Credit, collections & insolvency news
Energy company, Maxen Power has paid £1.65 million for customer service failures. Maxen Power supplies more than 10,000 non-domestic energy customers. A recent investigation carried out by energy regulator Ofgem found that Maxen Power breached its licence conditions by not having robust systems in place to protect its customers. This allowed third-party reps to sign…
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Credit Connect Media hosted its second Commercial Credit & Collections Conference last week at the Midland Hotel in Manchester which saw ten trade credit and insolvency professionals from various industry sectors meet to discuss the latest industry challenges. In the seventh edition of the Commercial Credit & Collections Conference series, hosted by Credit Connect Media,…
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Opus Energy has agreed to pay more than £7 million in refunds, redress and goodwill payments after identifying it overcharged almost 88,000 non-domestic customers between 2003-2023. The non-domestic supplier had two faults in its billing system, meaning customers were temporarily on the wrong tariff or their billing periods were incorrectly duplicated. The faults were initially…
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Electricity bills for small industrial consumers, including large retail and leisure units as well as small manufacturers, are set to rise to around £200,000 more than pre-crisis levels in 2026 according to data from Cornwall Insight’s Business Energy Cost Forecast. The report revealed that small industrial businesses are predicted to be paying £550,000 annually (£238…
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CCW has announced that it has confirmed Mike Keil as its permanent Chief Executive. Keil took the reins on an interim basis last October after the departure of former CEO Emma Clancy, following her three years at the helm. He has been with CCW for the past seven years having previously served as the organisation’s…
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Small businesses in England and Wales are facing a near 30% increase in water bills by 2030, as water suppliers are accused of passing on the costs of ‘historic errors’ made by industry leaders. Water industry regulator, Ofwat anticipates average wholesale charges for non-household customers, including small firms and charities, to rise by approximately 27%…
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A new Government consultation will investigate introducing regulations in the energy retail market to protect consumers and businesses from unregulated rogue energy brokers Energy brokers and price comparison websites will be among those set to be held to account by a new regulatory regime, to provide better protections and save money for consumers and businesses. These…
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Data from Cornwall Insight’s newly launched Business Energy Cost Forecast has revealed that a typical small business such as a pub, restaurant or independent retailer is paying over £5,000 more a year in energy bills than prior to the energy crisis, with bills predicted to rise further from the April 2025 – March 2026 contract…
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The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has called for the energy regulator Ofgem to take action on the standing charges paid by small businesses, many of whom have seen the daily fixed price they pay, regardless of usage levels, soar over recent months. FSB has written to Ofgem’s chief executive Jonathan Brearley to draw his…
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Businesses will get fairer treatment, more support resolving disputes and greater transparency on broker fees under new rules announced by Ofgem. The changes will apply to the non-domestic energy sector, which includes businesses, public services like sports centres and village halls, utilities, charities and more. The new rules will make sure energy suppliers improve customer…
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Some energy suppliers are using rocketing standing charges as a way to inflate bills for small firms, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). In its response to Ofgem’s recent consultation on the standing charges system, FSB flagged fresh complaints from members of staggering rises – up to 12-fold increases – in the fixed…
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Pennon Group the owner of South West Water, Bristol Water and Bournemouth Water, has announced the purchase of Sumisho Osaka Gas Water UK the holding company of Sutton and East Surrey Water (SES Water) for £380 million. The deal will see Pennon add SES Water’s customer base of more than 750,000 and expand its scale…
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Proposals to expand protections to drive excellent customer service for businesses have been set out by Ofgem. The energy regulator has launched a statutory consultation on proposals to ensure businesses get the highest standards of service and provide more clarity on the costs being paid to third party energy brokers. Business groups have repeatedly told…
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