While Soaring Energy Complaints Hit the Headlines
Data published by the energy ombudsman shows a 55% rise in complaints about the big 6 energy companies for the first half of 2015, according to The Times.
While it is consumer stories which tend to occupy the headlines, James Constant, CEO of specialist energy broker Business Juice, says that UK businesses are increasingly unhappy with their energy services too, citing increasing dissatisfaction with their brokers in particular.
Constant explains:
“The concept of hiring a business energy broker should save a business both time and money on finding the best electricity and gas supplier to suit their needs. Energy brokers are hired for their expertise, industry contacts and buying power.”
“Yet we are finding that clients are increasingly unhappy with their energy broker and dissatisfied with the service provided.”
“While clients welcome the concept of having a broker to get them the best deal on business electricity and/or gas, many clients complain that they were dissatisfied with the quotes they received. Some found that they could do better themselves while others felt that they were not being offered the most appropriate deal and had concerns about broker bias towards a particular supplier.”
“What’s more, our clients tell us of poor administration and having to do much of the work themselves in order to complete the transfer to a new supplier.”
“All too often customers are being left in the lurch, having to try and salvage the situation themselves.”
Business Juice’s service focuses on delivering genuinely good service and high standards, with its employees invested in making the process of switching energy supplier as efficient as possible.
Constant continues:
“At Business Juice, we very simply try to be the sort of broker we’d like to use ourselves.”
“That means firstly finding the most appropriate deal by establishing a good understanding of the client’s needs and then going out to market on behalf of the customer to negotiate with a raft of suitable suppliers in order to recommend the best package and price – without any commission-based bias.”
“Then once the right supplier has been selected, we work hard to ensure a smooth transition. More importantly, if any issues arise, we’ll fix them for our customers and support them through the life of their contract.”
Business Juice find that it is at the renewal stage that many competitors fail.
“We consider that finding an energy broker should be a long term relationship which genuinely saves the client both time and money.”
“For us, when it comes to renewal, we take nothing for granted. Every time a contract expires, our search for the best deal is just as thorough as for a new client, based on an up to date understanding of the clients’ needs and what the market has to offer.”
“In an industry that doesn’t always enjoy the best reputation, we’re determined to set the bar high for service and standards.”
Business Juice offers a free quotation service for businesses of all sizes and from all industries; from the smallest work-from-home start-ups and SMEs to major FTSE companies with multiple site energy usage.
Their experienced team of expert Energy Experts can review the current energy market and recommend the most appropriate deal from over 30 UK gas and electricity suppliers.
Since 2009, over 200,000 UK businesses have used Business Juice’s energy switching services for reviewing energy contracts and 2 billion kWh of energy has been sold, delivering savings in excess of £64 million a year.