British Gas Urged to Leave Prices Still

Utilities company British Gas are being pushed towards firming up their energy bills for the coming winter. Centrica, the company’s owner, reported a rise in profits last year but will not be making plans in either direction any time soon.

“Centrica's chief financial officer Nick Luff would not rule out a price rise as he warned that British Gas is under pressure from environmental levies and volatile prices on the wholesale gas market.

"What I can do is assure you that we will keep our prices as low as we can. It is in our interests to have competitive prices, we want to attract new customers, and if prices do have to go up we will delay that for as long as possible."

Centrica - which hiked prices by 6% last November - reported a 9% increase in profits to £1.58bn for the first six months of the year for its entire business spanning power generation and supply. Profits in the residential arm of British Gas rose 3% to £356m from £345m, as the company reported that gas consumption was 13% higher per customer during the cold weather.

British Gas prompted widespread criticism with last year's price increase, which added £80 a year to the average dual-fuel customer's bill. The company, which serves 10m households, promised in May it would use its profits to keep prices down, but has refused to put a date on the duration of this price pledge.

Consumer groups urged British Gas to freeze energy bills for the rest of the year. Tom Lyon at uSwitch.com, said: "The fact that British Gas has absorbed increasing costs so far this year will be of cold comfort to consumers who may be fearing the worst – especially with rumours of price rises. Profits are up from last year, so we would urge British Gas to help quell customer's fears and go one step further from its May pledge and commit to a price freeze for the rest of the year."

"People are already starting to worry about next winter and the cost of their energy bills and high energy prices have a big impact on consumers. Last winter, almost seven in 10 (69%) households went without heating at some point to keep their energy costs down."

Centrica blamed "volatile" prices on the wholesale gas market and "environmental costs" for adding to price pressures on the business.

Wholesale gas prices accounted for 48% (£568) of the average annual gas and electricity bill of £1,188 for Centrica's customers in 2012.

Prices in the wholesale gas market were 10% higher than this time last year, said energy trader Gary Hornby at Inenco. "If there is another cold winter and we have another supply situation that we did last time there is a good chance that prices will unfortunately go up," he said. "If we have a mild winter it could go the other way."

Richard Hall, head of energy regulation at Consumer Futures, warned that the big energy companies were not giving consumers the full story about their costs. Large energy suppliers had a tendency to "cherry-pick" dates to make the case that high wholesale gas prices were pushing up prices. "It doesn't appear there is so much pressure on the wholesale market that it can justifiably be used as threat of justifying price rises." Although gas prices hit record highs in March, these on-the-day spikes were dampened out by later price falls, he added.

Centrica's profit report comes after an influential committee of MPs said it was not surprising that customers mistrusted energy companies because they had failed to be transparent about the reasons for energy price rises, in an energy market that was not as competitive as it could be.

Luff dismissed the charge of cherry-picking data: "Despite what you hear about the industry we could not be more transparent ... If by some way gas prices were running at half the price we were saying we would suddenly make a lot more profit.’”

If you are a new or existing British Gas customer and are interested in finding out more about the products and services they offer, contact them directly using the British Gas contact number. You can also remain up to date with all British Gas news via the following link http://www.customerservicescontact.co.uk/news/british-gas-news-update-price-scandal/.

This article was originally sourced from The Guardian.

Admiral Apologises to Customer

Admiral car insurance, which has call centres based in two of Wales’ biggest cities, have apologised to a customer following the statement that all phone calls had to be recorded in the English language, not Welsh.

“Customer Gwion Schiavone had taken his complaint against Admiral Insurance to the Welsh language commissioner.

Meri Huws said she needed evidence before investigating but First Minister Carwyn Jones said he would look into the complaint.

Admiral employs 5,000 people in Cardiff, Newport and Swansea.

Mr Schiavone told BBC Wales' Welsh language news programme Newyddion 9 that the insurance company told him every conversation had to be conducted in English to satisfy regulators.

The company has since said this was not its policy and apologised for the error.

'Preferred language'

In a statement, the company said: "I'm sorry Mr Schiavone was told he could not conduct his business with Admiral in Welsh.

"It is not our policy that all calls must be conducted in English and Mr Schiavone should not have been told this was the case."

First Minister Carwyn Jones said he was "happy" to look into the matter.

"It doesn't make business sense for a company to be seen as one which fails to provide services in Welsh, especially a big company," said Mr Jones.

"I would think that Admiral would want to ensure that services in Welsh are available."

In a letter to Mr Schiavone, Admiral said there was no guarantee a Welsh speaker would be available in future to answer customer calls.

The Welsh language commissioner said she was unable to hold an investigation due to a lack of evidence.

A spokesperson for Meri Huws said: "The Welsh language commissioner encourages all private sector companies in Wales to engage with their customers through their preferred language.

"However, the commissioner recognises that there is no statutory obligation on Admiral to offer services in Welsh."

Mr Schiavone said he has asked Admiral for a copy of the telephone conversation.”

This article was originally found on the BBC website.

The Admiral insurance group are included under the umbrella company EUI Limited which includes other insurance companies as well. The apology that has been demanded here reflects the dedication the company have to delivering the best possible customer service. If you are an existing customer or looking to become an Admiral customer, contact them directly via the following link http://www.customerservicescontact.co.uk/admiral-customer-services/. If you are interested in reading more news articles about the company, click here.

Dyson Produce Mop-Vacuum Hybrid

Dyson are taking another innovative step in the battle to efficiently keep dust and dirt at bay; they have created a mop-vacuum hybrid called the Hard DC56.

“The latest in the Dyson canon of products is the Hard DC56 vacuum cleaner, and it’s a lot like the company itself: Self-cleaning and technically way ahead of the curve. The Dyson style is to tackle a specific user pain point--whether it’s in cleaning the home or the hands--and offer a more streamlined alternative. The Hard DC56 is here to change the way we clean hard floors, making it a one-tool, one-tiered tidy solution.

‘Cleaning hard floors is a problem because you have to vacuum the dust and debris first,’ James Dyson tells Co.Design. ‘And then whatever you use to get the grime, whether it’s a bucket or a mop, that’s a separate machine. It’s a pain of a process.’

The Hard DC56 is a powerful vacuum and mop all in one: It suctions up the spilled coffee grinds then gives the floor a thorough wipe down two seconds later. Sure it has something in common with the rhymes-with-Differ; it uses the same disposable wipes to clean tiles and wood surfaces. But it wouldn’t be a Dyson product if it didn’t feature some serious tech to wipe the floor with the competition. Like the company’s Airblade Tap, the hand washer-and-dryer designed for public restrooms, the Hard features the company’s squeaky-clean star of tech innovations: The digital motor.

In February Dyson announced the opening of an $80 million factory in Singapore, equipped with a production line of 55 million robots to make the motors. Older motors used copper switches and brushes to create a current, but around 30,000 rpm they hit a ceiling. By comparison, Dyson motors use chip-operated magnets that can operate upwards of 104,000 rpm. ‘You might ask, why do you want to go faster?’ Dyson says. ‘The faster you go, the more efficient it becomes, and the lighter it becomes, and the less material you can use.’

For the Hard vacuum cleaner, that translates into a fast dual-function tool with no cords (a common Dyson feature). But more important, it’s one of the early fruits of more than seven years of work done by Dyson to perfect the motor. ‘The motor is the key to so much,” he says. “If you have a motor that’s much smaller and more efficient and lighter than anybody else, suddenly products become so much more interesting. They become more powerful.’”

Dyson have forged a name for themselves in terms of innovative and extremely effective cleaning products and the Hard DC56 is no exception. If you are interested in reading more about the products Dyson produce, Click Here. Also, if you are looking to upgrade your current Dyson machine or getting your first one, contact their customer service department via the Dyson helpline.

This article was originally found at http://www.fastcodesign.com/1672997/pail-fire-this-new-dyson-vacuum-is-also-a-mop