When not to trust your energy consultancy

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CUB Main Full LogoWith energy consultancy, as with everything, you get what you pay for, says CUB in this sponsored post. ‘Free’ consultancy is one sign that you can’t trust your partner – and the firm outlines a few other indications that it might be time to find a new TPI.

Finding the best energy price and service can be a costly and time-consuming process for many businesses, no matter how big or small the company. Furthermore, a number of organisations see no benefit in changing suppliers due to the lengthy time it takes to manage the transfer and for the time it takes for one energy provider to hand over the contract to another.

Many businesses also see the same approach with energy consultancy, or have negative views of TPIs based on past or present transactions. With this in mind, we take a look at the most obvious signs of when not trust your energy consultancy.

‘Our service is free’

No it’s not. Every consultant charges for their service. If you receive a quotation or information about an organisation providing a free energy consultancy, this will not be the case. You will still pay for their consultancy time, but instead the cost will be hidden within your monthly, quarterly or annual energy payments, reflecting an untruthful cost of how much your business is paying for energy. If a company hides their consultancy fee, you are likely to be paying a service fee, which you can find out the exact amount by contacting the energy supplier direct.

Price breakdown

All quotations from your energy supplier or consultant should have a clear price breakdown that takes into consideration transport and distribution costs, environmental changes that include: the Renewables Obligation, which aims to increase investment in renewable forms of energy generation; the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, which aims to cut the amount of carbon emissions; and further details about the contract, whether it’s fully fixed or not.

Be clear on the tendering process

Some energy consultancies may only approach a small number of suppliers, typically the energy suppliers that they have strong relationships with, or perhaps the ‘big six’. This is because they can offer competitive rates for duel energy bills to secure the organisation’s business.

TPI code of practice

Ofgem is currently in the process of developing a TPI code of practice to regulate consultancy practices. The practice sets out standards that include a professional and honest service, transparency of information and fees as well as effective monitoring of the market.

Level of Service

When you contact your energy consultant, do you have a regular point of contact? A high turnover of staff could be a reason for many things, including a lack of staff training and incentives as well as poor company culture. If you regularly speak to different team members, have a think about why this might be and whether they qualified to analyse your energy consumption and bills.

If you’re working with a ‘free’ energy consultancy or your energy consultancy is not providing a transparent and professional level of service, the team at CUB UK can help.

Our five-star customer promise and our helpful and personable approach to energy consultancy is what keeps our clients coming back year after year. We provide an honest approach to fees and energy price breakdowns, we approach more than 20 suppliers for every client. Most importantly we follow the TPI code of practice in all areas.

If you would like to know more, contact a member of our dedicated team by calling 01354 606848 or visiting c-u-b.com/enquiries.

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