Market Tracker
What is the British Gas Market Tracker offer?
The British Gas Market Tracker will track changes in the wholesale prices of gas and electricity as published in the independent energy report from Heren Energy, over the period 1st September 2007 until 31st August 2008. To achieve this, once a quarter (i.e. every three months) your prices may change to reflect how changes in the wholesale price have affected the cost of buying gas or electricity for your supply.
How do we track wholesale prices?
To track the changes in the wholesale prices of gas and electricity we will use an independent, industry-recognised publication - European SpotGas Markets published by Heren Energy - which records the daily traded price of gas and electricity for the coming year. Heren Energy is often referred to by Energywatch, Ofgem and the media as a source of wholesale market prices.
How does the British Gas Market Tracker work?
Our prices for the gas and electricity that we supply are made up of energy costs which vary (the cost of buying the energy from the wholesale market) and fixed costs (like metering, billing and transportation of energy). In the current price for the British Gas Market Tracker the variable energy costs make up 56% of gas prices and 50% of electricity prices for the remainder of your contract period. Under this agreement, the variable part of your price will track changes in Heren prices and may change as a result of any changes in those prices (which will, in turn, change the percentage of the overall price they make up).
The British Gas Market Tracker prices will commence tracking wholesale prices from 1st September 2007 until 31st August 2008. Prices will be set at the beginning of each quarter on the following dates: 4th December 2007, 4th March 2008 and 3rd June 2008. The prices are then fixed for the remainder of that quarter.
The prices may change at each of these dates to reflect movements in the published Heren prices. The prices will reflect the average published wholesale price for the remaining period of the Market Tracker agreement at each of these dates. An average published price during the first 15 trading days of the month before the review date will be used to set the prices.
Your prices will only change if movements in the wholesale price mean that the average customer’s annual electricity or gas bill (20,500 kWh per year gas or 3,300 kWh per year electricity ) will change by more than £5 (up or down). So, if the electricity prices change by more than £5, gas prices will change too even though they may not have moved by more than £5 and the gas price change will apply to dual fuel and gas only customers. The same will apply for electricity customers if gas prices move by more than £5.
If neither gas nor electricity prices move by more than £5 your prices will remain the same. You will find information regarding any changes to your prices each quarter at www.britishgas.co.uk/tracker.
Other terms and conditions
If you enter into the Market Tracker agreement after the 1st of September the prices that apply will be the prevailing Market Tracker prices at that time.
You can choose to move off Market Tracker at anytime during the agreement (which runs from 1 September 2007 to 31st August 2008) but you will then be unable to switch back to this British Gas Market Tracker offer at any time during this agreement period.
We cannot offer our British Gas Market Tracker to you if you have a prepayment meter
If you move home your British Gas Market Tracker agreement will end.
The British Gas Market Tracker offer is subject to availability and we may withdraw or change it at any time. Our standard Terms & Conditions for gas and/or electricity supply apply, subject to status.
At the end of the British Gas Market tracker period we may switch your product(s) to another Market Tracker product if this is available or our standard product if it is not.
Terms & conditions:
Our terms and conditions for supplying gas or electricity (or both)
This contract is between us, British Gas, and you, our customer, for the supply of gas or electricity (or both) where you are using it wholly or mainly for domestic purposes.
You will find an explanation of some of the words and phrases used in these terms and conditions in clause 14.
1. This contract
1.1 You confirm that you own, or occupy, or have responsibility for the property and that it is connected to mains gas or mains electricity (or both).
1.2 Your contract will start with us:
(a) when you and we agree on the phone that we will supply you;
(b) when you sign your contract in the presence of one of our representatives;
(c) when you post your acceptance of these terms and conditions; or
(d) for website applications, once you have clicked to agree that you accept these terms and conditions.
1.3 Where you have not agreed a contract with us in line with clause 1.2, and we already supply the property, we will treat you as if you had agreed to these terms and conditions from the date that:
(a) you move into the property;
(b) you take supply at the property;
(c) your tenant(s) move out of the property (where you are a landlord of the property); or
(d) you take or have responsibility for the property.
1.4 If we do not already supply the property, your supply will start from the date we tell you. This date may change if we have difficulties taking over the supply, for example, if:
(a) your previous supplier prevents the transfer of supply to us;
(b) Ofgem prevents us from supplying; or
(c) we cannot supply you for some other reason.
1.5 If you have made a contract with us as described in clause 1.2 you have 7 working days from the day after your contract was made to tell us that you wish to cancel it.
2. Our Prices and Charges
2.1 Our prices for supply and charges are set out in our price list. Different payment methods may have different prices and terms which will also apply. We may charge different prices or require you to pay by certain payment methods depending on your suitability.
2.2 Our prices are based on the amount of gas or electricity we supply, worked out in kilowatt hours (for gas, this is based on its ‘calorific value’, which is the amount of energy released as heat when the gas is burnt). Our prices include transportation or distribution charges (or both). Our prices may also include a standing charge or other charge for a meter or other metering equipment at the property.
2.3 Our price list may include charges that become payable by you if you do not pay your bill in full within the time stated in clause 3.3. These charges will be based on our calculation of costs that we may have to pay at different stages to recover unpaid charges from you.
2.4 We may also charge you for our reasonable costs, not set out in our price list, which may include one or more of the following:
(a) Stopping your supply or reconnecting you;
(b) Any failure by you to meet your responsibilities under this contract, including any actions we or our agents take and any costs we have to pay to recover unpaid charges from you (including administration costs and costs that we have to pay for coming to your property to recover unpaid debts or installing a prepayment meter);
(c) Visiting your property if we have already offered or tried to deal with your enquiry remotely and you have refused or failed to do what we have asked you to do to meet the terms of this contract;
(d) Where you do not keep an agreed appointment at the property; or
(e) Interference by you with your gas or electricity meter and/or theft of gas or electricity.
2.5 All our prices and other charges are affected by UK tax or duty, including VAT at the current rate.
3. Payment
3.1 We will send you bills or statements, based on actual or estimated meter readings. If you are a prepayment customer we will not send you bills or statements. We will send you a review of your consumption once a year if you ask for one.
3.2 You agree to pay us for supplying gas or electricity (or both) and any other charges referred to in this contract. Any person whose name is on the account is responsible for paying our bills and we may claim any money owed to us under the account from one or all account holders.
3.3 Unless we agree otherwise, payment in full is due by the due date on your bill. If you have a genuine dispute with any part of your bill, you must still pay any amount that is not disputed.
3.4 If you do not pay your bill for gas or electricity (or both) when we remind you, we can start charging you interest at 3% a year above Barclays Bank plc’s current base rate from 28 days after we sent the original bill to you.
3.5 If you do not pay your bills as agreed, we can insist that you pay by another method (such as through a prepayment meter) which may have higher charges or that you pay a security deposit. If we install a prepayment meter for any reason, you must pay our reasonable costs for this.
3.6 We may use any payments you make to us, or any money that is owing from us to you, or any security deposit you have paid (including interest), to reduce any debt you have to us under this or any other contract with us for gas or electricity (or both).
3.7 You agree to pay any outstanding charges owed to us under any previous contracts with us or transferred to us by your previous supplier together with any reasonable administration charge that we tell you about.
4. Security deposit
4.1 We may, at any time, require you to pay a security deposit. We will not ask for a security deposit if we install a prepayment meter at the property.
4.2 We will pay interest on, and repay, any security deposit in line with our licences to supply.
5. Meters and access to the property
5.1 We may ask you for ameter reading before we start your supply of gas or electricity (or both) under this contract. If you do not give us a meter reading, you agree to allow us (or one of our agents) to take one. We may ask you to pay our reasonable charges for doing so, but we will tell you about this beforehand.
5.2 You agree to us making any necessary arrangements on your behalf to provide a meter and metering equipment at the property, unless you tell us that you will provide an alternative approved meter.
5.3 We are not responsible for any defects in the meter or other fitting that we do not own or provide.
5.4 You must take reasonable care to make sure that the meter is not damaged or tampered with. If you do not, you will have to pay our reasonable costs (or those of our agents) for visiting the property and any work that we/or they carry out in relation to the meteror other equipment.
5.5 You must allow us, our agents, the gas transporter and the network operator (as necessary) safe and uninterrupted access to your property and the meter in the following circumstances:
(a) At all reasonable times for any purpose connected with your supply or with the meter, metering equipment, pipes or wires, including reading, inspecting, repairing, exchanging, testing, installing, isolating or removing a meter or adjusting the settings on a prepayment meter, or stopping your supply;
(b) At all reasonable times after this contract ends if we want to recover any meter or other equipment belonging to us;
(c) At all reasonable times to inspect or test (or both) a meteror connection not owned or provided by or for us, and you will pay our reasonable costs for doing so;
(d) At any time where there may be a change relating to or resulting from the supply;
(e) At any time in an emergency or for any purpose necessary by any law or regulation.
6. About your supply
6.1 We can refuse to supply you under this contract or we can stop your supply or insist that you stop using your supply in the following circumstances:
(a) The supplier you want to leave prevents us from supplying you;
(b) Your supply has been stopped by us, the gas transporter, the network operator or another supplier, and we do not have to reconnect or continue your supply (because the reason for your supply being stopped still exists);
(c) It is not reasonable, in the circumstances, for us to supply you. This can include where you do not pay our bills as necessary under this contract or where you break any other term of this contract. If we are already supplying the property, we will give you at least seven working days’ notice before we stop your supply;
(d) In an emergency;
(e) Circumstances beyond our control prevent us from supplying you (although we will take reasonable steps to supply or continue to supply you);
(f) We are told to do so by Ofgem, the gas transporter or the network operator, or we are entitled to do so under any energy legislation (including supply licences) or energy industry arrangements;
(g) Where your metering arrangements are unacceptable (including when the meter has not been provided by or for us or it will not be read by or for us, or we believe the metering equipment is being interfered with);
(h) You have refused to pay a security deposit we asked for or to have a prepayment meter installed; or
(i) When we asked, you did not provide satisfactory proof of your identity and all of your previous addresses in the last three years.
6.2 We will only stop your supply under clause 6.1 where we are legally entitled to do so.
7. Changes to this contract
7.1 We can change the terms of this contract (including price and payment methods) at any time (unless we have agreed otherwise with you). If you are unhappy with the change you can end this contract as set out in clause 8.1(c).
7.2 If we raise your prices or make a change to this contract that puts you at significant disadvantage, we will let you know in writing within the following 65 working days. The price rise or change will not affect you provided that you:
(a) tell us that you want to end this contract within 10 working days of the day we tell you of the price rise or change; and
(b) you arrange for a supply from another supplier and we receive notice of this from your new supplier within 15 working days of the day you told us you wanted to end your contract.
7.3 The most up-to-date version of our terms and conditions is always available on-line at www.britishgas.co.uk.
8. Ending this contract
8.1 You can end this contract for gas only, for electricity only, or for both as follows:
(a) If you are moving house, by giving us at least two days’ notice before you move. If you do not do so, this contract will continue until:
(i) two working days after you do tell us; or
(ii) another owner or occupier takes supply at the property, whichever happens first;
(b) If the account holder changes, by telling us about the change.We will open a new account in the new name(s);
(c) In all other circumstances (except where clause 7.2 applies), by giving us at least 28 days’ notice, or as otherwise agreed, as long as by the end of the notice period:
(i) you have paid all outstanding bills from us and have started getting a supply from another supplier; or
(ii) your supply is cut off because you no longer need it.
8.2 Where we start to supply you under a different contract that you and we have agreed, this contract will end automatically.
8.3 You must pay for all gas and/or electricity used by you up to the end of your contract. If you do not pay our outstanding bills we may stop you switching to another supplier.
8.4 We may also ask you for a meter reading when you end this contract. If you have not given us an accurate meter reading at that time you may be liable to pay the difference between the meter reading on which we based the final bill or the final estimated bill and the next meter reading.
8.5 We can end this contract immediately if:
(a) you break any term or condition of this contract;
(b) we no longer have the relevant licences to supplyyour property; or
(c) Ofgem directs another supplier to take over the supply.
8.6 We can end this contract in any circumstances by giving you at least 30 days’ notice.
8.7 If this contract ends for any reason, neither of us will lose any rights that we already have.
9. Our responsibility for loss or damage
9.1 We do not exclude or restrict our liability for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence or that of our agents and nothing in this clause 9 will exclude, restrict or limit this liability.
9.2 If you suffer any loss or damage, our liability to you will be limited to £1 million for each incident or series of related incidents.
9.3 We will not, under any circumstances be liable for:
(a) any economic loss or damage (including loss of profit, revenue, business, contract, goodwill or other financial loss); or(b) any loss which is not a reasonably foreseeable result of a breach by us or any of our employees, subcontractors or agents.
9.4 If the gas transporter or the network operator causes you any loss or damage, our liability to you will be limited to the amount we are entitled to recover from the gas transporter or the network operator (or both) on your behalf.
9.5 Each provision of this clause 9 applies separately. If any part is disallowed or found to be ineffective by any court or other competent authority, the other parts will continue to apply.
10. Personal Information
Using personal information10.1 Information you provide or we hold about you (whether or not under our contract or contracts with you) may be used by us or our agents to:
(a) identify you when you contact us;(b) help identify accounts, services and products which you could have from us from time to time (we may do this using an automatic scoring system, which uses the information you have provided, any information we hold about you and information from other agencies, including credit-reference agencies);
(c) help run, and contact you about the improved running of, any accounts, services and products we have provided before, or provide now or in the future. We may also contact you by e-mail or text message if you have given us these contact details;
(d) create statistical and testing information and carry out marketing analysis and customer profiling (including using information about what you buy from us and how you pay for it, for example usage rates and any discounts we have offered you - these are examples only and not a complete list);
(e) help to prevent and detect fraud or loss; and
(f) contact you in any way (including mail, e-mail, phone, visit, text or multimedia messages) about products and services offered by us and selected partners.
10.2 We may allow other people and organisations to use information we hold about you:
(a) to provide services you have asked for;(b) as part of the process of selling one or more of our businesses;
(c) to help to prevent and detect debt, fraud, or loss. In addition, if you have failed to pay us, in which case we may transfer your debt to another organisation and provide them with details about you and that debt;
(d) if we have been asked to provide information for legal or regulatory purposes; or
(e) as part of current or future legal proceedings.
From time to time, these other people and organisations may be outside the European Economic Area in countries that do not have the same standards of protection for personal information as the UK.
10.3 We may also allow your information to be used by other Centrica Group companies (including those using the British Gas, Scottish Gas and Dyno Group brands) for them to carry out any of the above purposes.
10.4 Your information may be used for training purposes. We may also monitor and record communications with you (including phone conversations and e-mails) for quality assurance and to make sure that we are meeting our legal and regulatory requirements.
10.5 You agree that we can ask your previous supplier for information that will allow us to take over your supply – such as information about meter readings and equipment or charges you owe your previous supplier. You agree that we can provide information we hold about you (such as information about meter readings, equipment or charges you owe us) to your new supplier so they can take over your supply.
10.6 If we believe that you, or a member of your household, need extra care (for example because of your age, health, disability or financial problems), we may record this fact on our records. We will use this information to protect you and your household from having your supply stopped by us. We may share your information with:
(a) Social Services, charities and other support organisations if we believe at any time that you are not able to continue protecting your welfare or the welfare of other members of your household by making sure there is an energy supply to your home;(b) other energy suppliers if we believe you are considering changing supplier. We assess which customers need extra care and record and share this information in line with the Energy Retail Association “safety net procedures”; and
(c) the relevant gas transporter or network operator.
10.7 We will check your details with one or more credit reference and fraud prevention agencies to help us make decisions about your ability to make payments and the goods and services we can offer you. We have given a brief guide to how we, the credit reference and fraud prevention agencies will use your information below. If you would like more information about this you can find the full version at www.britishgas.co.uk. Or, phone us on 0845 955 5200 and we will send you a leaflet.
(a) We will search at credit reference and fraud prevention agencies for information about you and all the people you are applying with - if you are providing information about others on a joint application, you must make sure they agreed that we can use their information to do this. If you provide false or inaccurate information and we suspect fraud, we will pass your details to credit reference and fraud prevention agencies. Law enforcement agencies may access and use this information.(b) We will use the information provided to us by credit reference and fraud prevention agencies to:
(i) help make decisions about credit or credit-related services for you and anyone applying with you;
(ii) check your identity;
(iii) prevent and detect fraud and money laundering; and
(iv) manage your account.
(c) When credit reference agencies receive a search from us they will record this on your credit file whether your application is successful or not.
(d) The information which we and other organisations provide to the credit reference and fraud prevention agencies may be supplied by credit reference agencies to other organisations and used by them to perform similar checks. Organisations may access and use the information recorded by fraud prevention agencies from other countries.
(e) If you want to see what information credit reference agencies hold about you, you can contact the following three credit-reference agencies currently operating in the UK. The information they hold may not be the same, so it is worth contacting them all. They will charge you a small fee.
CallCredit
Consumer Services Team
PO Box 491
Leeds
LS3 1WZ
Phone: 0870 0601414
Equifax PLC
Credit File Advice Centre
PO Box 3001
Bradford,
BD1 5US
Phone: 0870 010 0583
Website:www.myequifax.co.uk
Experian
Consumer Help Service
PO Box 8000
Nottingham NG80 7WF
Phone: 0870 241 6212
Website:www.experian.co.uk.
10.8 If you give us information on behalf of someone else, you confirm you have given them the information set out in this document, and that they have given permission for their personal information to be used in the way we have described. If you give us sensitive information about yourself or others (such as health details or details of any criminal convictions of members of your household), you agree (and confirm that the person the information is about has agreed) to us processing this information in the way set out in this document.
11. National Terms of Connection
11.1 If we supply you with electricity under this contract, you are also entering into a standard connection agreement for your electricity with your local electricity network operator as described in clause 11.2 below, where ‘your supplier’ means us. There is no similar agreement for gas.
Your supplier is acting on behalf of your network operator to make an agreement with you. The agreement is that you and your network operator both accept the National Terms of Connection (NTC) and agree to keep to its conditions. This will happen from the time that you enter into this contract and it affects your legal rights. The NTC is a legal agreement. It sets out rights and duties in relation to the connection at which your network operator delivers electricity to, or accepts electricity from, your home or business. If you want a copy of the NTC or have any questions about it, please write to: Energy Networks Association, 18 Stanhope Place, London, W2 2HH: phone (0) 20 7706 5100, or see the website at www.connectionterms.co.uk.
12. Additional terms for Pay As You Go Energy™ customers
12.1 You must keep the card, key or token we give you safe and undamaged. If you do not, you will pay our reasonable costs (or those of our agents) for replacing any cards, keys or tokens.
12.2 You must buy enough credit with the card, key or token that we gave you to cover any gas or electricity (or both) you use, plus any extra charges that we are recovering through the meter. You must also continue to top up your credit to allow the meter to be updated by our electronic messages. If you do not, you will have to pay our reasonable costs (or those of our agents) for visiting the property and any work that we/or they carry out in relation to the meter or other equipment.
12.3 If you are paying a debt to us on a prepayment meter at a set rate and you do not make payments as agreed, we may ask you for immediate repayment of the total outstanding amount.
12.4 We have no obligation to repay you any credit on your meter during the time that you have a prepayment meter. When your contract with us for supply through a prepayment meter ends and if you have any credit on your meter, we may repay such amount less our reasonable administration costs, provided you request the refund on or shortly before the day your contract ends.
12.5 Prepayment meters may be exchanged for credit meters upon your request (and where you have repaid any outstanding debt). A deposit or other security may be required before we will carry out such an exchange. We may also require you to pay our reasonable costs for exchanging the meter.
12.6 If you are repaying a debt through your prepayment meter, you must make the payments as agreed to ensure your debt is repaid. If you do not, we may ask you for immediate repayment of the total outstanding amount.
12.7 If we change our gas or electricity prices, there may be a short delay before the change is applied to your meter. The new prices will be available within a reasonable time and then applied to your key or card next time you top it up. Your meter will then be updated with the new price, which will apply as soon as you insert your updated key or card into the meter.
13. General
13.1 You cannot transfer any of your rights or responsibilities under this contract to another person without our permission, in writing, beforehand. We can transfer all or any part of this contract to another supplier, but your rights under clause 7 will not be affected.
13.2 The laws of England and Wales or of Scotland will apply to this contract, depending on where your property is located.
13.3 If, at any time, we do not expect you to act in line with any part of this contract, this does not mean that we won’t expect you to do so in the future.
13.4 If any court or other competent authority disallows any part of this contract, the rest of the contract will not be affected.
14. Words and phrases used in this contract
The following defined terms are printed in bold throughout this document.
British Gas means British Gas Trading Limited.
gas transporter means the companies licensed as a gas transporter to deliver gas through pipes to the property.
licences means the licences that Ofgem grants us to supply gas and electricity.
meter means an instrument that measures the quantity of gas or electricity supplied.
network operator means the company licensed to deliver electricity and run the electricity distribution network for your area.
Ofgem means The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, which is the regulator of the gas and electricity markets in Great Britain.
Pay As You Go Energy™ customers means those customers who are supplied through a prepayment meter.
price list means the list of our current prices and charges.
property means the supply address.
suitability means our assessment of your creditworthiness. We will base our decision on information that we hold about you or information provided by you or a licensed credit-reference agency.
supply means providing a supply of gas or electricity (or both) at the property wholly or mainly for domestic purposes (including where none is used) and ‘supplied’ and ‘supplier’ will have the appropriate meanings.
working day means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday.
