British Gas Business

The British Gas Business Checklist

Security

• Are their prices fully fixed ? Yes
• Do they include metering and transportation costs in the price? Yes
• Do they include FIT and RO and CFD in the price? Yes
• What is their back billing policy? Limited to two years
• Do they require a letter of authority? Yes
• Does the contract lapse on change of tenancy? Yes

Transparency

• Is your contract end date on the invoice? Yes
• Is your termination date on the invoice? No
• When will your renewal letter arrive? 60 days before end date
• When do you need to terminate? At least 30 days before end date
• Do they require termination letter by recorded delivery? Yes
• Will they rollover your contract? No
• How high are the out of contract rates? 19.43p/kWh electricity & 7.38p/kWh gas

Convenience

• Do they mandate Direct Debit payment terms? No
• What are their Direct Debit terms? Variable, Monthly
• Do they offer Cash / Cheque payment terms? Yes, in limited circumstances
• Do they support reduced rate VAT declaration? Yes
• Do they bill monthly or quarterly? Monthly
• Do they provide online billing? No

Services

• Do they install smart meters as part of the supply contract? No
• Do they support existing smart meters with full functionality? Yes
• Do they provide New Connection & Upgrade Services? Yes
• Do they support IGT meters? No for SME but yes for I&C
• Do they support all electricity profiles including half hourly? Yes
• Do they support related and aggregated meters? Yes

Environmental

• Do they offer green and renewable products? No
• What is their Fuel Mix? 31% Gas, 31% Nuclear, 22% Coal, 15% Renewable

Other things to know about British Gas Business:

The Leicester, Cardiff and Oxford based business is:

• Also known as Scottish Gas in Scotland;
• Offers 1-3 year contracts for both electricity and gas;
• Offers a non-standing charge contract option;
• Offers a SWAP product (Single Weighted Average Price) enabling customers with more than 10 NHH sites and consuming more than 100,000 kWh per annum to pay a single unit and standing charge rate across all sites;
• Will backdate rollover contracts where a new fixed contract is entered into with them in a timely manner;
• Unlike many suppliers when they offer a fixed deal it includes the fixing of the third party charges such as metering, transmission and distribution for the duration of the contract;
• Will only consider electricity customers with a credit score (Delphi) of more than 30 and for Gas a score of more than 41;
• Will supply electricity and gas to premises of any size;
• Offers inclusive smart meters for customers with profile 5-8 meters;
• Have recently improved the clarity of their billing, which they believe is now market leading;
• Offers full online account management;
• Provides a personal account manager with one direct phone number to manage requires quickly and effectively;
• Offers discount bundles to customers on products such as boiler servicing contracts;
• Are focusing on environmental sustainability by investing more than £1.5 billion in renewables;

Security

British Gas Business's latest contract terms Click on the following link to access BGB's latest contract terms for business energy customers: BGB's T&Cs Are British Gas Business's contracts fully fixed? British Gas Business operates a policy of fully fixing all elements of their fixed contracts; this includes all third party charges. This is a market leading position and means that when you agree a contract with British Gas Business you are safe in the knowledge that the price will remain at the level agreed throughout the contract.

• Commodity: Inclusive, Fixed
• Transportation: Inclusive, Fixed
• MeteringInclusive, Fixed
• FIT: Inclusive, Fixed (Electricity only)
• RO: Inclusive, Fixed(Electricity only)
• CFD: Inclusive, Fixed&(Electricity only)

British Gas Business however reserves the right to amend the terms of the contract in exceptional circumstances. These include:

• Where a change in law occurs affecting delivery of the contract.
• Where the customer fails to fulfil their obligations under the contract.
• Where gas customers fail to use the stated consumption under the terms of the contract.

To find out more visit our Guide to Fixed Prices.

Back billing and British Gas Business

British Gas Business is signed up to the Energy UK Back Billing standards. BGB reduced the maximum period for which it can back bill a customer to two years in 2013. It is important to note however that this limit only applies if the customer is deemed to have done all that can be done to avoid the back billing in the first place and where the supplier or industry processes are clearly at fault. Like British Gas Business, many suppliers have voluntarily limited their back billing rights to two years and in some cases a single year. However equally a number of suppliers are not signed up to the Energy UK Back Billing standards and therefore, under the Limitations Act, are able to back bill their customers for anything up to 6 years. British Gas Business are therefore one of the stronger suppliers in this area. To find out more visit our Guide to Back billing.

British Gas Business and Letters of Authority

In order to act on your behalf in securing your business a great energy deal British Gas Business require us to have a signed Letter of Authority from yourselves. The fastest way to authorise us to work on your energy supply arrangements is to use our eSign service to agree our Evergreen Letter of Authority. Change of Tenancy and British Gas Business Moving into a premise is known as a Change of Tenancy in the business energy market. It has also been termed a Change of Occupier or is known by its acronyms CoT and COO. However it is referred to, the opportunities it opens up are the same. This is great news for deal seekers. Whilst the existing supplier is obliged to continue to provide energy to the new occupier, the occupier is not obliged to take out an extended contract with that supplier. Indeed a Change of Tenancy customer has total freedom of movement and is free to accept a contract with a supplier of their choice There are however of course a number of rules and requirements. Firstly, as the new occupier, if you use energy you will need to pay for it, regardless of your contractual status. Secondly, you will need to identify as quickly as possible the identity of the existing supplier Thirdly, you will need to field calls from sales organisations and the existing supplier themselves offering you contracts of varying lengths to continue or to begin to supply the premises. As a result as a new occupier you will need to agree a new contract either with the existing supplier or with a new supplier of your choice. Not only that but you will need to inform the existing supplier as quickly as possible that you are the new tenant to prevent you being held liable for charges incurred by the previous occupier should they not have ended their agreement satisfactory. It can prove a real headache knowing whom to trust – whether it’s the old tenant, the landlord the current supplier, the pushy salesman ringing, knocking and emailing, the prospective new suppliers. That’s where Lloydenergy comes in, by working on your behalf, identifying your existing supply arrangements, reporting your change of tenancy, ensuring you are not held liable for costs not incurred before your occupation and benchmarking contracts for your selection we can help you save time, money and a whole lot of stress. The fastest way to authorise us to work on your energy supply arrangements is to use our eSign service to agree our Evergreen Letter of Authority. We’ll take care of all correspondence, handle all the loose ends and enable you to focus on establishing your business in its new premise. And what’s more once your contract is in place we’ll manage your supplier relationship from beginning to end, all part of the Lloydenergy service.

Transparency

You are required by British Gas Business to provide written notice at least 30 days before your contract ends of your intent to terminate your contract at the end of its fixed period. If you take no action you will be automatically placed by British Gas Business on their "Variable Price Plan". Once on the "Variable Price Plan" you are able to terminate with 30 days notice, you will then be free to leave after 30 days. If however you have not left within the subsequent 30 days then British Gas Business will treat your termination notice as having expired and you will need to serve a fresh one. You will then remain on the "Variable Price Plan" with British Gas Business for a further 30 days until you can then transfer to your new supplier.

Rollover Contracts and British Gas Business

British Gas Business stopped selling auto-rollover contracts to new customers from September 2013, the first supplier to do so. This policy was extended to their existing customer base in September 2014. Now, when as a British Gas Business customer, your contract comes to an end, even if you have not contacted British Gas Business or have not accepted their renewal offers you will simply be placed on their '"Variable Price Plan". The "Variable Price Plan" will be more expensive than a "Fixed Price Plan" but it will allow you to leave within 30 days of giving notice. Of course it makes sense not to get to this point in the first place and so contracting well in advance is always recommended as even a short term stay on a "Variable Price Plan" will be significantly more expensive than other options. At least however you can be safe in the knowledge that if you do make a mistake and fail to contract properly the cost of your error can be minimised. However by using Lloydenergy you can avoid the potentially costly mistake of being exposed to variable rates. To find out more about rollovers visit our Guide to Rollover Contracts.

Terminating but remaining on supply with British Gas Business

If your business energy contract with British Gas Business ends and you fail to leave British Gas Business' supply you will be placed on BGB’s "Variable Price Plan" If you have provided termination notice to British Gas Business and expressed your intent for freedom of movement at contract end but you fail to leave British Gas Business's supply you will be placed on British Gas Business' "Variable Price Plan". Don't be caught out! By using Lloydenergy to manage your energy contracts we will terminate and manage your new contract seamlessly to ensure you avoid unnecessarily costly rates.

British Gas Business and Out of Contract Rates

British Gas Business' Out of Contract Rates are now known as a "Variable Price Plan". As at their release date of 24^th July 2013, a British Gas Business customer with a profile 1-4 meter will be required to pay 19.43p/kWh for each unit of electricity used whilst out of contract and a standing charge of 77.40p/day. For gas customers this would be 7.38p/kWh and 191.13/day. For larger gas and electricity customers the rates are significantly more. Even 30 days exposure to this level of charges mounts up, that's why clients taking our contract life management service makes sense: removing your exposure risk and letting you focus on your business confident in the knowledge that your energy contracts are in safe hands.

To find out more visit our Guide to Out of Contract Rates

Convenience

What payment terms does British Gas Business offer? British Gas Business operate a Monthly, Variable Direct Debit meaning the amount you pay directly relates to the volume of energy you consume each month. British Gas Business also offers cash/cheque payment terms however this is only in limited circumstances where agreed with British Gas Business. To find out more visit our Guide to Supplier Payment Terms. How to claim the reduced VAT rate for your British Gas Business bill

To find out if your business is eligible for paying the reduced rate of VAT on your energy bill visit our Guide to VAT Declaration. When to expect your bill from British Gas Business, British Gas Business operate a policy of billing their customers on a monthly basis. British Gas Business and Online Billing, British Gas Business do not currently offer their customers online billing This means British Gas Business customers will continue to receive paper invoices. Where to find your metering information on your British Gas Business bill Your British Gas Business Electricity Invoice places the meter point identifying S Number on the second page of the invoice in the top right hand corner. Similarly your British Gas Business Gas Invoice will feature the gas meter point reference number, the MPRN, on the second invoice page, located on the top left hand side in the “Details of Charges” section. If in doubt feel free to fax us your bill on 0208 328 7788or send it to info@lloydenergy.co.uk and we will help locate the information for you.

Services

British Gas Business & Smart Meters

In line with the mandated rollout of smart meters British Gas Business installs meters for Profile 05-08 electricity customers and gas customers consuming more than 732,000 kWh per annum. British Gas Business does not however currently install smart meters for Profile 03-04 customers and gas customers consuming less than 732,000 kWh per annum. However British Gas Business will inherit smart meters of any type and will continue to operate the meter with its full smart functionality. This is done at no extra cost to you. For more information on Suppliers’ policies on smart metering visit our Guide to Suppliers & Smart Meters.

British Gas Business & New Connections and Upgrade services

British Gas Business currently only offer new connections and upgrade services to customers when they take out a new 12, 24 or 36 month contract. If this doesn't suit your requirements, to find out which suppliers meet your connections needs call us on 0800-208-8301 Go one step better and by appointing Lloydenergy to manage your energy contracts you can take advantage of our management fee free new connections and upgrades offer.

British Gas Business & IGT Meters British Gas Business does not currently support meters supplied via IGT networks (Independent Gas Transporter). If your gas supply is delivered via an IGT network then British Gas Business cannot offer you a gas supply contract. To find out which suppliers meet your IGT needs call us on 0800-208-8301. British Gas Business & Supporting Meter Types British Gas Business support all meter types including Half Hourly (HH), Maximum Demand (MD), Seasonal Time of Day (STOD) and standard profile meters as well as 'related' and 'aggregated' meters. This means whatever metering system you have, as long as it is not supplied via an IGT network, British Gas Business can support it.

Environmental

Green & Renewable products and British Gas Business British Gas Business do not currently provide renewable or green energy products within their portfolio. For the reporting period 2013/14, British Gas Business’ Fuel Mix was:

• Gas: 31%
• Coal: 22%
• Gas: 31%
• Nuclear: 31%
• Renewable: 15%
• Other sources: 3%

And produced CO2 of 339g/kWh and High Level Radioactive Waste of 0.0024g/kWh Over the same period the national average was:

• Coal: 34.0%
• Gas: 25.6%
• Nuclear: 21.6%
• Renewable: 16.7%
• Other sources: 2.1%

Producing CO2 of 428g/kWh and High Level Radioactive Waste of 0.0017g/kWh To find out more visit our Guide to Fuel Mix.

Getting in touch

Does British Gas Business sound like the business energy supplier you’re looking for?

If so call now on 0800-208-8301 or alternatively the fastest way to authorise us to work on your energy supply arrangements is to use our eSign service to agree our Evergreen Letter of Authority.

Not sure if British Gas Business is right for you?

If you're looking at switching your energy supplier, we're here to help you determine whether British Gas Business is right for you. We take the research, negotiation and paperwork off your hands and help you switch to a better deal with your choice of new energy supplier.

How we help you switch your business energy supplier.

Our team of energy experts can help you determine whether British Gas Business is going to be the right supplier for you. The service we provide is independent and impartial, making sure that you get exactly the right deal for your business.