Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
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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Energy regulator Ofgem has announced that Hudson Energy Supply (HES) is to be issued a penalty of £1,668,426 for serious overcharging of business customers. The regulator found that HES has failed its customers by with 10 breaches of licence conditions relating to a situation whereby HES had outsourced elements of its day-to-day customer operations without…
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Small businesses are calling for Ofgem to alter energy regulation with changes which will enable access to energy contract cooling-off period and standing charges freeze ahead of winter. Small businesses say that utilities remain a cost driver according to new research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). FSB’s latest Small Business Index shows over…
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Written complaints made by business customers to water retailers have fallen to their lowest level since 2016/17 but performance remains mixed among the larger suppliers. The Consumer Council for Water’s (CCW) annual Business Customer Complaints Report shows that written complaints across England and Wales fell by 16 per cent to 12,312 in 2022-23 – down…
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Energy suppliers’ enquiry lines may need to stay open for longer, including evenings and weekends under new proposals from regulator Ofgem. The new measures are part of a series of proposed reforms to improve standards of customer service both for businesses and households, and follows extensive engagement with suppliers, businesses, consumers and other organisations. The…
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The Institute of Directors (IoD) has called for a rethink in the governance of utilities with considerable concern about the financial resilience of a number of UK water companies. The IoD says that in several cases, companies appear to have taken on excessive levels of debt in an effort to square the circle of providing…
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Business water retailer Water Plus has agreed to a deal with Flexys to use the company’s debt management technology infrastructure and customer journey technology. Water Plus is the UK’s largest B2B water retailer, serving more than 700,000 customer supply points in England and Scotland. James Hill, CEO of Flexys, said “We are pleased to support…
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New industry-wide data shows just 29% of hospitality businesses feel optimistic about the next 12 months, with energy their biggest concern, prompting an alliance of trade bodies to once again make a plea for Government to direct energy suppliers to offer fair rates. The survey asked people running pubs, bars, restaurants and other hospitality businesses…
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Energy suppliers are set to file a record number of winding-up petitions against businesses as companies struggle with soaring energy costs according to new research by Harcus Parker. Court filings show that there have been more than 400 attempts by suppliers to shut down companies to reclaim their energy debts over the past decade. The…
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The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is urging energy suppliers to allow small firms locked into fixed tariffs from last year to renegotiate contracts to better reflect the significantly lower wholesale energy prices. The call comes a month after massive cuts to government support on energy bills for businesses. Since 1 April 2023, the Energy…
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The average energy bill for a pub will rise by £18,400 a year this month when the Energy Bill Relief Scheme ends, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has warned, putting many pubs at risk of closure. More than 4,800 licensed premises closed last year due to the cost of living crisis with the…
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