Terms and conditions for business

Version 9, April 2012Terms and conditionsfor businessbritishgas.co.uk/business

ContentsWelcome to British Gasterms and conditions1.0 This contract 42.0 Charges 7This contract is between us, British Gas TradingLimited (‘British Gas’) and you, our customer.3.0 Payment and billing 114.0 Security deposit 135.0 Meters and access 136.0 About your supply 157.0 Electricity supply 168.0 Gas supply 189.0 Moving out of or changing a site 1910.0 Ending this contract 2011.0 Renewing or ending the price arrangement 22and statement of renewal terms12.0 Changes to this contract 2513.0 Our responsibility for loss or damage 2714.0 Using personal information 2815.0 Other information 3416.0 Dealing with disputes 3617.0 Glossary 37These terms and conditions apply to all sites whichwe supply with gas or electricity (or both) where you areusing the gas or electricity (or both) totally or mainly fornon-domestic purposes (including sites under a pricearrangement, out-of-contract sites and deemed sites).However, these terms and conditions do not apply if ourdomestic or large and multi-site terms and conditions forgas and electricity apply to you.This will be the case if:(a) you are using the gas or electricity (or both) totally ormainly for domestic purposes, in which case you musttell us as we may need to have a separate contractwith you for domestic supply; or(b) for electricity, your business site is supplied througha half-hourly meter or, for gas, you use more than732,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of gas each year. Our‘large and multi-site terms and conditions for gas andelectricity supply’ will apply in these circumstances.If your circumstances change so that either of the aboveterms and conditions start to apply to you, you must tellus immediately and we will discuss a suitable course ofaction with you.If there is any difference between these terms andconditions and any other contract document betweenus, including your contract details, these terms andconditions take priority, unless we have agreed otherwisein writing with you.Certain words used in this these terms and conditions arehighlighted in bold because we have given them specificmeanings. These meanings are set out in the glossaryat the back of these terms and conditions. The glossaryalso contains an explanation of how you should interpretcertain words or phrases in these terms and conditions.At a glance:These termsand conditionsapply where youare using gas orelectricity (or both)that we supply,unless we sayotherwise inthis contract.If you have anyquestions aboutthese terms, emailus on eservice@britishgasbusiness.co.uk or if youhave an accountmanager, you canphone them direct.Terms and conditions for business: Version 9, April 20123

1.0 This contractEmail us with any questions: eservice@britishgasbusiness.co.uk1.0 This contract1.1 We agree to provide gas orelectricity (or both) at your sitesunder the terms and conditionsof this contract. You agree totake the gas or electricity (orboth) we supply, and by usingthe gas or electricity we supplyyou agree to the terms andconditions of this contract.1.2 Your contract for any site willstart with us as soon as:(a) you and we agree (including overthe phone) the contract detailsfor that site; or(b) any of the following appliesfor a site that we already supply:(i) You move in and you takesupply from us at that site.(ii) Your tenants move out ofthe site.(iii) You take or haveresponsibility for the site.(iv) A contract is treated asexisting between us for anyother reason (for example, ifOfgem say that a contract is‘deemed’ to exist).1.3 You agree that we may checkyour credit score before thiscontract starts, before the startof a pricing period and at othertimes during this contract. If wehave already agreed with youthat we will supply any site withgas or electricity (or both) but weare not happy with your creditscore, we will tell you. In thesecircumstances:(a)(b)we may ask you to pay a securitydeposit or provide a guaranteeor another form of security asdescribed in clause 4; orwe may, if we do not alreadysupply the site, choose not totake over the supply at your sitefor any reason (including if youdo not pay the security depositor provide the security we askfor). We may also stop anyregistration processesto transfer your supply to us(in which case this contract willend immediately for that siteand the site will stay with itsprevious supplier).1.4 You and we will agree contractdetails for each site that wesupply. If we do not agreecontract details for a site andif any part of the clause 1.2(b)applies to that site, we will workout our charges in line withclause 2.3 until you and we agreecontract details for that site.If any part of clause 1.2(b) appliesto your site, you must contactus immediately so we can agreecontract details for that sitewith you. If you do not agree thecontract details for that site, youmay be paying more than youneed to.1.5 If we do not already supply asite when you and we agree thiscontract, we will usually start tosupply you within 21 days of theday after we agree the contractdetails with you. We will tell(a)(b)(c)you the precise date when weknow it. If we have specificallyagreed with you that you maycancel your contract with us(for example, if we tell you thatyou may cancel within the first10 days after we agreed thecontract details with you), the21-day period will start onthe day after the cancellationperiod ends.It may take longer than 21 daysafter the date of this contractfor us to start supplying you ifyou ask for the transfer to takeplace over a longer period, orif we have difficulties takingover the supply from yourprevious supplier. For example,this can apply in the followingcircumstances:Your old supplier prevents usfrom transferring the supply.We do not have all theinformation we need from youto take over the supply and:(i) we have taken reasonablesteps to ask you for theinformation and you havenot provided it or theinformation you haveprovided is incorrect; and(ii) we cannot easily get thatinformation from anyother source.You are connected to a privategas or electricity network and:(i) a physical connectionneeds to be made to thedistribution network for gasor electricity (or both) and(d)(e)(f)that connection has notbeen made yet; or(ii) your old supplier has toldyou about the way yourmetering needs to bearranged to allow anothersupplier to start supplyingyou and your metering hasnot yet been changed toallow this.You do something that preventsus from taking over the supply.Ofgem prevent us fromsupplying you.We cannot supply you for someother reason which we have nocontrol over and where we havetaken all reasonable steps toresolve this.1.6 By taking the supply or agreeingcontract details for a site, you:(a) confirm that you own or use eachsite and that it is connected tomains gas or mains electricity(or both) or connected throughanother connection to mainsgas or mains electricity (or both);(b) agree that if you owed us anymoney before the date thiscontract started (for any of yoursites we supply, including for adeemed site), you will also oweit us under this contract and youwill have to pay any money youowe us;(c) agree that we are responsiblefor delivering the supply fromoutside a site to the meters andthat you are responsible for thegas or electricity (or both) fromthe meters into your site;45

Email us with any questions: eservice@britishgasbusiness.co.uk2.0 Charges2.0 Charges(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)agree that if you are apartnership, we may claim anymoney you owe us under thiscontract from you, any of yourpartners or all of you;confirm that the gas orelectricity (or both) at any siteis used totally or mainly fornon-domestic purposes;confirm that your previoussupplier has no reason to objectto you transferring your supplyto us, and you agree that youwill pay any charges you oweyour previous supplier that aretransferred to us (for example,transportation or distributioncharges for supply of gas orelectricity (or both) to your site),together with any of ourand your last supplier’sadministration charges;agree that you will not takean alternative supply of gas orelectricity (or both) from anyother supplier at any supplypoint at any site while that siteis covered by an active pricingperiod under this contract; andyou will give us the evidencewe reasonably ask for to allowus to check your identity as ourcustomer. This could includeyour passport or driving licence,other utility bills or your tenancyagreement for the site.Clauses 1.6 (f) and (g) do notapply to a deemed site.1.7 You agree to tell us immediatelyif, at any time during thiscontract, you either become orstop being a micro-business.We will not end this contractwith you as a result of you being,becoming or no longer beinga micro-business. However, wemay still end this contract if anyof the circumstances describedin clause 10.7(a) apply to you.You are a micro-business if:(a) you have asked us to supply youwith electricity and you do notuse more than 55,000 kWh ofelectricity a year; or(b) you have asked us to supplyyou with gas and you do not usemore than 200,000 kWh of gasa year; or(c) you have fewer than 10employees (or their full-timeequivalent) and your yearlyturnover or yearly balance sheettotal is not more than €2 million.2.1 You agree to pay us for supplyinggas or electricity (or both) and forother charges which apply underthis contract (such as thosedescribed in clause 2.5).2.2 Unless this clause or clause 12says something different, ourprices for supplying each siteare set out in the contractdetails for that site. We base ourcharges on the amount of gas orelectricity we supply, worked outin kilowatt hours. Our prices mayalso include a standing charge.We will tell you the amount ofstanding charge which appliesto your site. The standingcharge will be set out in yourcontract details.2.3 We will work out our charges forany deemed site based on ourdeemed prices until we agree toa new price arrangement for thatsite or a different supplier takesover supply to that site. Chargesbased on our deemed pricesmay be higher than the chargesunder a price arrangement. Wewill change the deemed pricesfrom time to time.You can see our currentdeemed prices at:britishgas.co.uk/business/products-and-services/deemed-rates.htmlYou can contact us to discuss aprice arrangement for that site.2.4 This contract will continue toapply to the site if you andwe have agreed a pricearrangement for any site and:(a)(b)the price arrangement for thatsite has ended; orif we have ended the pricearrangement for that site in linewith clauses 4.2, 10.7(b) or 12.3(c).The charges we will apply inthose circumstances will bebased on our out-of-contractrates for as long as there is noprice arrangement in placeor until a different suppliertakes over supply to that site.Charges based on our out-ofcontractrates may be higherthan the charges under a pricearrangement.You can see our currentout-of-contract rates at:britishgas.co.uk/business/products-and-services/deemed-rates.html2.5 We may also charge you forextra items that are not set outin your contract details. Thesemay include:(a) our reasonable costs of tryingto get back money you owe usor if you break any of the termsand conditions of this contract,including administration andthird-party costs (for example,our cost of sending an agentto your site in connection withany money you owe us) or ourreasonable costs where anattempted payment fails;(b) our reasonable costs of stopping,disconnecting or reconnectingyour supply;67

Email us with any questions: eservice@britishgasbusiness.co.uk(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(j)(k)our costs for transporting ordistributing gas or electricityto the site (as far as theseare not included in the pricearrangement we and youhave agreed);a charge for meters;our reasonable costs if you failto keep an agreed appointmentwith us or our agents at a site;our reasonable costs if youinterfere with your gas orelectricity meter or steal gasor electricity;our reasonable costs if youprevent us or our agentsfrom reading or working onyour meter;our reasonable costs oftransferring a site back to yourold supplier, where you no longerown or use the site you have toldus to supply;reading your meter when you askus, if this is more often than wemust read it by law;making and sending copies ofany documents we have alreadygiven you; andany amounts that, by law, wehave to include in your bill(for example, if the Governmentintroduced a scheme forcustomers to pay for energyefficiencymeasures throughtheir energy bills).2.6 If your meter also supplies otheraddresses or any parts of a sitethat you do not own or use, youmust tell us about it. You will beresponsible for paying us for allthe gas and electricity that issupplied through your meter,even if it is used at the otheraddresses or other parts of thesite unless we have agreedotherwise with you in writing.2.7 You must tell us if a tenant oroccupier moves into a site andsend us details of the tenantand meter readings for therelevant supply points. You willbe responsible for paying for thegas and electricity that is usedat your sites unless a tenant oroccupier that we have authorisedhas taken over responsibility forthe supply point.2.8 We have the right to chargeyou for extra services youask for. We will tell you aboutthese before we give youthe service.2.9 If they apply, you must pay UKtaxes and duties, including VATand CCL at the appropriaterates, on our prices and othercharges in line with the existinglegislation. We will add theseamounts to your bills.(a) We will charge you VAT onsupplies of gas or electricity(or both) to the site. This willbe at the standard rate unlessthe following apply:(i) You send us a completed,valid VAT certificate thatshows you do not have topay for gas and electricityat the standard rate of VATat the site. If you do this, wewill charge you VAT at theappropriate reduced rate onall or part of your supply thatis eligible for the reducedrate of VAT as shown by thepercentage you declare onyour VAT certificate. If youtell us that the reduced VATrate applies to you and youask us for a copy of a blankVAT certificate, we will sendyou one for you to fill in andreturn to us.(ii) The supply to your site isbelow certain limits (seebelow). If this is the case,we will automatically chargeVAT at the reduced rate.Below certain limits meanswhere we do not supply youwith more than 4397 KWh of gasevery month or more than 1000KWh of electricity every monthat the site.(b)We will charge you CCL on thegas or electricity (or both) youuse, unless:(i) CCL does not apply(because the reduced rateof VAT (see clause 2.9(a))applies to the supply at thesite); or(ii) you qualify for an exemptionor discount from the full CCLrate (in line with schedule6 of the Finance Act 2000).If you are eligible for anexemption or discount fromthe full rate of CCL (unless theexemption relates to the supplyof renewable source electricityor CHP electricity as set out inyour contract details), you mustsend us a completed PP11 form(or any other document thatreplaces the PP11 form) at least10 days before the start of thesupply period. You can get thePP11 form from HM Revenue& Customs. If you send us acompleted PP11 form after wehave started to supply your sitewith gas or electricity, by lawthere is a maximum periodfor which we can apply anyappropriate exemptionor discount to gas or electricitywe supply to your site. Thismeans that we can only applythe exemption or discount togas or electricity we havesupplied to you, at the site,from the date which is four yearsbefore the date on which wereceive the form.89

Email us with any questions: eservice@britishgasbusiness.co.uk3.0 Payment and billing3.0 Payment and billing(c)(d)We will not be legally responsibleto you or anyone else if we havenot charged you enough VATor CCL because of incorrectinformation you have given us ora fact in any documents you sendus is incorrect. If this happens, youwill have to pay the difference tous if we demand on an invoice,or directly to HM Revenue &Customs if they demand.If you have sent us a VATcertificate or PP11 form, it isyour responsibility to tell us ifthe purpose that you use gas orelectricity for at your site changes.At a glance:Our prices may include astanding charge which will applyeven if the site is empty.If you have not agreed priceswith us, our out-of-contract ordeemed prices will apply.We will give you a discount ifyou agree to pay by direct debit.We can ask you to pay indifferent ways depending onyour credit rating (for exampleby direct debit).We can charge you extra forany extra costs that we have topay due to something you havedone, or where you ask us toprovide you with extra services.We can charge you for costsrelated to transportation anddistribution of gas or electricity(or both) to your site andmeter charges.VAT and CCL will be addedto your charges if these apply.You need to send us a completedVAT certificate, if this applies.You need to send us a completedPP11 form, if this applies.3.1 We will send you bills at theintervals we agree with you inyour contract details (forexample, every month or everythree months) which may bebased on actual meter readingsor an estimated meter reading.You must tell us if:(a) you haven’t received a bill inline with the billing intervalswe agreed;(b) your bill is unusually high orlow; or(c) there is any change in yourcircumstances that may leadto changes in the amount ofenergy you use.3.2 You must pay the money youowe in full by the paymentdue date shown on the bill.3.3 You should include with yourpayments enough informationso that we can use yourpayments to pay off youraccount. You must include, atleast, your account number orinvoice number with site details.If you make a payment withoutthis information, we may place itinto a holding account until wehave the information we need.3.4 We may use any money you payus, any money we owe you or anysecurity deposit you have paid,to pay off what you owe underthis contract or any otherarrangement. When youmake a payment, we will decidehow we apply it against any partof your outstanding balance.For example, we may pay theoldest amounts you owe us firsteven if you have told us thatthe payment relates to anotheramount you owe us.3.5 If you pay a fixed amount bydirect debit, we may change theamount you pay and when youpay it, depending on how muchelectricity or gas (or both) youuse, or we think you may use, orif we change our prices or youowe us money. We will tell youbefore we make changes.3.6 If you disagree with any amountwe have charged you, you musttell us immediately. You agree topay your bill for amounts whichyou do not disagree with and forany bills we send you afterwards.1011

Email us with any questions: eservice@britishgasbusiness.co.uk4.0 Security deposit5.0 Meters and access4.0 Security deposit 5.0 Meters and access3.7 Even if you disagree with theamount we have charged you,you must pay us either 75% ofthe full amount shown on thebill or the undisputed amount(whichever is higher) by thedate you are due to pay us. Ifwe agree with you that we havecharged you too much and weowe you any money, we willadd that money to your supplyaccount with us as soon as wecan. If you still disagree withour decision, you can take legalaction. See clause 16 for moreinformation on the processto deal with disputes.3.8 If we decide you have no validreason to disagree with the billand you owe us the rest of themoney shown on the bill, we willtell you about this. You must payus within 10 days from the datewe tell you about our decision,even if we raise a new bill forthe outstanding amount andthe new bill shows a differentpayment due date. We mayalso charge you interest fromthe due date shown on theoriginal bill you disputed.3.9 If you do not pay your bill by thedate shown on the bill, we may,among other things we can dounder this contract, charge you:(a) fixed-sum charges (in linewith the Late Payments ofCommercial Debts (Interest)Act 1998); and(b)interest (on amounts you do notdisagree with) at 4% above HSBCBank’s base rate from the dayafter the bill was due.3.10 If any of the bills we sent youwere not accurate, we will sendyou a new bill, which you mustpay by the due date on that newbill. This clause will still applyafter this contract ends and afterwe have sent a final bill to you.If you are having financialdifficulties, visit our webpagebritishgas.co.uk/business/manage-account/financialdifficulty.htmlfor information onour debt-management servicesor call us on 0845 073 0427.At a glance:You must pay your bills bythe date shown on the bill.We may charge you for lateor non-payment.We may send you an estimatedbill if we can’t get an actualmeter reading.We may charge interest andfixed late-payment chargeson any amounts you owe us.To find out about our debtmanagementservice, visit.britishgas.co.uk/business/manage-account/financialdifficulty.html4.1 If we are not happy with yourcredit standing or we believethat you may not be able to payyour bills on time in full, we may,at any time:(a) ask you to pay in a different way(for example, by direct debitinstead of cash or cheque);(b) ask you to pay us a securitydeposit or to increase anysecurity deposit that we alreadyhold for you;(c) ask you to arrange for a guaranteein the format we request fromyour parent company or from oneor more directors, shareholdersor members, confirming thatthey will be responsible for anyamounts due under this contract;(d) ask you for any other formof security; or(e) charge you different prices(to reflect the risk to us).4.2 If you do not agree to pay thedifferent prices, pay us in theway we ask, pay the securitydeposit or arrange the requestedguarantee or security by the daywe have asked, we have the rightto end any price arrangementthat already exists which will thenend automatically on the daywe tell you it has ended. If thishappens, clause 2.4 will apply.5.1 We will make any arrangementswe need to provide a meterat each site and you agreeto co-operate with thosearrangements unless we agreeother arrangements with you (forexample if we agree with youthat you will provide your ownmeter). If we do agree otherarrangements with you, you willpay us for any reasonable costsor expenses that arise from thosearrangements and you agree thatwe have no legal responsibilityif you provide your own meter.5.2 In terms of meters generally,the following will apply:(a) We may ask you for a meterreading before we startsupplying your gas or electricity.(b) If we do not get an actualmeter reading for the date westart supplying you with gas orelectricity, we will estimate areading based on how muchgas or electricity was previouslybeing used at the site.(c) You should provide meterreadings as often as you arereasonably able (for example,once a month) to help us bill youaccurately. You must give us ameter reading at least onceevery year or more frequently ifwe ask you to.(d) We will take all reasonablesteps to reflect an actual meterreading in your next bill unlessclause 5.2 (e) or (f) applies.1213

Email us with any questions: eservice@britishgasbusiness.co.uk6.0 About your supply6.0 About your supply(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)If you give us a meter readingthat falls outside our reasonableestimation of your use, we maynot be able to use your meterreading. If this happens, wewill take all reasonable stepsto contact you to ask for a newmeter reading. If we still havea good reason to believe thatthe meter reading you haveprovided is not accurate, wewill tell you that we are not ableto use the meter reading youprovided and we may then usean estimated meter reading.You must tell us if there are anyunusual circumstances whichmight have affected your use, forexample if your site was closed.We also have the right to usea different meter reading fromthe one you give us if we readthe meter ourselves and get areading that is different to themeter reading you provided.If you disagree with a meterreading we have used (eitheran actual meter reading or anestimated reading), you must tellus within 30 days of the bill whichhas been worked out using thatmeter reading.We are not responsible for anyfaults in a meter or other fittingthat we do not own or provide.You must not damage orinterfere with the meter. If youdo, we will charge you our or ouragents’ reasonable costs to visit asite and carry out any work thatneeds doing to the meter. Wewill also charge you if we thinkyou may have interfered with themeter to steal gas or electricity.In those circumstances we canalso prosecute.5.3 When we ask, you must let us,our agents, the transporter ornetwork operator visit each ofyour sites to inspect the meter.You must make sure it is safeto visit your sites.You must allow these visitsto your sites:(a) for any reason that relates to yoursupply or meter, pipes or wires(this includes reading, inspecting,repairing, exchanging, testing,installing, isolating or removinga meter or stopping your supply);(b) if we need to inspect or testa meter or connection we donot own or have not provided,to check it is safe and givesaccurate readings or make sureit has not been tampered with(you agree to pay our reasonablecosts if we need to do this);(c) if there is a danger and we needto arrange for your supply to beturned off;(d) if there is an emergency;(e) if at any time we need to makeany changes relating to orresulting from the supply (forexample if we need to changethe pipes connected to themeter or the type of meteryou use);(f) if we have stopped supplyingyour site and we want to collectany meter that belongs to us; or(g) if we need to visit for any otherreason and can do this legally.5.4 If you or we think that the meteris not correctly recording thegas or electricity you use, wewill choose a qualified personto test it. If the test shows thatthe meter is not recordinginformation correctly (becauseit is outside the ‘limits of error’set by industry agreements),we will replace or repair themeter as soon as is reasonablypractical. If this happens, wewill pay the costs involved inreplacing the meter.5.5 If we ask for the test, we will payfor it. If you ask for the test, youmust pay for it before we carryit out. If the test shows that themeter is not correctly recordingthe gas or electricity you use,we will refund the amount youpaid for the test. If the meteris working properly, we will notrefund you the amount you paidfor the test. If the test shows thatthe meter is not working properlyor that you have paid for moregas or electricity than you shouldhave, we will pay you back theamount you have overpaid.At a glance:You agree to give us a meterreading in line with clause 5.2(c).You can email us your meterreading at: meter.reads@britishgasbusiness.co.ukYou must allow us access to yourmeter and you must not tamperwith it or damage it.6.1 If we or any legally authorisedthird party (for example thetransporter) asks you to stopor limit the amount of gas orelectricity you use at a site, youmust do everything you can todo so straight away. Your supplymay be stopped or limited if:(a) we believe somebody’s lifeor property may be in danger;(b) you do not pay your gas orelectricity bills by the due date;(c) Ofgem, the transporter or thenetwork operator tells us to do so;(d) we believe it is necessary andany energy laws or industryagreements allow us to do so;(e) circumstances that we have nocontrol over prevent us fromsupplying you (although we willtake reasonable steps to keepsupplying you);(f) we believe your meter is notset up properly or is unsafe(including if we have not beenable to read a meter that youhave provided or if we believethe metering equipment isbeing interfered with);(g) we need to test emergencyor safety procedures (includingenergy-industry procedures); or(h) you and we have specificallyagreed that your supply canbe interrupted in certaincircumstances.6.2 We are entitled to inspect andread your meter and stop yoursupply from outside your site ifyour meter has equipment thatallows us to do so.1415

7.0 Electricity supplyEmail us with any questions: eservice@britishgasbusiness.co.uk7.0 Electricity supply6.3 We have the right to stop youtransferring your supply to a newsupplier at any of your sites if:(a) you try to transfer your supplyand the transfer would takeeffect either during an activepricing period or before the endof the 28-day notice period youmust give under clause 10.1;(b) you owe us money and will haveowed us that money for at least28 days when the transfer is dueto happen;(c) you try to change suppliersfor gas or electricity (or both)and the new supplier does notapply for all the related meterpoint administration numbers ormeter point reference numberswhich may apply (for examplefor a warehouse and office at thesame address);(d) you ask us to stop the transfer; or(e) you owe us money under anyother agreement you have withus for the supply of electricityor gas (or both).Clauses 6.3(a), (b) and (e) do notapply to a deemed site.This clause 7 applies if thecontract is to supply electricity.7.1 You agree to tell us in writingabout any electricity yougenerate on your site wherethe generating equipment isconnected (directly or indirectly)to the electricity network. Youalso agree to provide forecastsof any future production from anyelectricity-generation equipmenton your site. We may pass to youany extra costs that may ariseas a result of you generatingelectricity on your site.7.2 We will take reasonable stepsto make sure that the networkoperator does not change thevoltage or frequency in yourelectricity supply. However,we cannot guarantee thatthere will not be any changes.7.3 When we supply you withelectricity under this contract,you are also entering into astandard connection agreementfor your electricity with your localelectricity network operator. Thisis described in clause 7.4, andyour supplier means us.7.4 Your supplier is acting on behalfof your network operator tomake an agreement with you.The agreement is that you andyour network operator bothaccept the National Terms ofConnection (NTC) and agreeto keep to its conditions. Thiswill happen from the time thatyou enter into this contractand it affects your legal rights.The NTC is a legal agreement.It sets out rights and dutiesrelating to the connection atwhich your network operatordelivers electricity to, or acceptselectricity from, your home orbusiness. If you want a copy ofthe NTC or have any questionsabout it, please write to:Energy Networks Association,6th floor,Dean Bradley House,52 Horseferry Road,London SW1P 2AF.Phone: 0207 706 5137Website: connectionterms.co.uk7.5 If we have agreed in the contractdetails that a percentage ofyour electricity will be allocated(provided) from renewablesourceelectricity or CHPelectricity, we may allocatethat percentage of yourelectricity from any CCLexemptsources or from non-CCL-exempt sources (see below).If we allocate all or part fromnon-CCL-exempt sources, wewill charge you non-CCL-exemptrate (see below) for that part ofyour electricity. If we do this,the total amount you will paywill not be more than theamount you would have paidif we had allocated that partof your electricity fromCCL-exempt sources.CCL-exempt sources meanswe allocate your electricity fromrenewable-source electricityor CHP electricity under thecontract.Non-CCL-exempt sources meanswe allocate your electricity fromsources other than renewablesourceelectricity or CHPelectricity under the contract.Non-CCL-exempt rate meansthe rate that applies to theelectricity when we allocate itfrom non-CCL-exempt sourcesunder the contract.At a glance:We can cut off your supply forthe reasons listed in clause 6.1.We can stop you fromswitching your supply toanother supplier for thereasons listed in clause 6.3.1617

8.0 Gas supply9.0 Moving out of or changing a site8.0 Gas supply 9.0 Moving out of or changing a site7.6 If you pay climate change levy(CCL) on your electricity, wemay allocate renewable-sourceelectricity or CHP electricity toall or part of the electricity wesupply to you. If we do this, aswell as the charges, you will payus an extra amount which will notbe more than the amount of CCLthat would have been due if thatpart of your electricity had beenallocated from sources on whichCCL would have been due.7.7 If we supply any part of yourelectricity from renewable-sourceelectricity or CHP electricity,in each averaging period,the amount of electricity wesupply from renewable-sourceelectricity or CHP electricity (asappropriate) will not be morethan the difference between:(a) the total amount of renewablesourceelectricity or CHPelectricity that we buy orgenerate during that period; and(b) that the part of the totalamount which we haveallocated other than to exemptrenewable-source electricityor CHP electricity supplies thatwe make in that period.7.8 Unless we agree otherwisewith you in writing, the volumeof renewable-source electricityor CHP electricity we supplyyou will be shown in yourcontract details and we willinvoice you in line with this.Clause 8 applies if the contractis for supplying gas.8.1 We only have to supply avolume of gas that is equal tothe yearly amount of gas thatthe transporter has registeredthe site as using. If we haveagreed a price arrangement fora site with you, we only have tosupply that volume at the pricearrangement we have agreedwith you. If you need more gas,you must tell us. We cannotguarantee that we can supplyyou with more gas. If we cansupply more gas, we may notbe able to supply it at theprice arrangement we mayhave agreed with you. In thesecircumstances we may charge adifferent price for the extra gas.8.2 We are not responsible forsupplying gas to you at apressure greater than thepressure shown under Section16(1) of the Gas Act 1986(as amended). If you needa greater pressure, you mustcontact us but we cannotguarantee that we can giveyou gas at a greater pressure.9.1 If you are going to leave a sitepermanently, the followingwill apply:(a) You must give us at least 28 days’notice. This is called the leavingnotice. Your leaving notice musttell us:(i) the date you are leaving thesite; and(ii) your new address and phonenumber; or(iii) the name and contact detailsof the new owner or tenantor, if the property will beempty, the landlord.(b) On the date you leave the site,you must take a final meterreading and tell us what it is.(c) We may ask you to provide proofthat there is a new tenant orowner at the site you are leaving.9.2 If you do not keep to clause 9.1,this contract will continue to applyto that site and you will still beresponsible for paying all chargesfor the supply at the site until:(a) you have delivered the informationwe need under clause 9.1, yourleaving notice has ended and youhave left the site; or(b) another owner or occupier takesover the supply at the site, whichmeans that:(i) we have accepted them asa customer;(ii) we accept their creditscore; and(iii) they have given us a meterreading (we may use thisas your final meter reading).9.3 If you leave, let or sublet a siteand you owe us money, thiscontract will apply until youhave paid what you owe usunder this contract.9.4 If you are leaving the site tomove to a new address, wemay agree with you that youcan transfer a price arrangementto cover your new address. If weagree that this contract and yourprice arrangement will transferto the new address, the followingwill apply:(a) We will send you new contractdetails for the new address andthis contract will apply to thatnew address as described inclause 1.2.(b) Your price arrangement will startto apply to the new address fromthe date on which we take overthe supply at the new addressor, if we already supply the newaddress, on the date we agree totransfer your price arrangementto the new address.(c) Your price arrangement andcontract details for the newaddress will apply until the pricearrangement ends or is renewedso it applies to the new site asset out in this contract.At a glance:If you are moving out of a site,you must give us 28 days’ noticein writing. Please contact youraccount manager or email yourleaving notice to contract.renewals@centrica.com1819

10.0 Ending this contractEmail us with any questions: eservice@britishgasbusiness.co.uk10.0 Ending the contract10.1 You can end this contract for asite (unless that site is coveredby an active pricing period) bygiving us the leaving notice atleast 28 days before you want thecontract to end and as long as:(a) you have paid us all the moneyyou may owe us; and(b) you start taking a supply fromanother supplier on the daythe notice period ends; or(c) on the day the notice periodends, you stop taking supply atthat site. If you choose to stoptaking supply at a site, you must:(i) if the supply is for gas,arrange for an appropriatelyqualified person to removeyour meter;(ii) if the supply is for electricity,arrange for an appropriatelyqualified person tode-energise your supply orto remove your meter.Clause 11 describes how youcan end your current pricearrangement for any site at theend of a pricing period.10.2 If you do not keep to theconditions in 10.1(a), (b) or (c)(whichever applies to your site),this contract will continue toapply to the site until you meetall the conditions. If you havenot contacted us and we receivenotice that you want to transferto a new supplier, we will objectto the transfer and, if we ask youto, you must help us to object tothe other supplier.10.3 You must pay for all charges untilthe end of your contract.If you do not pay any amount thatyou owe us, we may stop youswitching to another supplier.10.4 This contract will endautomatically for any supplypoint it applies to if Ofgem tellsanother supplier to take overthe supply at the supply point.10.5 If we believe the meter readingyou give us at the end of thecontract is not accurate, we maychange your final bill to includeany gas or electricity (or both)used until the first actual meterreading we take at the site afterthe contract has ended. We orsomeone acting on our behalfmay visit the site to checkhow much energy you haveactually used.10.6 If you have a deemed site, youdo not have to give us noticeunder clause 10.1 but you muststill tell us if you want to end thiscontract and the new suppliermust still register your sitesuccessfully.10.7 We can end this contract or aprice arrangement with you inthe following circumstances:(a) We can end this contract withyou for any site if:(i) we suspend or stop thesupply under clause 6.1 orif the site is disconnected;(ii) the transporter or thenetwork operator (orsomeone else on their(b)behalf) isolates the meter,removes the fuse from themeter, or disconnects themeter at the site;(iii) keeping to this contractmeans you or we would bebreaking the law;(iv) Ofgem tell us we have toend the contract; or(v) for any reason and at anytime we give you at least 30days’ notice that the contractwill end (unless the site iscovered by an active pricingperiod in which case we willonly be able to end thiscontract for that site in linewith clause 10.7(b)).If any of the abovecircumstances in 10.7(a) (i) to(iv) apply, we will tell you andwe will confirm the date onwhich the contract will endfor that site (which might beimmediately). Unless we sayotherwise, the contract willend on the date that we give.We can end any price arrangementwe have with you if:(i)you break any term ofthis contract;(ii) clause 12.3(c) applies;(iii) we give you written noticebecause you stop trading,if your business is woundup, if you or your businessbecomes insolvent oryour business goes intoadministration or receivershipor you or your businessenters into an arrangementwith people you owe moneyto (your creditors) or wherewe have a good reason tobelieve that there is a risk ofany of above happening; or(iv) your circumstances changeso that this contract isno longer appropriate.However, we will not enda price arrangement underthis clause as a result ofyou being, becomingor no longer being amicro-business.If any of the above circumstancesin clause 10.7(b) applies, wewill tell you and we will confirmthe date on which the pricearrangement will end (whichmight be immediately).10.8 If this contract ends for anyreason, neither of us will loseany of the rights we have gainedunder it. However, if you havemoney (credit) left on youraccount after we have told youthe final amount that you owe,you must tell us that you wantus to repay that money and youmust give us the information weask for (for example a forwardingaddress or payee details) so thatwe can pay it to you. If you donot tell us or do not give us theinformation we ask for within 12months of the date that we toldyou about the final amount weowe, we will not have to pay thismoney to you.2021

11.0 Renewing or ending the price arrangement andstatement of renewal termsEmail us with any questions: eservice@britishgasbusiness.co.ukOther terms and conditions forsites under price arrangementsAt a glance:This clause tells you about thecircumstances under whichthis contract can end.If your site is not covered by aprice arrangement, you can endthis contract by giving us leavingnotice, paying us the amountsyou owe us and changingyour supplier.If your site is covered by aprice arrangement, you canonly end this contract in linewith clause 11.If your site is not covered by aprice arrangement, we can endthis contract by giving you 30days’ notice or we can end itimmediately if the supply or themeter at the site isdisconnected.If your site is covered by a pricearrangement, we can only endthis contract under specialcircumstances (for example,if you break any terms of thiscontract or your business stopstrading or this contract nolonger applies to you).This contract will endautomatically if Ofgem orthe law says it must end.11.0 Renewing or ending the pricearrangement and statement ofrenewal terms11.1 Your first pricing period willstart on the date set out inyour contract details. At theend of a pricing period, we mayautomatically extend your pricearrangement for another pricingperiod. The same terms andconditions and charges willapply to the site for each pricingperiod unless we tell you thatthey have changed.11.2 We will tell you in writing aboutthe price arrangement and termsand conditions that will applyduring the next pricing period atleast 90 days (but not more than120 days) before the end of thepricing period in place at thattime. We will do this by sendingyou new contract details. Yournew contract details will set outthe length of the next pricingperiod and the dates on whichit starts and ends.11.3 You do not need to do anythingif you want to accept the newprice arrangement and termsand conditions for the nextpricing period as we will applythem automatically at the startof your next pricing period.11.4 Your second and later pricingperiods will start the day afterthe previous pricing periodends unless you have told us underclause 11.6 that you do not want toaccept the new price arrangementor terms and conditions, or ifclause 10.7(b) applies.11.5 If you are a micro-business, yoursecond and later pricing periodsunder this contract will eachlast for one year. If you are not amicro-business, your second andlater pricing periods will each lastfor at least one year unless weagree a different period with you.11.6 If you do not want to acceptthe new price arrangementor terms and conditions in thenext pricing period or if youwant to end your current pricearrangement for any site at theend of a pricing period, youmust tell us in writing. If youare a micro-business, you maytell us at any time during yourcurrent pricing period as longas you tell us at least 90 daysbefore the end of that pricingperiod for that site. If you are nota micro-business, you must tellus at least 90 days but not morethan 120 days before the endof that pricing period for thatsite. You must send your writtennotice to:The Retention Team,British Gas Business,Spinneyside, Penman Way,Grove Park, Leicester LE19 1SZ.Or you can email us at:contract.renewals@centrica.co.ukWe may reduce the amount ofnotice you need to give us underthis clause or (if you are not amicro-business), change theperiod in which you can sendus notice.11.7 When you have given us noticeunder clause 11.6, we cannegotiate new contract detailsfor that site with you or you canchoose a new supplier to takeover your supply at the end ofthe pricing period.11.8 If you have not changed supplieror agreed new contract detailswith us for any site by the endof the pricing period which isending in line with this clause 11,we will charge you our out-ofcontractrates for your site in linewith clause 2.4 for any electricityor gas that you use after yourpricing period has ended.This may mean that you end uppaying more than you need to.11.9 If you have not ended yourprice arrangement with usat that site in line with clause11.6, you will not be allowedto transfer the supply at thesite to another supplier until theend of your next pricing period.You must also tell us that youare not accepting the new pricearrangement in line withclause 11.6.11.10 If you agree with anothersupplier that they will take overthe supply at the site but you arein an active pricing period, we willobject to the transfer and, if weask you to, you must help us toobject to the other supplier aboutthe transfer by contacting them.You will need to explain that youhave not ended your existingprice arrangement with us.2223

Email us with any questions: eservice@britishgasbusiness.co.uk12.0 Changes to this contract12.0 Changes to this contract11.11 Where we are entitled to chargeyou our out-of-contract rates,this contract will still apply.Clause 10 describes how you canend this contract for that site.At a glance:Micro-businessesClause 11 explains whathappens at the end of yourpricing period.We will write to you at least 90days (but not more than 120days) before the end of thepricing period in place at thattime about the prices and termsand conditions that will apply toyour next pricing period. Thiswill also give the start and enddates of the next pricing period.Your next pricing period will startautomatically unless you give usat least 90 days’ notice beforethe end of the pricing period inplace at that time.If you do not want to accept thenew pricing period, you mustsend written notice in line withclause 11.6.If you have not accepted thenew price arrangement and donot change supplier, we willcharge you our out-of-contractprices when your existing pricearrangement ends.At a glance:Other businessesClause 11 explains whathappens at the end of yourpricing period.We will write to you at least 90days (but not more than 120days) before the end of thepricing period in place at thattime about the prices and termsand conditions that will apply toyour next pricing period. It willalso include the start and enddates of the next pricing period.Your next pricing period will startautomatically unless you giveus at least 90 days’ notice (butnot more than 120 days’ notice)before the end of the pricingperiod in place at that time.If you do not want to accept thenew pricing period, you mustsend written notice in line withclause 11.6.If you have not accepted thenew price arrangement and donot change supplier, we willcharge you our out-of-contractprices when your existing pricearrangement ends.We can change the terms andconditions of this contract(including our prices, conditions,payment methods and othercharges) under the followingcircumstances:12.1 If there is any change to anylaw or regulation, decision oradvice by a regulatory authoritywhich applies to this contractwhich makes any part of itillegal, unenforceable or affectsthe charges, we may changethe terms of this contract orthe charges as we considerreasonably necessary to reflectthose changes.12.2 At any time, but we will notchange your prices if your siteis covered by an active pricingperiod unless:(a) clause 8.1 or 12.3 applies; or(b) your meter or supplycircumstances change sothat the prices no longerapply (for example, youchange your meter).We will tell you about thesechanges at least 30 days beforethey take effect, which mayinclude referring you to ourwebsite for details.12.3 If we believe that we will havehigher costs due to you failingto keep to your responsibilitiesunder this contract or there is anincreased risk to us due to changein your circumstances, we maycharge you different prices (evenif we agreed a price arrangementin your contract details) or askyou to pay in a certain way.(a) Clause 12.3 may apply,for example, because:(i) your direct debit is cancelledor refused (if this happens,we may cancel any discountthat we had applied becauseyou had agreed to pay bydirect debit);(ii) you do not pay us on time;(iii) we believe that your creditrating has changed; or(iv) the information you havegiven us is incorrect for (forexample, if you have feweror more sites than weexpected or your creditinformation was incorrect).(b)If clause 12.3 applies the changeswe may make include, for example:(i) increasing your prices;(ii) making you pay by directdebit (instead of cashor cheque);(iii) asking you to give us asecurity deposit, guaranteeor other form of security(see clause 4);2425

Email us with any questions: eservice@britishgasbusiness.co.uk13.0 Our responsibility for loss or damage13.0 Our responsibility for loss or damage(c)(iv) changing the time that youhave to pay us. The amountof time we give you to paymay change depending onyour payment history with usor how good we think yourcredit standing is.If clause 12.3 applies to you,we will tell you what the newprices are and when they willstart to apply to you. If we needto change the way you pay us,we will tell you. You will haveto pay these different prices orpay in the way we ask straightaway after we tell you. If youtell us that you do not agree topay the different prices or donot pay in the way we ask, wecan end any price arrangementthat we have agreed with you.In these circumstances, theprice arrangement will endautomatically on the day wetell you it has ended. If thishappened, clause 2.4 willapply if the supply to the siteis registered with us. If thesupply to the site is not alreadyregistered with us, we maystop any registration processesto transfer your supply to thatsite to us. If this happens, thiscontract will end immediatelyfor that site and the site will staywith its previous supplier.At a glance:If this contract is for supply toa site which is not covered bya price arrangement, we canchange the terms and conditionsat any time by giving you 30days’ notice.If this contract is for supplyto a site covered by a pricearrangement, we can changethe terms and conditions andyour pricing arrangement onlyunder special circumstances.For example, this may be if thelaw says we have to or if yougive us incorrect informationor if your direct debit fails.13.1 We are legally responsible if:(a) we or our agents kill orinjure somebody (or causesomebody to be injured orkilled) because we or theyhave been negligent; or(b) we have acted fraudulently.13.2 In all other cases, our legalresponsibilities will be as follows.(a) We will not be legally responsibleif you suffer any loss of actualor expected profit, income,business contracts, production,goodwill or other financial loss,any indirect loss or damage, orany loss or damage if you havespecial circumstances.(b)(c)(d)If the transporter or networkoperator is responsible forany loss or damage, we willonly be legally responsibleto you for the amount we areentitled to recover from themon your behalf.We will not pay you more than£100,000 in total for any claimsyou have against us while weare or were your supplier.We will not be legallyresponsible for any loss whichis caused by you not keepingto your responsibilities underthe contract.13.3 Each clause in clause 13 appliesseparately. If a court or anotherauthority tells us we cannotenforce a certain clause, theother clauses will still apply.2627

14.0 Using personal informationEmail us with any questions: eservice@britishgasbusiness.co.uk14.0 Using personal informationExcept for clause 14.8, thisclause applies to personalinformation we hold aboutindividual people, peopleregistered as sole traders,and partnerships. It does notapply to information we holdabout companies and otherorganisations.14.1 We or our agents may use yourinformation to do the following.(a) Provide you with the servicesyou have asked for (which mayinclude loyalty and incentiveschemes we may run).(b) Offer you accounts, servicesand products from us and ourpartners. To help us make theseoffers, we may use an automaticscoring system, which also usesinformation about you fromother credit reference agenciesas well as other companies.(c) Help run, and contact you aboutimproving the way we run, anyaccounts, services and productswe have provided before, nowor in the future.(d) Create statistics, test computersystems, analyse customerinformation, create profiles andcreate marketing opportunities(including using informationabout what you buy from us andhow you pay for it. For example,the amount of gas or electricityyou use and any discounts wehave offered you).(e) Help to prevent and detect debt,fraud or loss.(f)(g)(h)Help maintain your, and themembers of your family orhousehold’s, health, safetyand security.Help train our staff.Contact you in any way(including by post, e-mail,phone, text, multimediamessage, other forms ofelectronic communications(such as smart meters) or byvisiting you) about productsand services we and ourcarefully selected partnersare offering.14.2 When we contact you, we mayuse any information we holdabout you to do so. We maycontact you by e-mail, phone,text message, other forms ofelectronic communications(such as using smart meters)or by visiting you. If we arecontacting you to tell youabout any offers, we will, asfar as possible, do this in linewith how you have told usyou would prefer to receivemarketing information (yourrecorded marketing preferences).You can ask us not to send youany information on our offers atany time by contacting us andgiving us your account details.14.3 We may allow other peopleand organisations to useinformation we hold about you(including any other CentricaGroup companies such as thoseusing the British Gas, ScottishGas and Dyno brands):(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)to provide services you haveasked for, which may includeproviding information tomembers of your family orhousehold, anyone acting onyour behalf or other peoplewho may be interested (suchas landlords or letting agents);as part of the process of sellingone or more of our businesses;to help to prevent and detectdebt, fraud or loss (for example,by giving this information toa credit-reference agency),which is described in moredetail below;if you do not pay your debts(we may transfer your debt toanother organisation and givethem details about you andthat debt);if we have been asked (forexample by Ofgem or a lawyer)to provide information about youfor legal or regulatory purposes;as part of current or futurelegal action;as part of government datasharinginitiatives, for example,those designed to help stopfuel poverty (where peoplecannot afford to pay forheating and electricity);to help manage any loyaltyor reward schemes; or(i)if you hold an insurance policywith us or any our affiliatedcompanies, to pass informationto an insurer to manage yourinsurance policy (includingunderwriting and claims, to helpdevelop new services, dealingwith insurers and to assessfinancial and insurance risk).Other people and organisationsthat we share your informationwith may be based overseas,outside the European EconomicArea (EEA), and as a result yourinformation may be transferredto countries that do not have thesame standards of protection forpersonal information as the UK.However, how we collect, storeand use your personal data willcontinue to be governed by thisprivacy statement.14.4 We may also monitor andrecord any communication wehave with you, including phoneconversations and e-mails, tomake sure we are providing agood service and to make surewe are meeting our legal andregulatory responsibilities.2829

Email us with any questions: eservice@britishgasbusiness.co.uk14.5 If we suspect someone hascommitted fraud or stolen energyby tampering with the meter ordiverting the energy supply, wewill record these details on youraccount record and may sharethis information with Ofgemand other people who areinterested (such as other energysuppliers, landlords and housingassociations). We may use thisinformation to make decisionsabout you, your character, howlikely we think you are able to payfor your gas or electricity (or both)and future energy services. Thismay include recording sensitivepersonal information such ascriminal offences you have beenaccused of. Also, if the gas orelectricity supply to your propertyhas previously been tamperedwith, or if gas or electricity hasbeen stolen, or we suspect it hasbeen stolen, we may take thisinto account when we decidewhat products or services we canoffer you and the termsand conditions we give you.14.6 You agree that we can ask yourprevious supplier for informationthat will allow us to take over yoursupply, such as information aboutmeter readings and equipment orcharges you owe your previoussupplier. You agree that we canprovide information we holdabout you (such as informationabout meter readings, equipmentor money you owe us) to yournew supplier so that they canbegin supplying you.14.7 If we believe that you, oranybody using or visiting a site,need extra care (for example,because of your or their age,health, disability or financialcircumstances), we may recordthis in the information we holdabout you or them. We will usethis information so that we donot stop your supply. We mayshare your information with:(a) social services, charities andother support organisations ifwe believe at any time that youcannot look after yourself orother people using or visitingthe site by making sure thereis an energy supply to the site;(b) other energy suppliers if webelieve you are thinking ofchanging supplier (we assesswhich customers need extracare and record and share thisinformation in line with theEnergy Retail Association‘safety net procedures’); and(c) the relevant transporter,metering agents ornetwork operator.14.8 This clause applies to individuals,sole traders and partnershipsand to the directors of corporateorganisations as well as limitedcompanies and other corporateorganisations.(a)We will check your details withone or more credit-referenceand fraud-prevention agenciesto help us decide whetherthere is a risk that you may notpay your bills, to help us makedecisions about the goods andservices we can offer you andto help us manage your account.Below, we have given a briefguide to how we and thecredit-reference and fraudpreventionagencies will useyour information.If you would like moreinformation about this, go tobritishgas.co.uk/business orphone us on 0845 600 0604and we will send you a leaflet.We will ask credit-reference andfraud-prevention agencies forinformation about you, yourbusiness, any people you areapplying with and directorsof your business (if you areproviding information aboutothers on a joint application,you must make sure they agreethat we can use their informationto do this.) If you provide falseor incorrect information andwe suspect fraud, we will passyour details to credit-referenceand fraud-prevention agencies.Law-enforcement agencies (forexample, the police and HMRevenue & Customs) may usethis information.(b)(c)We and other organisationsmay also access and use theinformation credit-reference andfraud-prevention agencies giveus to, for example:(i) check details on applicationsyou make for credit andcredit-related services;(ii) check your identity;(iii) prevent and detect fraudand money laundering;(iv) manage credit and creditrelatedaccounts or services;(v) recover debt;(vi) check details on proposalsand claims for all types ofinsurance; and(vii) check details of employeesand people applying forjobs with us.When we ask credit-referenceagencies to carry out a searchfor us, they will record this onyour credit file whether yourapplication for a contract withus is successful or not.3031

Email us with any questions: eservice@britishgasbusiness.co.uk(d)(e)(f)We will send information onyour account to credit-referenceagencies and they will recordit. If you have an account withus, we will give details of it andhow you manage it to creditreferenceagencies. If you havean account and do not repaymoney you owe in full or ontime, credit-reference agencieswill record this debt. Theymay give this information toother organisations and fraudpreventionagencies to carry outsimilar checks, find out whereyou are and deal with any moneyyou owe. The credit-referenceagencies keep records for sixyears after your account hasbeen closed, you have paid thedebt or action has been takenagainst you to recover the debt.We and other organisationsmay access and use, from othercountries, information recordedby fraud-prevention agencies.If you are a director of acompany, we will contact creditreferenceagencies to confirmthat the residential addressyou provide is the same as thatshown on the restricted registerof directors’ usual addresses atCompanies House.(g)If you want to see whatinformation credit-referenceagencies hold about you, youcan contact the following creditreferenceagencies currentlyproviding services in the UK.They may not all hold thesame information, so it is worthcontacting them all. They willcharge you a small fee.Call CreditConsumer Services Team,PO box 491,Leeds LS3 1WZPhone: 0870 0601414callcredit.co.ukEquifax plcCredit File Advice Centre,PO box 1140,Bradford BD1 5USPhone: 0870 010 0583myequifax.co.ukExperianConsumer Help Service,PO Box 8000,Nottingham NG80 7WFPhone: 0870 241 6212experian.co.ukDunn and Bradstreet UKMarlow International,Parkway,Marlow SL7 1AJPhone: 0870 243 2344dnb.co.uk14.9 If you give us information onbehalf of someone else, youconfirm you have given themthe information set out in thiscontract, and that they havegiven permission for us to usetheir personal information inthe way we have described inclauses 14.1 to 14.2. If you giveus sensitive information aboutyourself or other people (suchas health details or details of anycriminal convictions of membersof your household), you agree(and confirm that the person theinformation is about has agreed)that we can use this informationin the way set out in this contract.14.10 You are entitled to have acopy of the information wehold about you, and to haveany inaccurate informationcorrected. We may chargeyou a small fee for providinga copy of any informationwe hold about you.For more information aboutthis, please contact ourPrivacy Unit at:Lakeside West,30 The Causeway,Staines TW18 3BY.Or, you can e-mailCentricaDataProtection@Centrica.com.At a glance:Clause 14 tells you how we willuse the information that you giveus and gives you the contactdetails you will need if you wantto find out more.3233

15.0 Other informationEmail us with any questions: eservice@britishgasbusiness.co.uk15.0 Other information15.1 You may not transfer any of yourrights or responsibilities underthis contract to another personwithout getting our writtenpermission first.15.2 We can transfer all or any part ofthis contract to another supplier.15.3 Any notice we give you oryou give us must be in writing.(you should send them toThe Retention Team,British Gas Business,Penman Way, Grove Park,Leicester LE19 1SZ.)The following also applies:(a)(b)(c)You and we will considernotices delivered by hand tohave been received when theyare delivered.You and we will considernotices delivered by courier orguaranteed or special deliveryto have been received on thedate when they are recordedas having been delivered andsigned for.If you and we send lettersby post, you and we assumethe letters have arrived onthe second day after theywere posted.(d)(e)(f)You and we will consider noticesthat we send you by e-mail or faxto have been received on the daythey were sent unless you tell usthat you cannot accept noticesby email or fax. You and we willconsider notices that you send usby e-mail (you should email themto eservice@britishgasbusiness.co.uk) to have been received onthe day they were sent unless wetell you that we cannot acceptnoticesby email. We are not able toaccept receipt of notices by faxunless we specifically agree thiswith you.Even if your name is not correcton a notice we send you, we willstill assume you have receivedit, unless you have told us aboutour mistake in the past andwe have still not updated ourrecords in a reasonable time.If there is any disagreementabout a notice, it is importantthat you can prove that you havesent it. Any notice should containenough information to allowus to identify your account (forexample, your site address).15.4 Before you allow anyone elsewho is not an employee to actfor you in relation to this contract(for example to let us know thatyou have moved out of the site),you must tell us in writing thatthey have an authority to act onyour behalf. If you haven’t told usabout this other person, we maynot act on their instructions untilyou have confirmed that they areallowed to act for you.15.5 The laws of England andWales or Scotland apply tothis contract, depending onwhether the site is in England,Wales or Scotland.15.6 If, at any time, we do not enforceany part of this contract, thiswill not stop us from doing soin the future.15.7 If a court thinks a part of thiscontract is not valid, the rest ofthe contract will not be affected.15.8 This contract is the full andonly contract between us forsupplying gas or electricity(or both) to you. This contractreplaces and cancels anyprevious drafts, agreements,actions, statements, warrantiesand arrangements of any kind,whether in writing or not.Neither you nor we will haveany right to take action againstthe other because of any draft,agreement, action, statement,warranty or promise given byeither of us or any other person,whether in writing or not, thatis not set out in these termsand conditions.3435

16.0 Dealing with disputes17.0 Glossary16.0 Dealing with disputes 17.0 GlossaryWe occasionally make mistakes andwhen this happens we want to deal withthe problem straight away.For more information on ourprocess for handling complaints,please visit our website at britishgas.co.uk/business/complaints or callus on 0800 294 0015.If you are a micro-business and wehave not dealt with your complaintafter eight weeks, or if we have sentyou a letter stating our final position,you may be able to take your case tothe Ombudsman Services: Energy.The ombudsman offers a free,independent service where acustomer and supplier cannotmake a final agreement.Phone: 0330 440 1624Textphone: 0330 440 1620Address: Ombudsman Services:Energy, PO Box 966,Warrington, WA4 9DFWebsite: os-energy.org.ukYou can also get help from Citizens Advice.The Citizens Advice consumer serviceprovides free, confidential andunbiased advice on consumer issues.Visit adviceguide.org.uk or call thehelpline on 08454 040506.We are proud that our business-tobusinessterms and conditions havereceived Plain English Campaign’sCrystal Mark. The Crystal Mark showsthat a document is as easy to read andunderstand as possible, bearing in mindthe intended audience.Meaning of words usedin this contract.In this contract, when the followingwords are shown in bold they havethe meanings shown below.actual meter reading – where we or anappointed agent read the meter at yoursite or where you give us an accuratereading from your meter.affiliated – means any of our holdingcompanies or subsidiary companiesor any company which is a subsidiarycompany of the holding company.The words holding company andsubsidiary are defined under Section1159 of the Companies Act 1985.CCL – the tax (charged in the UK) onthe commercial and industrial use ofgas or electricity (or both) set out inSchedule 6 of the Finance Act 2000,and any similar tax.charges – the amounts you must payus under this contract, including pricesand any other amounts.CHP electricity – combined heat andpower electricity that is exempt fromCCL under Schedule 6 of the FinanceAct 2000.contract – this supply contract betweenyou and us.contract details – a document that wegive you (as well as this contract) whichgives specific details about the contract(for example your site or sites and yourpersonal details, prices and the periodfor which those prices apply).deemed prices – prices we charge youfor use of gas or electricity (or both) at adeemed site as described in clause 2.3.deemed site – any site which wesupply with gas or electricity in any ofthe circumstances described in clause1.2(b).industry agreements – all agreements,licences, authorisations and codes orprocedures relating to supplying gas orelectricity to the site.leaving notice – the notice you mustgive us if you are moving out of a site(see clause 9.1).licence – the licences that Ofgem giveus to supply gas and electricity.meter – the meters and equipment formeasuring and providing informationon the gas and electricity you use.micro-business – a business which meetsthe conditions set out in clause 1.7.network operator – the companylicensed to run the electricitydistribution network for your area.Ofgem – the Office of Gas andElectricity Markets, who regulate thegas and electricity markets in GreatBritain, or any regulatory organisationwhich replaces it.3637

Email us with any questions: eservice@britishgasbusiness.co.ukout-of-contract site – any site for whicha price arrangement has ended in linewith clause 2.4.out-of-contract rates – prices whichapply to an out-of-contract site.price or prices – the prices we willcharge you for supplying gas orelectricity (or both) to your sites asset out in your contract details or asdecided under clauses 2.3 or 2.4.price arrangement – the prices wehave agreed with you in relation tosupplying gas or electricity to your sitesfor the pricing period set out in yourcontract details, including, for example,a fixed or flexible price arrangement.pricing period – the fixed period oftime for which we have agreed thata price arrangement will apply as setout in your contract details and as weagree between us from time to timeunder clause 11.process for handling complaints – ourmethods and procedure for handlingany complaints as set out clause 16.regulatory authority – any governmentdepartments, regulatory, statutory andother organisations that can regulatethis contract.renewable source electricity –electricity generated from renewablesources exempt from CCL underSchedule 6 of the Finance Act 2000.site or sites – any property orproperties we supply with gas orelectricity (or both).smart meter - a meter which, as wellas measuring energy, can also carryout other roles, for example, twowaycommunication allowing us toread the meter remotely and gatherinformation related to the supply of gasor electricity (or both).standing charge – the daily chargethat you must pay us to keep the siteconnected to the gas or electricitysupply, however much gas or electricityyou use.statement of renewal terms –a statement (in the format containedin clause 11) containing informationabout your existing price arrangement,including the date your existing pricearrangement ends and details of howyou can accept or reject a new pricearrangement that we may offer you.supply period – the entire period thatwe supply gas or electricity (or both) toyou under this contract.supply point – the points (whetherinstalled by us or another supplier)at which the meters at your sites aresupplied with gas or electricity (orboth).transporter – the company licensed todeliver gas through the pipes to the site.VAT – value added tax as described inthe Value Added Tax Act 1994.Interpretation of words and phrasesused in this contractWhere we talk about domesticpurposes and non-domestic purposes,those phrases will have the meaningas given to them by Ofgem.Any reference to a statute or toany condition or legislation underthis statute also includes anyamendments to it.Where we use ‘include’, ‘including’,‘in particular’ ‘for example’ or anysimilar expression in this contract, it isto give you an idea only and does notmean we are mentioning everythingthat may apply.At a glance:This section highlights yourmain responsibilities under thisagreement. You are responsiblefor reading the terms andconditions in full.You are responsible for:confirming that you will keepto clause 1.6;telling us when you become,or stop being, a micro-business;telling us when you leavethe site;paying the prices that youowe us;giving us the correct informationabout VAT and CCL;telling us if you have notreceived your bill for while, yourbill is unusually high or low, orif there is any change in yourcircumstances that may leadto changes in your energy use;arranging a security depositif we need one from you;co-operating with us forany meter arrangements weneed to make for your siteand providing us with meterreadings;telling us if you generateyour own electricity; andtelling us if you do not want torenew your price arrangement.3839

We are proud that our business-to-businessterms and conditions have received Plain EnglishCampaign’s Crystal Mark. The Crystal Mark showsthat a document is easy to read and understand aspossible bearing in mind the intended audience.0116/06/12British Gas is a trading name ofBritish Gas Trading LimitedRegistered in England & Wales No. 3078711Registered Office: Millstream, Maidenhead Road,Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 5GD