en-us http://backend.userland.com/rss Your Friends @ Myvesta.org.uk (stever@myvesta.org) myvestaukblog_archive.html stever@myvesta.org 114260976183168576 A FIRM which made its fortune persuading punters to ditch British Gas offered to plug the power giant instead - if it paid them £15million.

Your Money uncovered uSwitch.com's indecent proposal to British Gas yesterday as it was sold to a US firm for £210million.

The takeover by Cincinatti-based media giant Scripps triggers a £100million windfall for founder Lord Milford Haven, the Queen's cousin.

Senior management at the site will share £19million. But a confidential letter seen by Your Money will cause huge embarrassment for bosses of the self-styled "consumer champion" and its new owners.

In a letter to British Gas, managing director Andrew Salmon claimed he could stop up to 100,000 gas and electricity customers ditching the power giant each year.

He admitted uSwitch.com's strategy was to attack market leaders such as British Gas in the hope people would leave them and join a rival. The site earns a commission each time someone switches and claims to have helped a million people find cheaper deals.

But poacher Salmon, who pockets £5m from yesterday's takeover, went on to say he was willing to turn gamekeeper - if British Gas coughed up a minimum £15.2m over three years.

He added that uSwitch.com would also want £80 each time a new customer was persuaded to join British Gas.

And he boasted that uSwitch.com made up to £200 out of each person who used the site.

When Your Money contacted British Gas it would only say that it had rejected the proposal.

USwitch.com was set up six years ago by Lord Milford Haven and expects to make £9m profit this year.

It now runs price comparisons on telephone and broadband packages as well as credit card charges.

Lord Milford Haven said: "The wonderful thing about uSwitch is that we make money by saving people money."

But critics claim its charges to power companies are actually a burden on the industry and lead to higher bills.

Asked about the letter, Salmon said: "I am not going to discuss confidential commercial negotiations.'

WE SAY: FIRMS such as uSwitch have cashed in on spiralling fuel bills by creating a switching frenzy.

Now we discover they have 200 million good reasons to get you on their money merry-go-round.

By Steve Hawkes