Business Utility Broker Comparison

bill_davies

Hi, I'm new, so I'm sorry if this is the wrong place to post this.

I run a small business in Newark that uses a considerable amount of gas, and every renewal I get call from a ton brokers advising me of my contract situation and all claiming that they are the cheapest. Also I do some of my own calls to brokers too and then make the comparison. This year I thought it would be worthwhile sharing my findings;

From cheapest to most expensive based on a usage of 238000kwh, my current supplier is BG;
1.
Broker; Make It Switch
contract length--p/kwh ----sc p/day

---

total cost--supplier
1

---

2.691

---

379

---

£7791.16--gazprom
2

---

2.687

---

379

---

£7781.63--gazprom
3

---

2.662

---

379

---

£7722.10--gazprom
Quick to quote.
2.

Broker; Make It Cheaper/MoneySupermarket/Go Compare

contract length--p/kwh

---

sc p/day----total cost --supplier
1

---

3.349

---

0

---

£7974.63--npower
2

---

3.352

---

0

---

£7981.17--npower
3

---

2.812

---

379

---

£8079.28--gazprom

Claimed to be the biggest but asked so many questions.

3.

Broker; Switch2save

contract length--p/kwh

---

sc p/day----total cost --supplier
1

---

2.791

---

379

---

£8029.89--gazprom
2

---

2.737

---

379

---

£7901.30--gazprom
3

---

no 3 year price

Very quick online price. Shame no three year price

4.

Broker; Compare the Market/ Business Energy Exchange

contract length--p/kwh

---

sc p/day

---

total cost--supplier
1

---

2.841

---

379

---

£8144

---

gazprom
2

---

2.837

---

379

---

£8135

---

gazprom
3

---

2.812

---

379

---

£8075

---

gazprom

Quite quick


5.
Broker;Simply Business Gas

contract length--p/kwh

---

sc p/day

---

total cost--supplier
1

---

2.841

---

379

---

£8144

---

gazprom
2

---

2.837

---

379

---

£8135

---

gazprom
3

---

2.812

---

379

---

£8075

---

gazprom

Online quote, very misleading as its calculator works out costs for gas usage only and does not add standing charge to the total costs.

6.
Broker; Utility Exchange

contract length--p/kwh

---

sc p/day

---

total cost--supplier
1

---

3.112

---

357

---

£8714.44---british gas
2

---

2.937

---

379

---

£8377.54---gazprom
3

---

2.912

---

379

---

£8318.01---gazprom

Quite quick


7.
Broker; Love Energy

contract length--p/kwh

---

sc p/day

---

total cost--supplier
1

---

3.47

---

40

---

£8408.76---opus
2

---

4.13

---

0

---

£9834.36---cng
3

---

3.83

---

39

---

£9262.34---eon

2 stages to get prices, you have a qualifier first and then you get passed on to an account manger for prices

8.

Broker; Uswitch for Business

contract length--p/kwh

---

sc p/day

---

total cost--supplier
1

---

3.55

---

35

---

£8581.01---Opus
2

---

3.993

---

0

---

£9505.13---CNG
3

---

3.803

---

3

---

£9066.65---SSE

9.

Broker; Energy Helpline
contract length--p/kwh

---

sc p/day

---

total cost--supplier
1

---

3.341

---

379

---

£9339.14---gazprom
2

---

3.337

---

379

---

£9408.19---gazprom
3

---

3.312

---

379

---

£9270.53---gazprom

Surprisingly came last.

I hope this helps. Please if you have your own comparisons do share.

Regards
Bill Davies

Mr0

Haven't got any quotes, but I do have a little story to share.

When my business energy contract was due to expire my current supplier (Company A) sent me a letter quoting an over 30% increase in prices. So I started looking around for alternatives. I tried getting quotes from the websites of individual energy companies and then I tried one of those price comparison companies. Company B were the cheapest, roughly at the same price as i am paying now. However, I actually got a more expensive price from the broker than going to the company directly, a difference of about £200 on my usage levels.

Armed with these prices, I called up my current supplier to ask for a better deal. They then REDUCED their quote by almost 40%. I thought this was a good price, much lower than what the broker suggested the best deal could offer. But I then said to them, why have you tried to rip me off with the previous quote. They then spent the next half an hour apologizing and making up 30 different lies about why the quotes were so high. It was quite amusing, I said i didn't like the way they treated existing customers and I am thinking of switching.

On the same day I got a call from Company B, I used their website so they have my details. They asked who my current supplier was and then proceeded to bad mouth them in every possible way without swearing (and most likely making up a few lies on the way). I said I am still looking around and they said they will match my best offer. I told them my best offer and they matched it. I said I was happy with those prices but give me a few days to think about it (my current contract does not expire until another 2 months).

Then the next morning Company A called me up to try to keep my business. They reduced prices even further and even added a nice credit incentive for me to agree the deal on the spot. Now I added everything up and decided the offer was too good to turn down.

After all that I expect my annual energy bill to reduce by £2400 next year (including the credit). For a small business like mine that is a lot. Not bad for a few hours of web browsing and arguing on the phone.

Conclusion

- Business try to rip off existing customers so always shop around
- Energy brokers are nice to give a general idea of prices for your area, but always go direct and negotiate for a better deal
- These companies lie, don't trust them