Protecting your Business Energy is super important to us, and is a guarantee when you supply with Niccolo Gas.
Mis-selling is rife in the energy sector, and it’s our job to ensure you are not only protected from this, but are aware of what it can look like and how you can be affected.
What is Mis-selling?
Energy mis-selling has many different methods, but the main result of being mis-sold energy is businesses end up paying more for their electricity and gas than they should be.
The issue became so widespread and serious, the energy regulator, Ofgem, intervened five years ago with new rules for providers and brokers to safeguard firms from mis-selling. Brokers were required to follow an industry-wide code of practice.
Why do brokers do this? The answer is simple: commission.
Brokers are paid a commission, or ‘fee,’ for the services they provide, and as a result they are motivated to sell aggressively and make more money. This can lead to pushy sales tactics, a lack of transparency, service and product deception, and even outright lies about the supplier-broker connection.
Solving this problem of energy brokers and their transparency has always been something we are keen to combat. That is why here at Niccolo, we are encouraging brokers to be more open about commissions and being open with our customers.
We are always clear about our charges and believe that transparency in relation to our finances is the crucial point to eradicating these issues with commissions. For a more detailed look on this, visit here.
How do I know if I’ve been mis-sold?
There are too many examples of mis-selling to list here, so we compiled a list of examples and real-life stories from people who have dealt with this. Visit here to see some dodgy common practices these sorts of brokers use and ways to combat them.
Alongside that, we have a range of helpful guides all written with the purpose of protecting your business energy as much as possible.
What we do to protect your energy
At Niccolo Gas, we have a range of different methods in place to ensure you are always protected. These include:
- Having a strict LOA process.
– Ensuring customers understand what authority they’ve given to brokers (and that they’ve actually given it).
- Commission limits on gas and power.
- No advance payments to brokers.
We are also proud to say we have campaigned for better price transparency (you can see our full article on this here , and banning verbal contracts.
Alongside this, to ensure our customers feel as connected as possible, we pride ourselves on always being available to you, whether this is through mobile, email or even through our social media channels in which we are happy to answer any queries you may have.