Press & PR

The decision by British Gas to increase the price of its cheapest tariff by £138 has been described as "extremely disappointing".

Price comparison site Moneysupermarket.com condemned the energy supplier's move to increase the price of its Click Energy 4 product for existing users by 18.6 per cent.

Moneysupermarket drew a contrast with E.ON, which has made an "excellent decision" not to increase the price of its cheapest tariff.

"E.ON now has the cheapest product in every region in Britain apart from eastern England and the east Midlands, where Atlantic leads the way," said a spokesperson.

"There is nothing like price rises to start focusing people's minds - and now people will be focusing on E.ON and Atlantic."

The average household bill for dual fuel British Gas customers is set to climb from £912 to £1,051, which means the firm will now be the most expensive supplier for gas.

Citigroup has predicted that British Gas' profits will be £639 million for 2007, a sixfold increase on its 2006 results.

Consumers who have had their fill of rip-off Britain can make savings in areas other than utility bills - there is also potential to save money on phone bills.

For instance, those choosing Vonage's V-Plan 1 can benefit from inclusive calls throughout the UK for just £5.99 a month.