Terms & Conditions

Terms and Conditions -V1.2

In this document you will find the terms and conditions of services for Utility Helpline. It is important that you read these terms and conditions as these principal terms will come into effect once a customer uses any of Utility Helplines service.

Price Comparison / Contract Renewal

If the customers opts for and Utility Helpline agrees to provide the price comparison, Utility Helpline will use its reasonable endeavours to identify, negotiate and secure competitive energy prices on behalf of the customer.

Utility Helpline agrees to provide the customer with impartial information on supplier’s prices in relation to the services and products offered by the supplier. Utility Helpline agrees to provide a price comparison or summary league table for consideration by the customer, of relevant business energy offers and will use its reasonable endevours to collect, present and secure as favourable and competitive prices as possible. 

Utility Helpline reserves the right to revise, amend and withdraw any quotation at any time upon informing the customer.

The customer agrees to provide Utility Helpline with accurate information to allow accurate quotations to be obtained by Utility Helplines panel of suppliers – including estimated or actual usage of energy, contract end dates and other know factors that may influence prices and quotations.

Letter of Authority

Any information not provided by the customer deemed vital to the accuracy of a quotation can be obtained on the customers behalf upon receipt of a signed letter of authority.

This will authorise Utility Helpline to liaise directly with the customers’ existing supplier to obtain key terms of the customers current contractual arrangements, including contract end date/s, notice period, termination process, current prices, energy consumption and meter types.

Utility Helpline might also use the letter of authority to assist in providing other services such as dispute resolution, resolve billing issues or any other services requested by the customer

This letter will be sent to the customers’ supplier/suppliers to aid only in the services we are being asked to provide. 

Quotations

The provision of any quotation by a supplier from Utility Helpline does not constitute an offer to the customer and offers will each have their own terms and conditions to review depending on the supplier.

If the customer accepts a quotation and a contract is executed between the customer and the supplier, the contract is binding, and the customer will not be permitted to revoke such an acceptance. Currently business energy contracts DO  NOT have any colling off period and this is an industrywide regulation.

Energy prices fluctuate daily and we will always attempt to help secure competitive rates/tarrifs to enable switching or renewal, however due to these fluctualtions we cannot guarantee any quote is the “cheapest”.

Suppliesr shall be entitled at any time to refuse to accept a customer’s offer of acceptance at their discretion.

Switching Service

If the customer wish to enter a contract based on a quotation provided by Utility Helpline and if the suppliers accepts the customer, Utility Helpline will provide a switching service (or renewal service) which will include organising the contract between the business energy/water supplier and the customers for the purchase and supply of the energy/water services.

Utility Helpline will not be responsible for any delays or failures caused by either the customer, the proposed supplier, or any existing supplier in relation to affecting any transfer. Utility helpline will however communicate any delays and offer advice and help to resolve these issues to facilitate the transfer. We will also help recover any addtional costs caused by any delay where a supplier is at fault as part of our "Complete Care " package and switching guarentee. 

As part of our switching guarentee, any delays caused by an error or fault by Utility Helpline will be compensated in full. 

Utility Helpline will arrange the contract based on the information provided by the customer. Any contract will be in sent via e-mail either as a DocuSign or pdf attachment to the customer to check the information is true, accurate and complete and will inform Utility Helpline of any errors or amendments prior to acceptance. Utility Helpline does not offer verbal acceptances or secure contracts over the phone.

The customer is reminded that ultimately it is their responsibility to validate the accuracy of any quotations/contracts presented.

 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 suppliers 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 14.5p/kwh and then add 0.5 p/kwh. This would then make the price 15.00 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.  

 (Electricity) a client using 10,000 kwh would spend £1500 on energy per annum based on the example above. We would therefore receive £50 commission per annum. This commission/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.

Utilityhelpline's uplifts depend on the size of contract, length of contract, consumption and other factors such as credit risks, time invested and services included . Our Average uplift across 2021 to 2022 was 0.5 p/kwh but can increase to 1.00 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  30 plus of the uk's  business energy suppliers’ prices (October 2023), which allows us to be highly competitive and offer a full range of services to suit any business’s needs.

If you have any questions, please contact one of our customer service team on 01432 378690

Utility Helpline is happy to be bound and abide to:

• Data Protection Act.
• TPI Code of Practice.
• Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 (BPMMRs).