Can a Business Energy provider refuse to release you from a contract?

HenryHog

I was recently changed to British Gas Lite for my small business electricity , I was contacted by USWITCH who i have always trusted.
I was happy and with Opus Energy for quite some time and on average my monthly bill was in between £14 and £19 that was it.

I was told by USWITCH that as bills were going to soar That a better tariff, altho a couple of pounds more would be the better switch , so I naturally thought, not bad maybe tops £20 p/m? so i was put on a Fixed 2 year -Acquisition 2 Year Fixed Rate

Tariff type:

Fixed

Unit rate - Any Time:

49.83 p/kWh

Standing charge:

58.8 p/day

Ends on:

01/11/2025

I don't have heating in my premises, I light a fire in the winter and my lights are roughly 90% LED, I have a few sockets on for telephone, till and kettle.

So, yesterday I gave my first reading and was more than alarmed to see it was £52.44 ( £32.88 usage and £17.05 +VAT 5%).

So I had a phone chat with USWITCH who told me to have a webchat with BGL which I did and I said I was more than annoyed at this massive hike and as it was my first bill , i wanted to leave, I was told "You can't, you have to stay with us til Nov 25" so I said i would pay the penalty even tho i think this stinks and was told " you can't, you aren't allowed to just leave" so i then told him after taking a few pics of our chat on my mobile that i think that this is not fair for a consumer especially one with a small business on top of everything else I am personally going thru to be held captive by an energy company when we should be protected by consumer rights and if this is true then I would like to take it higher as this is so unfair.

I don't know if Uswitch just gave me bad advice but i have always trusted them and will still use them and due to my glazed lights are on but nobody home look on my face when it comes to these matters I trusted them and I genuinely feel that when i was given an example of what used to pay and what i would be paying there was no mention of this Standing Day charge or the ramped up usage price which basically takes my  bills up 2 or 3 fold from roughly £240 to £650
I haven't had the £52 taken from my account yet that will happen in December but what are my rights and can I leave?
or am I entitled to help with the government energy support grant?

MattMattMattUK

What were the rates on your old switch and when was that from? How much energy do you use in a month? Are your bills estimated, smart, or did you submit a reading?

Those rates are pretty standard for business rates so you will likely not do much better elsewhere. 

dunstonh

 i then told him after taking a few pics of our chat on my mobile that i think that this is not fair for a consumer

 Business tariffs are not for consumers.  They are for businesses. 

I am personally going thru to be held captive by an energy company when we should be protected by consumer rights and if this is true then I would like to take it higher as this is so unfair.

What consumer rights do you think there is with business contracts?

Standing Day charge or the ramped up usage price which basically takes my  bills up 2 or 3 fold from roughly £240 to £650

Businesses dont benefit from the consumer price cap.   Plus you seemed happy with the unit price you signed up to.  So, why are you not happy with that now?

 but what are my rights and can I leave?

Basically, you have no rights and you cannot leave unless you feel there is a breach of contract and wish to take them to court (if you lose, you suffer their costs)

or am I entitled to help with the government energy support grant?

What Government energy support grant are you referring to?

QrizB

Copied from the OP's other post:

HenryHog said:

...I think that this is not fair for a consumer especially one with a small business

You're a business, not a consumer. Business-to-business terms apply, not business-to-consumer ones.

HenryHog said:

... to be held captive by an energy company when we should be protected by consumer rights and if this is true then I would like to take it higher as this is so unfair.

Again, you're a business. Consumer rights are irrelevant. To "take this higher" you'll need to persuade Parliament to change the law.

HenryHog said:

i wanted to leave, I was told "You can't, you have to stay with us til Nov 25"
I haven't had the £52 taken from my account yet that will happen in December but what are my rights and can I leave?

Read your contract. What rights to early termination does it include?

born_again

HenryHog said:

I was recently changed to British Gas Lite for my small business electricity , I was contacted by USWITCH who i have always trusted.
I was happy and with Opus Energy for quite some time and on average my monthly bill was in between £14 and £19 that was it.

I was told by USWITCH that as bills were going to soar That a better tariff, altho a couple of pounds more would be the better switch , so I naturally thought, not bad maybe tops £20 p/m? so i was put on a Fixed 2 year -Acquisition 2 Year Fixed Rate

Tariff type:

Fixed

Unit rate - Any Time:

49.83 p/kWh

Standing charge:

58.8 p/day

Ends on:

01/11/2025

I don't have heating in my premises, I light a fire in the winter and my lights are roughly 90% LED, I have a few sockets on for telephone, till and kettle.

So, yesterday I gave my first reading and was more than alarmed to see it was £52.44 ( £32.88 usage and £17.05 +VAT 5%).

So I had a phone chat with USWITCH who told me to have a webchat with BGL which I did and I said I was more than annoyed at this massive hike and as it was my first bill , i wanted to leave, I was told "You can't, you have to stay with us til Nov 25" so I said i would pay the penalty even tho i think this stinks and was told " you can't, you aren't allowed to just leave" so i then told him after taking a few pics of our chat on my mobile that i think that this is not fair for a consumer especially one with a small business on top of everything else I am personally going thru to be held captive by an energy company when we should be protected by consumer rights and if this is true then I would like to take it higher as this is so unfair.

I don't know if Uswitch just gave me bad advice but i have always trusted them and will still use them and due to my glazed lights are on but nobody home look on my face when it comes to these matters I trusted them and I genuinely feel that when i was given an example of what used to pay and what i would be paying there was no mention of this Standing Day charge or the ramped up usage price which basically takes my  bills up 2 or 3 fold from roughly £240 to £650
I haven't had the £52 taken from my account yet that will happen in December but what are my rights and can I leave?
or am I entitled to help with the government energy support grant?

So how much was the kWh with Opus & Standing charge?

How many kWh have you used between the last 2 readings? 

Based on 30 day between readings that is £17.64 S/C
So 65 kWh of actual power. So roughly 2kWh a day. 

MeteredOut

So, in short, the answer to the thread question is "Yes", unless your contract states otherwise.

Scot_39

Which part of 2 year fix did you not understand ?

You need to read your business to business contract and see what if anything it has in terms of early termination rights and penalty fees.

And even domestic fixes have significant exit penalties these days - in at least one case £300.

You need to not only look at how your rates and charges compare to your old charges - but what they were going to rise to if you renewed or stayed.

Which I suspect is all that any comparison site would do - currently available rates for new deal.