Business Energy Claims in St Helens
Small businesses have faced significant challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with many business facing financial difficulties. The current rise in energy prices will continue to increase this strain.
Businesses such as these, so called “micro-businesses”, play a central role within the UK economy. Latest government data suggests that there are 5.3 million microbusinesses in the UK, accounting for 95% of all businesses, 21% of employment and 14% of turnover.*
Many of these businesses will obtain their energy through a “third-party intermediary”, more colloquially referred to as an Energy Broker. It is common practice that these Energy Brokers will add a commission to a business’ energy contract without fully disclosing its existence. As a result, a business that has obtained their energy through an Energy Broker may be able to have their energy prices reduced and reclaim this commission from the Energy Broker.
Have you been paying an increased energy rate?
When Energy Brokers add a commission to an energy rate, they legally must disclose that commission. The disclosure must be full and frank and the business must give their informed consent to the Energy Broker acting with a conflict of interest (as the assumption is that the Energy Broker will always be influenced by the commission when it comes to providing energy quotes, which means that they cannot be acting in the business’ best interests).
* Business Statistics, House of Commons Library (Dec 2021)
Put yourself in the position of the Energy Broker. Would you want to tell your client how much you were making from their energy contract? Considering that the commission is often added onto the base energy rate, we would imagine the answer to be “no”.
Energy Brokers, therefore, understand that if they made the full and frank disclosure required by the law, they would not make nearly as much commission as they currently do. Businesses’ are far less likely to agree to a deal where they know a substantial portion of their bill does not even reach their Energy Supplier.
Do I have a claim?
If you are a business in the UK that has sourced its energy via an Energy Broker, the likelihood is that you have been paying an increased energy rate as a result of the above-mentioned commission. If this is the case, you may be able to claim the full amount of the commission back as damages. In the overwhelming majority of cases, this amount is in the thousands.
If you would like to find out more about Business Energy Claims call our expert legal team on 01744 744400 or fill out our contact form below: