British Gas profits down as Centrica hit by UK warmer weather and US polar vortex July 31, 2014 Pre-tax profits at British Gas owner Centrica fell 40 per cent in the first half of the year as British Gas felt the effects of warmer weather in the UK. British Gas operating profit dropped 26 per cent as gas consumption fell 24 per cent and electricity use dropped nine per cent. Customer numbers at the [...]
British Gas to shore up customer service team with 300 new staff July 16, 2014 British Gas, the energy supplier owned by FTSE 100 utility firm Centrica, today said it is hiring an extra 300 staff to bolster its customer service team, as complaints about energy companies soar to their highest level. The new recruits will help customers with “everything from bills and boiler breakdowns, to engineer visits and energy [...]
British Gas agrees to pay £1m in compensation in latest mis-selling case to hit the industry July 5, 2014 British Gas will pay £1m in compensation after admitting to misleading customers by making exaggerated promises on its energy bill savings, industry regulator Ofgem has announced. The UK's largest energy supplier mis-sold deals to customers at Sainsbury's supermarkets nationwide and at the Westfield shopping centre in London's Shepherd's Bush in a two year period from [...]
British Gas to pay out £500,000 for mis-selling gas and electricity July 1, 2014 British Gas is set to pay out around £500,000 in compensation to customers for mis-selling gas and electricity in face to face sales. The UK’s biggest energy provider is understood to have referred itself to the regulator Ofgem after discovering it had overestimated potential savings customers could make, according to a Sky News report last [...]
British Gas boss Weston hired as Aggreko chief May 29, 2014 CENTRICA yesterday confirmed that the head of its supply arm British Gas will be leaving to join Aggreko, meaning that it now has to find replacements for its top three executives. The FTSE 100-listed energy giant said that Chris Weston has tendered his resignation to become chief executive of Aggreko, the temporary power provider, subject [...]
Centrica slides on British Gas’ £5.6m penalty April 10, 2014 CENTRICA’S share price slumped over one per cent yesterday, after its supply arm British Gas was fined £5.6m by the regulator for unfairly blocking business customers from switching. Energy firms can prevent customers from switching in certain cases, such as if the customer owes money on the account. But Ofgem found that between 2007 and [...]
British Gas Business hit with £5.6m penalty April 10, 2014 Energy regulator Ofgem has ordered British Gas Business, a unit of British Gas, to pay £5.6m in fines after the company was found to have incorrectly blocked businesses from switching suppliers. British Gas Business has already paid £1.3m to affected business customers, and is now set to pay £3.4m into an energy efficiency fund plus [...]
British Gas loses executive who was taken to task by Twitter December 19, 2013 THE BRITISH Gas executive who led the company’s disastrous Twitter Q&A two months ago is leaving the firm to return to the Netherlands, the energy group said yesterday. Bert Pijls, British Gas’s managing director of customer services, decided to depart after his team was restructured and another role he was offered did not “match his [...]
British Gas blames regulation for 9pc hike in energy bills October 17, 2013 THE UK’S energy debate was ignited again yesterday, after British Gas said it would be raising customers’ bills by 9.2 per cent from 23 November – adding £104 on to the average annual dual fuel bill – and blamed the government’s green initiatives for almost half of the increase. Centrica, which owns the big six [...]
Ex-British Gas boss to head up telecoms giant October 17, 2013 FORMER British Gas boss Phil Bentley has joined Cable & Wireless Communications as the telecoms group’s new chief executive. Bentley stepped down from British Gas in February to pursue his ambition to become a chief executive, after it became clear he was not in the running to take the top job at parent company Centrica. [...]