Many British Gas customers are frustrated about incorrect billing, delayed refunds and poor customer service. So when we offered readers the chance to put their questions to Phil Bentley, we received hundreds of responses, which you can see on the money weblog

Some questions were about British Gas Homecare, which Mr Bentley was unable to answer as he deals with customer service. British Gas has said it will endeavour to answer some questions on this in the future.

Here are Mr Bentley's responses to a selection of your questions:

Expensive price protection

I have been a loyal British Gas customer for many years. I take Gas and Electricity and have resisted suggestions that we look elsewhere for cheaper supplies. I signed up to electricity price protection 2007 which expires shortly. British Gas sent me a letter congratulating me on signing up and offering me continuation of price protection. When I examined the small print on the back of the letter the 2007-8 prices were DOUBLE what I was currently paying. On investigation you can get a lower price almost anywhere including from British Gas on a different tarif (Click Energy which I have now signed up to). Why did they encourage me to commit to a higher tarif without explaining the lower tarifs that were available? Why do they not reward long serving loyal customers? I am now looking closely at moving my custom elsewhere.

Phil Bentley: Firstly, thank you for being a British Gas customer - and please don't consider leaving us. At British Gas every customer counts and we don't take loyalty for granted. I'm just one week into my new role as MD of British Gas but offering great value and great service are my two biggest priorities.

In terms of the product you signed up for, by taking Price Protection 2007 (PP2007) in 2004 you avoided subsequent energy price increases in 2005 and 2006. The average customer on this product would have frozen their bill and saved about £320 per annum compared to current rates - and this is still a 22 per cent saving against our new lower prices. As the wholesale market has been very volatile, it was a smart choice to lock in your rates over the period when wholesale energy prices tripled. And by the way, British Gas was the first company to offer fixed-price deals, and we've sold over 2 million of them since their introduction.

UK energy prices are now linked to the global demand for gas and although wholesale prices are stabilising and indeed have fallen we can't predict how these prices will change a year from now. That's why we have offered a further Price Guarantee until May 2008. This product is a win win. If prices go down further between now and May 08, dual fuel customers on Price Guarantee will get a £50 pay out, but if they want to move half way through the period on to our standard tariff they can - there are no premiums to pay and no cancellation fee.

Your third point was about cheaper tariffs. Most companies now have a whole host of tariffs - this gives customers choice. We were the first to announce price cuts for all customers on standard tariffs and Click Energy, our online tariff, is the cheapest dual fuel tariff on the market. I would argue that it's a great deal - but not for everyone as I know some customers do not want to manage their household bills on line.

And don't forget, Click Energy, does not offer protection against future price rises. Customers who have been on one of our price protected products clearly see protecting themselves against the possibility of price increases as important. So on balance, we believe we are acting in the best interests of our existing Price Protection 2007 customers in suggesting they move to another protected product - Price Guarantee 2008, rather than go back to a floating tariff - though the choice ultimately rests with the customer.

I have recently been advised that as a customer who signed up to your Price Protection 2009 offer, I will not be a beneficiary of the forthcoming decrease in your standard energy rates. Given that I had to pay 2.3% extra to participate, do you really think that, in a competitive marketplace, I and others in the same position will continue to be your customer? Paying around 17% more than those who did not participate plus the participation fee? You seem to be on a path of self destruction.

Phil Bentley: Customers on a price protected product do not see price cuts, but nor do they see price increases. By signing up to Price Protection 2009 (PP2009) you have avoided a 12.4 % increase in gas prices and a 9.4% increase in electricity prices from September last year, so you are already better off by around £50 than customers on standard tariffs. You are now in a break even situation compared to our new standard tariff prices and so you now have a choice; stay where you are and protect yourself against the possibility of any future increases right through until April 2009, or, if you think prices will continue to fall, you can move to a floating tariff. When you signed up to PP2009 you will have known that like many products in the financial services market, it had an early redemption penalty. However, because we value our customers at British Gas, we have decided to waive this £30 penalty for customers who signed up to for any products during 2006. Call us on 08456070200 to talk this through and we'll put you onto the tariff that suits you.