British Gas Lite Supplier Information, Requirements & More
British Gas is one of the largest and most recognizable suppliers of gas and electricity in the UK, with over 950,000 customers.
British Gas Lite is treated as a separate product to the standard British Gas product, as there is only online support offered, but the product offers competitive rates in comparison to the original British Gas product.
My Review
I reviewed all of the Energy Suppliers in the UK that I know and British Gas Lite ranked #3 on that list. My review was based upon four criteria;
- Cheap prices
- Ethical Practices
- Ease of Communication
- Problem-solving
Here’s my review of British Gas Lite;
Cheap Prices
British Gas introduced ‘Lite’ in order to offer cheaper prices at a reduced service. Thus if cheap prices is what you’re after, British Gas Lite is a great option. They’re consistently the cheapest.
Ethical Practices
British Gas Lite are ethical, kind of. The product was designed to be a cheap, reduced service from British Gas. Customers can only contact British Gas Lite via their online webchat. There is no one to write an email to or phone up. This isn’t exactly unethical as its sold as a budget version of the full-package ‘British Gas’. However, customers often feel annoyed when issues arise, especially since the British Gas Lite webchat is often down. They don’t roll over contracts and they don’t make it difficult for customers to leave (except in one case.) They’re out of contract tariffs aren’t extreme like some others.
Annoyingly even after a customer agrees a lower rate, British Gas will send emails with higher renewal rates. Thankfully no customers of mine have fallen for it – yet!
The one case in which they are extremely unethical is that they will block a new contract from switching when the customer renews with them from ‘British Gas Lite’ to ‘British Gas’. This is madness since they are the same company, however, they are treating them as separate entities. They require the customer to submit termination to ‘British Gas Lite’ first and then sign up with ‘British Gas.’ For the first year that they introduced their ‘Lite’ product, this was not the case, which points to very unethical behavior on their part.
British Gas Lite also prevents brokers from submitting VAT declaration certificates on behalf of customers, even if the customer has signed it. They claim its quicker for the customer to do it themselves. They’re making customers jump through hoops.
Ease of Contact
As mentioned above, it’s not great. The only way to contact them by logging into your account online and using the webchat.
Again, I repeat, it was intended to be like this.
Problem Solving
Due to the difficulty of contact, problem-solving is terrible. It’s horrendous. As a broker, I can do next to nothing to assist my customers. They know its bad, that’s why their complaint process is front and centre on their ‘Contact Us‘ page.
They state;
“Ask our web chat team to put you in touch with a manager. We’ll let you know we’ve received your complaint within 24 hours and get back to you within 10 working days.”
You can find more information on them here; britishgaslite.co.uk/faqs
Overview
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Currently this is one of the most competitive products on offer for majority of consumption’s and periods.
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British Gas Lite only offer online support and customer’s will not be able to call the supplier. The customer will require to have an online billing account.
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British Gas Lite do not accept any contracts signed by a TPI on behalf of a customer, even if a valid Level 2 LOA is signed. Compliant Level 2 LOAs will continue to be accepted for information requests and queries relating to contract
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British Gas Lite will only accept SMART meters. SMART meters are fitted free of charge.
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01/02 Meters are accepted on business contracts provided that proof of business is submitted at the point of sale.
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British Gas Lite do not accept related meters.
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Max Uplifts – Acquisitions can be sold with a maximum 1.5p/kWh commission.
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BG Lite will not offer preferred payment dates
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BG Lite do not accept Pubs, Clubs, Bars, Restaurants and Takeaways
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BG Lite do not accept property management companies unless the contract itself has been agreed by the company that the agent is responsible for.
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BG Lite will only accept a maximum of 10 sites for any submissions for a multi-site
Terms & Conditions
general_terms_and_conditions_britishgaslite_for_business April 2019
Customer Service
British Gas Lite only offer online support and customer’s will not be able to call the supplier. The customer will require to have an online billing account.
For any sales that are not with BG Lite, information requests will take up to 10 working days.
Billing & Payment
Monthly billing only. Variable Direct Debit is accepted.
Termination
No termination is required.
Renewal
BG Lite do not accept backdates, and will not accept COT Renewals.
If the site is moving from British Gas to British Gas Lite this will be classed as an Acquisition and the Acquisition process will need to be followed.
An LOA is required to be logged on the customer’s account for any Renewal sale. If there is no LOA, then the sale cannot be submitted.
Credit & Business Acceptance
BG Lite will accept credit scores of 25 or above.
Off-shore companies are not accepted. British Gas Lite will no longer accept contracts for the below business types;
– Bars
– Pubs
– Clubs
– Restaurants
– Takeaways
Contract Requirements
Contracts can be accepted in any format (Verbal/Paper). A confirmation e-mail will then be sent to the customer to ensure the agreement is legally binding. The contract won’t be secured until the customer accepts the link and activates an online account. The customer has 28 days from the date they receive the email to accept this.
Pubs, Clubs, Bars, Restaurants & takeaways are not accepted
Sole trading business – Only the sole trader can sign a contract for their business. Unless they give authority to someone else in the business (proof required in writing with buy xanax online).
Partnership – One of the partners must agree a contract, no one else can agree a contract on their behalf
Limited Companies – all details must fully match Companies House. Companies House Documents must be fully up to date. Where the company has been trading for less than 2 years one of the Director’s details will need to be provided.
Charities – all details must fully match the Charity Commission website. Documents on the Charity Commission website must be fully up to date. Sole Trader details for the customer will also need to be provided.
Non-Profit organisations – Sole Trader details for the customer will need to be provided.
Site Addresses must also match industry databases (Xoserve / ECOEs). Where these are not matching these will need to be updated by the current supplier before the contract can be processed by British Gas.
An LOA is preferred with every contract however this is not a mandatory requirement. We will not be able to deal with account, billing queries or Renewals without an LOA.
BG Lite will only accept a maximum of 10 sites for any submissions for a multi-site
