Posts Tagged ‘business electric’

Be vigilant about contract termination windows when approaching the end of your fixed term business electricity contract

8 August 2012

At Energy Advice Line we receive a number of calls every day from prospective customers who have unfortunately missed serving termination notice to their current business electricity supplier. This is prominent with customers who sign into contracts directly with suppliers who have particularly onerous termination clauses in their terms and conditions such as deemed termination windows.

Julian Morgan, Managing Director of leading business electricity price comparison service Energy Advice Line says that suppliers such as EON, Haven Power and npower currently write to customers approaching the end of the their fixed term giving them a window of time in which to serve advanced termination and to prevent their contract from rolling over onto uncompetitive business electric renewal rates. This is particularly onerous as busy business owners will often miss this vital information when it lands on their doorstep and they only notice the issue when their bills suddenly jump up. Unfortunately it is then too late and their supplier has assumed the renewal on rates which can be 30-40% more expensive.

The Energy Advice Line has as a result produced a FREE best practice guide to provide lots of useful hints and tips about the business energy sector as well as information about serving advanced termination notice.

Please follow this link www.energyadviceline.org.uk/company/best-practice-guides.php to get your FREE copy now or call Energy Advice Line on 0800 915 1800 for impartial advice on how to cut the costs of your business electricity prices.

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Business Electricity, Business Electricity Prices, Business Electricity Rates, Business electricity price comparison, business electric
AUTHOR
Julian Morgan, MD Energy Advice Line
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Business Electricity Customer is misled by unsolicited cold caller into believing that their existing contract had fallen through

8 June 2012

A business electricity customer who had already agreed to a contract with Energy Advice Line was called out of the blue and told that the contract had failed validation and they were chasing up on the paperwork so they could “put it right”. When the business energy customer informed the cold caller that they had completed the sign up with Energy Advice Line they insisted that they were calling on behalf of them, needed to validate the contract and required the meter serial number from the front of the meter. Although the claim that the contract needed validating was completely untrue the cold caller was very insistent that they needed the customer’s serial number.

Luckily the business energy customer did not believe the cold caller, put the phone down and contacted Energy Advice Line.

Julian Morgan, Managing Director of the Energy Advice Line said that this proves that no business electric customers were safe from the approaches made by unsolicited cold callers – even those who have just completed a sign up with someone else.  The premise that the old caller was from calling from Energy Advice Line was very misleading and they were acting fraudulently. This simply has to stop and Energy Advice Line will be presenting the gas and electricity regulator OFGEM with this information.

If you are contacted out of the blue from someone who appears to be very pressurising in their sales approach please be very vigilant. Do not provide them with any information from your meter and put the phone down immediately.  If you need to obtain prices for your business electricity supply go online and compare the market using a reputable price comparison service such as Energy Advice Line. It only takes 5 minutes to compare business electricity prices using Energy Advice Line. It is vital when making a vital decision that affects the bottom line of your business that you stay in control at all times by using online impartial business electricity price comparison services and not accepting contracts from companies that call you out of the blue.

The UK’s leading business energy price comparison and switching service for business electricity rates called on all business consumers to say no to cold callers and to compare the market using a reputable online business electricity prices comparison service.

For further information on the business energy Say No to Cold Calling Campaign please contact Energy Advice Line on 0800 915 1800 or visit www.energyadviceline.org.uk/say-no-to-cold-calling.php

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Business Electricity, Business Electricity Prices, Business Electricity Rates, Business Energy, Business electricity price comparison, business electric
AUTHOR
Julian Morgan, MD Energy Advice Line
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Is now the time for SMEs to take an active role in the business energy market?

19 August 2010

Now is the time for small businesses to become real players in the energy market. That’s the message from climate change minister Greg Barker in his recent column in the Daily Telegraph.

Mr Barker implored the investment potential of the Feed in Tariff (FiT) scheme for both domestic and business electricity and gas customers.

“Our homes, businesses and communities can also become dynamic players in the new energy economy by producing their own green electricity and selling it back into the national grid,” Mr Barker wrote.

By investing in such technology as solar panels, businesses are able to generate their own electricity and sell any excess to their business electricity needs back to the grid.

As well as slashing business electricity costs and bringing in money, this type of scheme helps to reduce your business’s carbon footprint and improve its green credentials – increasingly important to many businesses these days.

However, putting solar panels or wind turbines on your premises is not a practical solution for every business. That’s why at Energy Advice Line we can help you find the best tariff for your business electricity or gas – taking into account what matters to you, such as green energy generation.

In his statement, Mr Barker also gave a clear message to potential investors that the UK government is committed to the renewable energy industry to ensure a secure and affordable supply of electricity for business and domestic customers alike.

You can read Mr Barker’s full column in The Daily Telegraph

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Business Electricity
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Julian Morgan, MD Energy Advice Line
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Why Small and Medium Sized Businesses Must Be Vigilant About Assumptive Supplier Renewal Tactics

24 January 2009

Small and medium sized businesses in the UK must be wary of the assumptive renewal tactics employed by business electric and gas suppliers in the UK, warns the Energy Advice Line. Unfortunately for the majority of SME business energy consumers assumptive renewal is common place when the client is coming to the end of a fixed term contract period.

Commercial Director, Julian Morgan states “Suppliers rely on this tactic to roll their clients over onto a further contract duration/period which can be as long as 24 months, usually on prices that are more than 30-40% above the current retail price – The supplier maximises their margin to the detriment of their client!”

Impartial help and advice…

Given their impartial position in the market, the Energy Advice Line are well placed to help and advise the client as much as possible, but they must be vigilant and gain an understanding of when their contract term expires so that they can take control and plan their renewal. Julian Morgan continues “We advise our clients to obtain a position of authority and confidence as soon as poissible by speaking to their supplier and asking them to confirm when their contract term expires”.

The Energy Advice Line also warns that the onus is on the client to terminate their current contract by serving notice of termination for the expiry date given to them by their supplier.

Independent approach…

Being entirely independent of any particular energy supplier, the Energy Advice Line is uniquely placed to provide good impartial advice focussed on the specific requirements of a customer. The process of assessment of need through to switching of supplier is seamless and, critically for the customer, the service is provided at no cost.

Julian Morgan continues: “The Energy Advice Line will do all the legwork for customers, providing an impartial online price comparison service in which the customer can view and evaluate the most competitive offers on the market. We have also developed a “Star Rating” system based on our monitoring of all of the offers available and present the information in an easy-to-read, bite-size format. Given that business electricity and gas customers on renewal are usually contracted by the supplier for a minimum of 12 months it is very important they make the right choice – our aim is to help our clients do this!”

Why use the Energy Advice Line…

The Energy Advice Line offers small and medium sized business customers the option of being able to easily asses their energy needs, view and compare alternative business electricity and gas suppliers confidently. Julian Morgan sums up “We provide the customer with all of the information in easy to understand bite-sized chunks so that make the decision in complete confidence without a salesperson at the other end of the telephone trying to pressurise them into making what could be the wrong decision”.

Contact Us…

Please do not hesitate to contact the Energy Advice Line on 0845 094 2516 (local rate) if you require any further information or advice about supplier assumptive renewal tactics.

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Business Electricity
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Julian Morgan, MD Energy Advice Line
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