Changing providers can often be difficult at the best of times but in the regulated field of Business Electricity and Business Gas where you would expect it to be clear cut but there are areas of the transfer that your impartial energy broker will make you aware of prior to progressing with the switch.

Even when you think it is going to be plain sailing and you’ve made an application to transfer away from your current business electricity or gas supplier they can delay the transfer if they can prove that you fall into any one of the following categories:

• You are still in contract
• There is a debt on the account from any previous bill

However, in some circumstances you can satisfy the above criteria but your current supplier will still delay the transfer on your business electricity or gas account, which means that you cannot move onto the cheaper rates on the date agreed.

This type of scenario does not sit well with the business community and cries of ‘foul’ are often heard in these cases with the big business gas and electricity suppliers effectively keeping a customer in suspense and frustrating the process, perhaps in the hope that they will relinquish the transfer request?

If you agree terms with a business energy supplier on a direct basis there is a very strong likelihood that you will have to deal with any delays yourself and go through the process of speaking to the energy suppliers – this can be very frustrating, time consuming and costly.

Switching business energy supplier can be made a lot easier if you use an impartial broker/third party intermediary like Energy Advice Line (EAL) to manage the process for you, not only will they find you the best rate but they will guide you through the entire process.

Although a significant number of their customers transfer without a hitch, should there be any queries then EAL handle any transfer objection should it arise – all of this is done free of charge – the customer does not have to pick up the telephone – EAL do it all.

Saving money on essential overheads such as energy has always been an important issue for business, no more so than now! The current climate has created an environment where customers are coming to the market to review their business electricity and gas costs. When considering your company’s position with its current supplier there are some important questions that have to be asked. Are we getting the best possible rates for our business electricity and business gas or could we do better? What are the terms of our current contracts? Do we have to deal direct or can we find an intermediary who can negotiate better business electricity and gas rates?

In the first instance are you getting the best possible rate for your business electricity or business gas the answer is not always that easy to find out but first establish what you’re paying and to whom and on what tariff. It’s certainly worth searching online for business energy tariffs to see who’s charging what and if there are any savings to be made. It is important however to understand exactly what your commitment is under your current agreement, how long it’s for and when it’s due for renewal.

Out of all theses points knowing when your current business electricity or business gas contract is due for renewal, is probably the most important. Why? You may ask but quite often the major companies will roll you into a new contract without advising you and potentially this will be a higher tariff than you are already on. This assumptive renewal tactic employed by the suppliers will lock you into a new fixed term contract with no get out clause, leaving you and your business with even higher energy bills just as the weathers’ getting colder and you need to maximise production!

Searching online for business electricity comparison sites could pay dividends as you will find a number of companies offering their services to manage and maintain your energy requirements. Check these companies out carefully to make sure they are not one of the larger utility companies operating under a different guise. If they’re not then you could find yourself in a position not only to reduce your energy bills but with an impartial advisor who will take care of the switch and ensure that you never miss a renewal again and who will always be looking out for your best interests.

These companies are often paid an introduction fee or commission by the business electricity or business gas suppliers but because they manage a large portfolio of business customers they are able to negotiate excellent rates without passing any additional costs onto you the consumer. This ‘win win’ scenario helps the smaller companies and a lot of larger companies to manage their costs and ensure that they survive the economic downturn.

Some of these companies have tailored themselves as consumer champions of the business energy market, believing that everyone should be entitled to clear, trustworthy and impartial advice about their business energy bills.

Often with an in-house team of specialists they can assist customers with any information or queries they may have, in the first instance though it is worth visiting their web site or calling them to see what they can offer – it could be time and money well spent that should return a cosy feeling of profitability.