The great news for businesses that are looking to save money on their energy costs is that the standard of energy brokers and TPIs (Third Party Intermediaries) is much more reliable when compared to the domestic market.
This is simply because the business energy broker sector relies hugely on the reputation of the energy broker and as a business, you are only going to go to the brokers who you can actually trust.
Even with that higher standard, small businesses are still losing up to £2bn a year due to rogue energy brokers locking them into expensive long term gas and electric agreements, based on a recent Ofgem study.
We want you to avoid being one of these buisness and demand only the best service possible, so we’ve written our list of warning signs that you’re dealing with a bad energy broker. We only hope that this watch list can help your business spot bad practices ahead of time and help you identify if you are about to be missold a bad contract and end the conversation before it goes any further.
Your Energy Broker Is Not An Independant Broker
The purpose of a great energy broker is that they will search every corner of the market to find you the best deal to match your requirements. If your energy broker can’t achieve that for you, then you’re simply going to be misled about the marketplace.
Before any agreements are made, the pertinent question to ask your broker is if they are truly independant and how many suppliers they will actually get quotes from.
There are a lot of energy brokers who are not dependant and have suppliers who they will favour with their contracts. Often this leads you into being told that these suppliers are simply the best, when in reality your broker has done little to no investigation into the market and have simply gone to their regular suppliers in order to increase their commission.
As an independant broker, the team at Switch Business Utilities take this very seriously and finding out how independant your energy broker is should be a first step, so that you get a clear impression of what the energy market is actually like and be sure that you’re always getting the best deal.
Your Energy Broker Doesn’t Have A Website
Having an online prescence is a must for any modern day business and your energy broker should be no different.
The quickest way to find out if an energy broker is worth your time is by googling them and finding their reviews. If your energy broker doesn’t have a website or any online prescence whatsoever, then this should immediately ring alarm bells.
It isn’t always the case that the lack of an online prescence is a problem. Alot of the industry is very relationship based and many great energy brokers work on word of mouth and their reputation is enough to secure connections outside of the online world.
However, it’s always something to bear in mind when you’re doing your research.
Your Energy Broker Isn’t Providng Clarity
This is a given for pretty much any agreement you make as a business, but that doesn’t make it any less important. As with any expert who is helping you navigate a complicated industry that you don’t understand, a bad energy broker will do their best to muddy the waters and keep you in the dark.
But how can you know if your business energy broker isn’t providing clarity, or is simply using jargon and ommiting information to keep you ignorant of the facts?
Well, there are a few questions which you need to ask your energy broker in order to know where you stand with them.
Do we need to sign a contract with you?
If the answer to this is yes, then it’s over. Your energy broker’s commission will be agreed between themselves and your new energy supplier. You should not be required to sign any contract for services or payments at anytime during the process.
Do you charge directly for your services?
Your energy broker should always receive commission as part of the contract with your energy supplier. If an energy broker begins asking you for money upfront as part of their service, then you should end the conversation.
Could you disclose the commission you will receive any energy suppliers for taking out a contract with them?
Your energy supplier should always be happy disclosing any commission they receive from an energy supplier. If they are not happy doing so or claim it is private information, then this isn’t normal for a broker and you should not continue any further. It is likely that if your broker isn’t happy disclosing this information, then they’re receiving an abnormally high commission from a supplier, which hints to them not being truly independant.
Your Energy Broker Is Pressuring You
The core aim of your energy broker should be always focused on getting you the best deal on your business energy supply, and putting pressure on you to take a deal quickly flies completely in the face of that.
At no point during the process, should you ever feel like you are holding things up. It’s a technique which bad energy brokers will use to push through a deal with a great commission, that benefits them over you.
At all times, you should have the numbers and the facts that make you feel comfortable in making an informed decision on switching supplier.
The Golden Rule: The deal will only ever go ahead, when you want it to go ahead.
So if you’re feeling pressured, then there’s something else going on and you should seriously consider switching your broker.
Your Energy Broker Doesn’t Provide After Sales Followup
We’ve mentioned time and time again that energy brokership is a business that relies on strong relationships, but it really is the basis of our speciality. And it’s why after sales are particularly important – energy brokers thrive on repeat business and it’s a win-win if a business like yours has a great broker on speed dial whenever they need better rates on their energy.
The test of a great energy broker is how good their after sales is. Getting the best rates on your busisness energy is not just a one time thing. Rates change, suppliers change and as a business you’ll always need to be reviewing your energy costs to make sure you’re getting the best deal.
If your energy broker is not focused on maintaining the relationship beyond the initial sale, then it’s a bad sign. A great energy broker will always be invested in upkeeping relationships with its clients. It’s the core of our industry.
In the best case scenario you will find this out if an initial contract falls through and your energy broker loses interest in your custom, but you might also discover this after your energy broker has already switched you over to a new supplier.
Whenever you get a sense that the after sales will be terrible, then it’s often best practice to make sure there won’t be any sale in the first place with your energy broker and move on.
Your Energy Broker Can’t Confirm Annual Estimates or Provide Comparisons
This is possibly the biggest red flag on this list and needs to be top of your priorities when it comes to identifying a dodgy energy broker.
From all of the above warning signs, they all lead to one single fact:
A bad energy broker is always after the quick sale.
The purpose of your energy broker is to get you the best energy deal for your business and keep you informed of your options at every step of the way.
If your energy broker is unable or unhappy to provide you with all of your current options, the pros and cons of each decision, and a projection of your annuals costs; then…well you know the drill at this point.
It’s time to find an energy broker who isn’t after a quick sale and wants you to make the best decision right now and be the broker you call when you next want to get the best deal on your rates.
At Switch Business Utilities, We Pride Ourselves On Our Reputation
Whether we’re working on getting you the best deal now or ten years from now, at Switch Business Utilities, we pride ourselves on being the energy broker that businesses call when they need to start saving money on unfair business energy rates.
You can either get in touch with the team directly, or take our free energy enquiry test to see how much you could be saving on your business energy rates today.
