British Gas profits £742m

[tiggerblue10]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12563988

Is it right for British Gas to have increased their prices at a cost to its customers? I know a lot of its profits are going towards renewable and sustainable energy projects but what about its customers who have had to endure quite a harsh winter and possibly no pay rise due to recession? And not forgetting the elderly who probably suffer the most.

[TTG]

I imagine it's only a handful of people (i.e. boardroom) that benefit from these outrageous profits. They are just taking the ps now after the price rises.

[birdie1971]

A quite clear case of profiteering. I do wonder how the people who run these companies sleep at night.

The Daily Mash wonderfully and satirically 'reported' a spokesman for British Gas as saying, “It is this sort of innovation that keeps our customers so loyal as they make the exciting choice between cooking and heating.”

….

[Haggisdj]

birdie1971, all snuggled up and warm I'd imagine...

[tiggerblue10]

I should also have said "no pay rise and those who have been made redundant too......".

The fat cats are going to get fatter!

[Booldawg]

isnt that what this country is all about? - privatise the profits and nationalise the debt.

[Ankou]

its not surprising they have huge profits when they charge 3 times the price of anyone else for a boiler replacement and their tariffs are generally considered to be the highest. the statement about customer loyalty is probably true, there must be some folk out there who just keep paying because the company contains the word 'british' (none of that foreign muck).

[bazwillrun]

BG is a Plc, it has shareholders, its first responsibility is to its shareholders.
They require dividends, the higher the better.

British Gas therefore has to get as much money as is legally possible out of your wallets.
It has no "real" interest in saving you money in any way or form, why on earth would it want to earn less money ?
It pretends to want to save you money because that keeps all sorts of people happy , eg the government and various tree hugging groups blah blah.

They are there to make money simple as that, not save you money, so in answer to the question, of course its wrong but its not going to stop them and all the other power co's from getting as much out of you as they can for themselves , their shareholders and their foreign owners.

[jomifl]

BG's profits are comparable with M&S. Does anyone criticise M&S for profiteering? Not that I am defending BG, but I suspect that Gas keeps you warmer than a flimsy blouse and a lacy bra, actually I am feeling warmer already.

[bazwillrun]

http://www.centrica.c...pageid=39&newsid=2157

what an amazing coincidence, gas useage down but prices rising

[lozzer50]

the fact is these companies dont care about customers or their circumstances all they are bothered about is their fat profits and their own personal bonuses!

[tiggerblue10]

The public have more of a choice of where they buy their clothing from. You can buy clothing for a fraction of the price in shops stores like Primark and Matalan. BG is one of only a handful of gas (and electric) suppliers in the UK.

[Ankou]

but centruca did pay over £700million in uk tax last year. thats enough to keep most of the politicians quiet.

[tiggerblue10]

They paid tax but where does that tax money go? Public sector job cuts are rife at the moment.

[bazwillrun]

"Public sector job cuts are rife at the moment. " but not the ones that should be getting the chop, unfortunately.

Theres still plenty of NHS administrators so dont panic

[tiggerblue10]

We're being offered vol. redundancy where I work.

[squarebear]

Is that because you are on here all day? ;-)

[tiggerblue10]

Lol SB, I'm on maternity at the moment. When I go back I won't have time to come on here!

[squarebear]

Hehe! Only kidding :-)

[tiggerblue10]

I know you were :o)