WHAT A GOOD UTILTY BROKER SHOULD BE DOING FOR YOU

UPON FIRST CONTACT

A consultative broker rather than a sales orientated one should ascertain from you at the outset:-

Do you have mains gas as well as electricity?

Do you have LPG or Oil ?

Do you have any renewable energy, such as solar, wind, ground source or air source heap pumps?

If the answer to any of the above is no, you should be asked if you have any intention to install any of the above and if so when. This needs to be taken into account as a contract may have a penalty clause for using less than the quote was based on.

When is your renewal date?

Who is your current supplier?

What type of meter do you have. Your energy bills will contain that information.

Do you have an inhouse laundry, if so does it operate during the day or night. If it’s during the day do you intend to move to the night to save energy costs?

Do you have more than one home? If yes, are they all under the same ownership as cheaper rates can be obtained?

Do you have any plans to sell the home, if so what is your timescale?

Is there anything else relevant to your energy supply that hasn’t been covered by the above? Building an extension could cause your usage to be higher than quoted and therefore receive a financial penalty.

You are likely to be asked for your annual usage, especially by a sales orientated broker. If you are asked that at the outset, it is less likely the above questions will be asked. 

WHAT A GOOD BROKER WILL DO NEXT

Without accurate data, (ideally usage every half hour covering the previous 12 months) it is very difficult to source the best contract for you. The care sector has a different profile to other sectors as you are operating 24/7.

Contracts can have:-

Day/Night rates (Night rate hours vary supplier to supplier)

Weekday/Weekend rates 

Different contract terms.

Flexible contracts.

Penalties for using less/more than the quoted usage.

The broker should have access to all suppliers and tailor the quotes to your exact requirements, based on the answers to the questions that you should have been asked and the data the broker has obtained from your current supplier. 

You should be provided with transparent, consultative energy advice, comparisons and quotations and offer industry insight to help you make a more informed decision on when and from who you buy your energy.

IS BIGGER BETTER WITH UTILITY BROKERS?

It is interesting that large-scale users often initially feel they need to find a bigger broker. Doing so can be detrimental (financially) to you as a large brokerage could have:-

Hundreds of salaries and pension contributions.

Their own IT, utility and premises costs.

Large advertising budgets.

Financial incentives for staff.

The above are just some of their overheads BEFORE they make a profit and most brokerage businesses recover this by adding a hidden margin onto their customer’s energy contracts.

As OFGEM rules require all brokers to have access to the same prices, a smaller broker with less overhead should be adding a much smaller margin. The broker should advise you how much they are adding, but few do!

WHAT YOUR BROKER SHOULD DO AFTER YOU ACCEPT A QUOTATION

Rather than just contact you after 33 months as it is 3 months from the renewal of your 3 year contract, a good broker should:-

Offer invoice validation, so that you are being charged the correct amount.

Offer a quarterly review of your usage, which can sport anomalies.

Offer insight into the energy industry that is relevant to the care sector.

Offer energy saving advice, such as:-

The cost of a hot tap versus a kettle.

The potential savings for moving a laundry from day to night.

Timers and motion detectors.

Be available to you, not via a call center where you can be passed around and not speak to the person that arranged your contract.

Offer other cost saving information about water and waste, which whilst not paying the broker very much for arranging are often ignored.

Assist if you have problems with billing etc. 

IF YOU HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH A BROKER

You should still try and get a second quote to see how competitive (or complacent) your current broker is-after all the only difference in price should be the margin they charge for their services.

If your broker is doing a “good job” they should be happy to see that their quote is competitive when compared with another broker. They should tell you how much they have added to your quote, although they may not be happy about doing so. 

THERE IS NO CHEAP, POOR QUALITY OR SUB-STANDARD

GAS AND ELECTRICITY –IT IS THE SAME PRODUCT COMING THROUGH THE SAME WIRES AND PIPES

THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THE PRICE