United Kingdom

Details

  • Industry: Power and Utilities
  • Type: Video
  • Date: 11/03/2011
  • Length: 1:39 Minutes

Comparing Utilities to Other Resources 

Transcript:

Comparing utilities to other resources

 

Andy: it’s one of these weird ones like some years ago, y'know when they decided that  British Telecom had a monopoly, even though they’d put all the bloody lines in there and I don’t quite see how that works, y’know like it’s the main gas utilities companies that put the hardware in, erm, yet all of a sudden the Government steps in and says (off camera Lynn: it’s a free for all) no hang on a minute, you’ve done all the work but now these other people have got to be allowed to supply it as well.

 

Eugene: won’t it then turn out like BT where you buy it from the source, but BT like, y’know the person who lays the pipes then charges you to travel through his pipes,. See you’re going to end up paying the person who laid the pipes, y’know like BT sell the lines that everyone uses, so even though you’re paying Sky for your telephone, they’re paying BT a proportion……

 

Steve: so the Government should be doing it initially, I think, but it will be, it’s it’s like all these things, it’s like the tubes innit. Ooh everybody’s fed up with the tubes breaking down, they want a better service, aah well you’re going to have to pay for it – they already paid for it when they bought a ticket, surely!

 

Eugene:  It should be a contractual agreement like a mobile phone for a year.  They give you an agreement they can’t change the price and then they shouldn’t need to contact you. You know, when you sign, you know they say the first of January, we’re charging you 27p a unit for your electricity.  Cool, but it’s that for the year.  It’s not 31 pence in March and y’know..29p in June, do you know what I mean? (off camera: Alex says yeah, yeah, yeah I’m with you). Y’know? That’s it, it’s like a mobile phone contract, you know what you’re getting, you can do what you want, it’s that set price the whole time, they can’t put the price up, they should work it out so they know they’ve, they’re within the parameters so that you’re not stinging them and they’re not stinging you.

What does the customer think they should pay for and how does this compare to other industries?