Energy suppliers hiked prices during scrappage scheme
October 15, 2010 at 2:59 am
A freedom of information request has revealed that major energy suppliers have been charging a price more than a third higher than the average cost consumers paid to small or medium companies when purchasing a new boiler. The average extra cost of using a major supplier reached an extortionate figure of £812, a hefty sum even in a normal economic climate.
With companies such as British Gas offering to match the money provided by the government for consumers to upgrade their boilers, many customers had previously thought that they were receiving excellent deals from caring companies which fully understood the desire of consumers to go green, but only at the right price.
However, this revelation is likely to sour the mood of consumers, who may now be finding out that they barely saved anything during the scrappage scheme due to the hiked prices.
Speaking about this recent revelation, Peter Thom, an independent installer and heating strategy group chairman for the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes, suggested that “when the scheme was launched Gordon Brown said isn’t it wonderful that people like British Gas match the scheme with £400. But the only people who can do this are the big energy suppliers. They’re renowned for toploading prices and then offering a discount”.
Whilst it is clear that companies such as British Gas are going to continue to dominate the market, this revelation (combined with consumers continuing to look to find a way to save money during the current economic climate) could lead to smaller independent groups beginning to dominate a larger chunk of the market unless big companies are able to improve their reputations.
