Hi folks, I’m Jon Mullen the Energy Evangelist. It’s a new month and we’re talking about purchasing energy. So where do we start? Obviously it has to start with switching providers.
For a domestic energy user this can be accomplished easily through online providers such as MoneySupermarket or USwitch, but there are lots of pitfalls even at this simple level. Over the past 18 months at least 24 suppliers have gone bust. This will leave you in a mess. But one bit of advice for domestic users. Never buy from the cheapest supplier. Look for suppliers with good quality reviews. This means they are providing good customer service, and usually means they want to look after you.
However, back to business users. The easiest way to get the right deal is to have a relationship with a commercial energy broker – such as www.EnergyPriceSaver.com which happens to be myself. The reason for this is because commercial energy has a lot of complications, and if you don’t get it right you will be locked into a long term contract which you cannot break out of. According to the energy regulator, Ofgem, if you are a business of any size you are expected to make the right business decisions and not cave in when high pressure telesales tactics are applied. But many small businesses struggle every day if their energy contract deadline is coming close, and if they don’t already have a relationship with a broker then they will accept any contract even if it is bad because they don’t know what will hurt them.
So my simple answer to switching providers is to ask your trusted business colleagues who they would recommend as a commercial broker. Then build a relationship with that broker so that they understand your business. Then they will make the right decisions with you for the future.
I’m Jon Mullen the Energy Evangelist. Come and find out how to #SaveEnergySaveMoney at EnergyEvangelist.co.uk