Businesses should be aware of a series of common warning signs when dealing with unregulated individuals and companies selling energy contracts across the UK, according to an industry specialist campaigning for fairer deals.
The boom in the energy sector has led to a significant increase in third party intermediaries acting as the bridge between consumers and suppliers.
But with that comes the potential for confusing contracts and hidden fees as a minority of unscrupulous brokers seek to capitalise on a lack of energy literacy.
“There are certain red flags businesses should look out for when dealing with a TPI,” explains Callum Thompson, CEO of Business Energy Claims.
“If there are representations made about there not being any commission payable — or that the supplier pays the commission — that needs to be questioned.
“Often the commission can be buried in electronic documents that customers are required to sign even though they’re not signposted to key details.
“Another red flag is if a TPI is looking to secure your future energy contract well in advance of your contract end date.
“This is often unnecessary and more a case of serving the TPI’s interests in terms of securing the future business.”
Callum and the Business Energy Claims team accept that there are thousands of TPIs working across the country with their clients’ best interests at heart.
But they are continuing to fix their gaze on those brokers who continue to hide behind complicated contracts and confusing jargon.
“BEC has seen minor improvements in the conduct of TPIs serving businesses across the UK,” adds Callum.
“But let’s be clear — there’s still nowhere near a sufficient amount of change taking place to redress a non-domestic energy market which is awash with mis-selling.
“The market remains very crowded and confusing for customers and this is at a time where, during the last couple of years, the energy market has seen unprecedented costs which have forced many firms out of business and put many more at risk of going under.
“As we’ve said many times, we do feel there is a place for TPIs serving customers in the right way — in a fair and transparent manner.
“Unfortunately, in our experience, they are still few and far between and the energy market requires drastic changes and tighter measures to be imposed to better protect consumers.”