MoneyPlus customers sent to British Gas: what happened, and what’s next?

What should MoneyPlus Energy customers do now?

Until you have been contacted by British Gas, there is nothing specific you should be doing as an old MoneyPlus Energy customer. The idea is to wait until you have been contacted by them, so that you can get details on the deemed contract they have set up for you, solve any credit or debt issues, and ultimately, if you wish to do so, switch plans or suppliers.

What happened to MoneyPlus Energy?

The energy supplier went bust on the 7th of September, on the same date that PFP Energy disappeared. Far from being an isolated incident, this happened in the context of sharply rising wholesale gas prices which, combined with the existence of a price cap, made it impossible for a number of suppliers to stay afloat.

MoneyPlus Energy is therefore no longer trading, and its suppliers have been transferred i n bulk to British Gas, so as to keep the situation stable before the dust settles and they can go fully back to shopping for energy deals as they did before.

Will my energy supply be interrupted?

No, your energy supply will not be interrupted, and in fact you should not be noticing any difference on this side of things. Indeed, the whole idea behind reassigning new suppliers to customers who have lost their current supplier is to ensure that these people keep receiving the energy they need to power their household. So no worries to be had - there really is nothing urgent to get done, even if the situation may be throwing you for a loop.

Should I cancel my current payment methods to MoneyPlus Energy?

As long as British Gas has not contacted you, do not cancel any kind of payment system you may have had with MoneyPlus. This includes direct debit, direct payment, and standing order. Once you have been put in contact with your new supplier, they will let you know how and when your new plan is officially active, at which point you will be able to stop this payment method and open a new one with British Gas, a process they will guide you through.

Should I take a meter reading at this time?

Yes, we highly recommend you take a meter reading as soon as possible, as this will help you as you get organised with your new supplier. It will also ensure things go more smoothly when you have to deal with issues of outstanding debt or credit, as well as make sure you can easily switch suppliers in the future, once the dust has settled.

What happens if I was in debt or credit to MoneyPlus Energy?

If you owed money to , or were owed money by your old supplier, the rules will differ depending on your new supplier and what it agrees to take on. British Gas has decided it will honour all of MoneyPlus Energy's credit owed to consumers. The details of this process will be communicated to you in time, as will the specifications concerning what happens to your own debt owed to the supplier.

British Gas takes over: will my bills go up?

Generally speaking, there is a strong possibility that for a short while, you will pay more than you used to. This is assuming your MoneyPlus energy plan was a cheap deal. British Gas will have put you on a "deemed" plan, which likely corresponds to its most standard energy plan, which is not necessarily its cheapest.

This all means you may end up with higher bills and rates than before. However, keep in mind that this is only temporary, and that once you have been properly contacted by British Gas, you will be able to choose a cheaper plan an even a new supplier if you wish to do so.

Who chose British Gas as the replacement for MoneyPlus Energy?

British Gas is so far the main supplier to take over from the suppliers who have recently ceased activity. This includes PFP Energy and Peoples' Energy. It was appointed by Ofgem (the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets) on the grounds of it being a reliable supplier estimated to have the capability to take care of a very large number of extra consumers in its customer base.

How and when will I be contacted by British Gas?

British Gas will eventually get around to contacting you, if it hasn't done so yet. We unfortunately do not have a set date or deadline for this contacting process, so we suggest you sit tight and wait, as there is no doubt that they will come to you in time. Remember that they have a number of new customers to deal with, as well as keeping things going with their current customers.

British Gas will be using your home address to contact you, meaning that if you have moved home recently and are worried this hasn't been reported properly, or if you are in the middle of moving home, you must check that everything is in order.

Can I switch suppliers now?

No, not yet - unless you've already been contacted by British Gas. This will enable you to get all your information in order, understand where you are at with the deemed contract British Gas will have set for you, and then start the process of shopping for other energy plans.

If you'd already initiated a process of switching away from MoneyPlus Energy, not to worry: the change will still take place, and you'll only have to check that the request to switch has gone through properly already. Other than that, it will all happen as usual, as long as the supplier you were switching to is still active.

British Gas tariffs in 2021

If you want to keep British Gas as your supplier even after having been contacted by them, and thus being free to switch suppliers, then why not take a look at their current tariffs?

British Gas's variable rate tariffs

The first tariff category British Gas offers is the variable rate tariffs. British Gas only has one of these offers (below, you can see both the electricity and gas version of this offer) on the market. A variable rate tariff means that the price of energy varies with the current cost of energy on the British market.

This means that your billing will not be the same every month, which leads to some instability and lack of visibility on your monthly payments, but also means that you will be able to pay lower prices if the cost of energy goes down.

British Gas's fixed rate tariffs

On the contrary, fixed rate tariffs follow the opposite idea, with prices being the same every month no matter what. Here are British Gas's specific rates for fixed tariffs:

British Gas's Economy 7 (E7) tariffs

Economy 7 tariffs allow you to be billed differently depending on the time of day, following on-peak and off-peak periods.

British Gas's prepaid tariffs

Who were MoneyPlus Energy?

MoneyPlus Energy was an energy company that was part of the MoneyPlus Group. The MoneyPlus Group claims to help people ‘live better’ by offering a choice of financial services and advice that’s tailored to their needs.
MoneyPlus Energy said that it was based on the same idea as its parent company. Instead of treating customers as numbers, it created a more personal service and claimed to make gas and electricity ‘super simple’. The company was based in Manchester but served customers across the UK.

What made MoneyPlus Energy different?

The main difference between MoneyPlus Energy and other energy suppliers was the way the company billed its customers. MoneyPlus Energy bills were made up of two parts. These are:

• Your Direct Costs
• Our Costs

According to MoneyPlus Energy, ‘Your Direct Costs’ were the costs that were incurred by the company getting the energy to the customer’s property. These included things like:

• Wholesale costs
• Distribution and transmission costs
• Metering costs
• Environmental levies and tax

MoneyPlus Energy charged customers the cost price for all of these services and provided a detailed breakdown of how much each service cost in their quarterly bills. This meant that households signed up to the energy company know exactly where their money was going.

MoneyPlus Energy made its profit by charging a £9.95 management fee per fuel per month. This fee was included in the standing charge and covers costs like marketing, salaries, training, building costs and maintenance.

By dividing their energy bills in this way, and charging customers cost price for their gas and electricity supply, MoneyPlus Energy aimed to be more transparent and more affordable.

As well as an innovative billing system, MoneyPlus Energy was trying to ensure it stood out by taking on customers rejected by other energy companies. MoneyPlus Energy said that it didn’t run credit checks on its customers and instead assessed each case on its individual merits. This meant that MoneyPlus Energy could have been a good option for those with a poor credit rating.

MoneyPlus Energy tariffs

Because of the way MoneyPlus energy billed its customers, it didn’t offer standard energy tariffs. Instead, households switching to the company could choose from four different plans:

• Standard
• Economy 7
• Smart
• Prepayment

How much did MoneyPlus Energy charge per kWh?

As you can see from the above table, MoneyPlus Energy charged 16.51p for a kWh of electricity and 3.16p for a kWh of gas. Customers on Economy 7 plans paid more for their energy during the day and less at night during off-peak hours.

Was MoneyPlus Energy cheap?

Because of the way that MoneyPlus Energy structured its payment plans, it’s fair to say that the supplier offered good value for money. Customers paid their costs direct and prices tracked trends in wholesale energy. However, it did mean that prices could go up and down every month, so while the company may have been cheap one month, it could be more expensive the next.

MoneyPlus Energy charged customers around £9.95 per month per fuel as a management fee. This was how the company made its profits and covered its costs. This fee was included in the standard charge of 43.25p per day for gas and 47p-48p per day for electricity. Because the management fee was included in these charges, they were a little higher than average.

How long did it take to switch to MoneyPlus Energy

Generally, the switching process would take around 21 days to complete. If you had only just moved into your property, you would have needed to wait until you received your first bill from your current supplier before switching. This would ensure that you were in the system and that your details were up to date.

If you were in debt to your energy supplier, you may have had to wait until you'd repaid your debt before you could switch. If you’d been in debt for less than 28 days, or owed less than £500, you would still have been able to switch ; however the process may have taken a little longer.

How to change tariff on MoneyPlus Energy

If you wanted to stay with MoneyPlus Energy but also change your energy tariff, you’d need to get in touch with the supplier to arrange the switch. As most of their plans tied you in for a 12-month contract, you’d have to wait until the end of the period before changing to a new tariff. If you didn’t want to wait, you’d have to pay a £50 exit fee per fuel in order to switch.

MoneyPlus Energy customer reviews

Customer reviews for MoneyPlus Energy were generally fairly positive. The company was rated ‘Excellent’ by Trustpilot with an average user score of 4.4 out of 5. A whopping 83% of reviews rated MoneyPlus Energy as ‘excellent’ while 11% rated it as ‘great’. Only 6% of reviews gave the company a ‘bad’ rating.

Recent reviews for MoneyPlus Energy posted on impartial review sites included:
"Very pleasant friendly young man very informative very helpful. Made the whole situation of changing gas and electric easy would recommend this change."
"Brilliant!! They actually WANT customers! Even us oldies and technophobes. They bent over backwards to make it easy for us. What a change to the money grabbing big boys who dont care a hoot if you pay over the odds AND make you do all their work for them AND charge you even more!!"
"Excellent service and all information provided for a smooth transition. Any questions asked were answered confidently."
"I have saved nearly £560 per annum. Which is a great news for me. At the current rate I will be paying nearly £1332 per annum."

Households signed up to MoneyPlus Energy seemed particularly impressed with the company’s customer service. Calls and emails appeared to be answered quickly and any issues were resolved within a short space of time. Reviews also mentioned how easy it was to switch to the company and how much money they had saved by moving their gas and energy to the supplier.

Were MoneyPlus Energy any good?

Judging by MoneyPlus Energy’s customer score and the reviews left on impartial sites, households signed up to the energy company seemed very happy with the service they received. Although MoneyPlus Energy fell short when it came to sustainability, excellent customer service and competitive prices made it a good choice for customers looking to switch to a new energy supplier.

Would you like to know more about energy suppliers in the UK? Great! Check out these related articles

1. British Gas
2. Scottish Power
3. Eon
4. Octopus Energy
5. Coop Energy

FAQ

Is British Gas the only choice for MoneyPlus Energy customers?

As of right now, yes - meaning that customers cannot choose a specific supplier to take over their contract from MoneyPlus, as this transfer is done in bulk and depends only on Ofgem's choice. You are entirely free to change suppliers later on, but only once you have been contacted by British Gas.