So at work we have received our monthly bill and as it's now cold we (I) have used a tad more electricity trying to keep warm. The good people at British Gas claim that because we have gone over a previously determined usage level then we should be charged at 20% vat. Has anyone come across this before and is it right that they can do that? As a business we aren't overly bothered as we can claim it back, it just seems a tad odd that they can just switch vat rates as and when they please.
-- Edited by Rhianrach on Thursday 13th of November 2014 10:20:29 AM
-- Edited by Rhianrach on Thursday 13th of November 2014 10:20:52 AM
I've seen that before - the reduced rate of 5% is only for domestic customers so when it is a small amount of electricity they must deem it to be for domestic use. Go over that amount and they'll class it as being for a business. I guess the only time it would be a problem is a genuine domestic customer using a lot of electricity.
So, in my opinion, not only is it fair what they've done in your situation, they should be charging 20% all the time.
Supplies of not more than an average rate of 33 kilowatt hours per day - 1,000 kilowatt hours per month - of electricity to one customer at any one of the customers premises are subject to VAT at the reduced rate. This applies whether the bill is based on a meter reading - by either you or your customer - or on an estimate.
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Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time.
Thank you sir, that clears that up. The way they tried to explain it over the phone was that we had agreed to a usage and if we went over that then they could charge us more vat, which did sound a bit weird, this however explains it really well, thanks again.
