110,000 customers abandon British Gas

BRITISH Gas lost 110,000 customer accounts in the first four months of the year.

The exodus was blamed on customers switching to rivals. However, owner Centrica also saw increased demand for energy during the cold snap brought on by the Beast from the East.

The chill in February and March saw an exceptionally high number of central heating boiler breakdowns, with British Gas fixing 145,000 in one week. It was the firm’s busiest week ever, and the weather also contributed to an increase in services customer complaints.

Additional call-out costs due to the Beast will also result in a hit to profit for UK services in the first half, which are set to come in lower than the same period last year.

Centrica chief executive Iain Conn said the firm was making good progress on its cost-cutting programme. It said this year it would axe 4,000 roles following a 17pc drop in profits.