Utility Helpline Fees & Payment

Utility Helpline Brokerage Services

 Fees / Remuneration

There is no cost or obligation to obtain a price comparison or for Utility Helpline to tender for prices. However, by agreeing a contract via our service, you are accepting that your chosen supplier will then pay Utility Helpline a fee or commission for the introduction & managing the transfer process. Depending on the supplier, the current industrywide mechanism used for remuneration from suppliers to energy brokers/consultants is an “uplift commission fee”, which is included in the supplier price we offer by way of an uplift within your unit cost for energy.

It is, in some circumstances possible that you may be able to obtain a cheaper tariff by searching the business energy market, calling suppliers, and comparing tariffs, terminating your own agreements, and managing the transfer process directly, however, our uplift pays for us to do that for you, savings you hassle and benefiting from our additional services we offer as part of the complete care package. The commission we receive from each provider also pays for the additional services we offer, which include ongoing support, a dedicated account manager, regular bill checking* (bills maybe required to be e-mailed by the customer for checking), query management, dispute resolution, regulatory advice, renewal management and our complete care package.

By way of an example for Electricity, we may secure a price for 22.00p/kwh and then add 0.5 p/kwh. This would then make the price 22.5 p/kwh. The uplift does depend on your energy usage and spend, length of contract, credit risk etc 

 (Electricity) a client using 10,000 kwh would spend £2250 on energy per annum based on the example above. We would therefore receive £50 commission per annum. This commission/broker margin allows us to continue to offer services and include the complete care package.

By way of an example for Gas, we may secure a price for 3 p/kwh and then add 0.3 p/kwh. This would then make the price 3.3 p/kwh. The uplift does depend on your energy usage and spend, length of contract, credit risk etc and we keep it below the industry average.

 (Gas) a client using 100,000 kwh would spend £3300 on gas per annum based on the example above. We would therefore receive £300 commission per annum. This commission/margin allows us to continue to offer services and include the complete care package.

Our uplifts depend on the size of contract, length of contract, consumption and other factors such as credit risks, time invested and services included . Commissions can be between 0.1 p/kwh  to 1.50  p/kwh. We highlight how we earn money and under the mircrobusiness review, will be clearly shown on supplier paperwork for all Microbusinesses.

By using our services, you agree that Utility Helpline is an independent energy brokerage and is not instructed to act as your agent or representative. In the event the relationship between you and us is held to be fiduciary nature, by accepting a quote and entering into our standard terms and conditions you agree that the uplift applied to your account is properly applied in return for utility management services and does not constitute a "Secret Profit" pursuant to which any fiduciary duties may be held to owe you are broken, provided we have not acted dishonestly in the management of your account.

We operate a strict policy to recommend suppliers based on price, service and suitability to our client’s needs. We work with a select panel of the UK’s leading business energy suppliers. This gives us access to 34 plus of the uk's  business energy suppliers’ prices (November 2021), which allows us to be highly competitive and offer a full range of services to suit any business’s needs.

Complaints

At Utility Helpline, we believe in giving our customers a first class personal service. If however, there’s an issue you need to bring to our attention or you would like to make a complaint, please let us know by following the steps below.

Our Complaints Policy:

1. Complaints can be made over the phone or by email or letter. We’ll always do our best to sort your problem out straight away (within 24 hours).
2. If we need more time, we’ll give you a reference number and contact you as soon as we’ve sorted out your issue.
3. If we haven’t resolved your complaint within 5 working days, we’ll contact you to explain why and keep in touch until it’s resolved.
4. In the unlikely event you not happy with our final decision we can guide you to access any relevant ombudsmen services.

Who to contact about your complaint:

• Email us at rbonelle@utilityhelpline.co.uk
• Call us on 01432 378695
• Write to: Energy Manager, Richard Bonelle, 107 Burrows Business Centre, Hereford, HR1 2HE

Please include this information with your complaint:

• Name and address
• Contact number
• Details of the problem and any suggestion of how you would like us to put it right