some good energy deals do still exist and people must be encouraged to shop around more.

“The fact is that the number of consumers switching has already plummeted to an all-time-low,” he said. “The market needs consumers to engage and consumers need an incentive in the form of attractive 'best buy’ deals to do so.”

A spokesman for Ofgem said the regulator is still considering the plan to scrap discounts for standard tariff customers under its Retail Market Review.

“In light of the consultation responses we have received, we are currently refining our proposals and this includes looking at issues around simpler tariffs,” he said. “We will publish our updated proposals before the winter.”

The Government said it “fully supports the direction of Ofgem’s retail market review” in favour of a simpler tariff structure and greater transparency.

06/07/2012 - telegraph.co.uk

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Android 'closing sales gap on Apple iPhone'

The impending launch of the Samsung Galaxy S3 was the single biggest rival device impeding the iPhone, but the 4S still accounted for nearly a fifth of all sales in June. The FT reported that this was down from a quarter at the beginning of March.

The newspaper suggested that anecdotal evidence from network operators also suggested that Apple fans, who are consistently the most loyal among manufacturers, were themselves waiting for a new version of the iOS operating system that is due in the Autumn.

The data from GfK said the S3 model took approximately 18 per cent of the market in its first week in June. It is set to launch in America in the coming days. However, GfK data does not include sales from Apple's shops or from its website. It also doesn't include corporate sales for any manufacturer.

GfK noted, however, that S3 sales had sent its predecessor, the S2, falling from 9 per cent of all devices to 6 per cent in the two months to mid-June.

As has been the case for some time, Samsung’s combined sales still outstrip Apple’s, standing at above 30 per cent, although that also accounts for popular models such as the large-screen Galaxy Note device and phones such as the Ace.

The Android operating system is also, overall, the most popular OS. It accounts for four out of ten smartphones in use, and more than half of all those sold. The majority of British phone users also now use smartphones.

03.07/2012 - Telegraph.co.uk

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