Business Energy Claims
Are you a business owner who has used the services of an energy broker? Did the broker tell you how much money they made from your deal? If not, you might be paying over the odds for your contract and footing the bill for their commission.
Claims Process
Not all energy brokers employ secret commission tactics, but we can find out if your broker didn’t act in your best interest and help you get the compensation you are entitled to.
We’re experts in pursuing successful business energy claims, understanding the intricacies of energy contracts with the ability to pinpoint how much you’ve unknowingly paid in hidden commission fees each month.
If you believe that your broker failed to be transparent regarding the route and value of the commission they acquired, we can negotiate on your behalf to rectify the situation and claim damages.
Ready to start your claim?
What happened with my energy bills?
Understanding Undisclosed Business Energy Claims
Who is to blame for "Secret Commissions"?
What Is A Secret Commission?
Undisclosed Commissions by Business Energy Brokers
Negotiating commercial energy contracts can be daunting for any business and it’s no surprise that the number of energy brokers (often known as “third-party intermediaries”, or “TPIs”) has soared in recent years. According to the UK’s energy regulator, Ofgem, over 1,000 such companies were trading as of September 2019.
Unlike energy suppliers, brokers in the commercial energy sector do not have to be regulated. Ofgem has made no secret of its intention to regulate such businesses, but frustratingly little progress has been made in the last decade, giving rogue operators the chance to continue to indulge in unethical practices and profiteering.
If your business has relied on the services of an energy broker then you might well be horrified by the amount of money it made without your knowledge and, ultimately, at your expense. Even though the service provided by your broker might have been billed as being “free”, the broker will have received a hefty amount of commission from the energy supplier which it recommended to you. To make matters worse the commission will have been added to the unit cost you paid under your new energy contract without your knowledge. In other words, your business will effectively be left to pay the broker’s commission for the duration of the new contract, so it may not come as a surprise to learn that many brokers were influenced to recommend longer term contracts irrespective of whether or not they were actually right for you.
Many brokers made little to no mention of their commission, let alone the fact that it would be coming out of their clients’ pockets to increase the energy suppliers’ profits. In many instances the failure by a broker to clearly disclose the amount of commission they will be receiving when it is trusted to act in the best interests of its client is known as a “secret commission”. Secret commissions are viewed in law as a type of fraud.
What can you do if you think this happened to your business?
If you think you have fallen victim to undisclosed energy commissions, it’s not too late to make a claim. The courts offer businesses the chance to fight back, and we have seen increasing success in business owners obtaining damages to make good the losses caused by their brokers’ conduct.
At FDM Solicitors, we believe that everyone has the right to justice. If your broker received a secret commission from your energy supplier then we might be able to help. We’ll work with you to assess your eligibility and work out how much you could claim in compensation, before carrying out the negotiations and any court proceedings on your behalf.
We operate on a no-win, no-fee basis and it can still be possible to make a claim even if the broker you used is no longer trading.
Please complete the enquiry form on this page and a Specialist Senior Advisor will get in touch with you to discuss your business energy claim.
What is the Business Energy Claims Process?
Step 1
Complete the enquiry form on this page
Step 2
A Specialist Senior Advisor will contact you to discuss your eligibility to claim compensation
Step 3
We analyse all relevant documents you have and those which we obtain from your energy supplier and broker
Step 4
If you have grounds for a claim then we will send a Letter of Claim to your energy supplier or broker setting out why you are seeking compensation
Step 5
If necessary, we will then issue formal court proceedings on your behalf in order to continue to fight your claim
Frequently asked questions
We can’t say for certain without assessing your case, but we believe that if you worked with an energy broker that you didn’t pay directly or didn’t discuss their commissions, it’s highly likely that you have been paying hidden fees and can therefore claim.
As it stands, there is no time limit on when you need to make a claim, but we would urge you to instigate the proceedings as soon as possible to increase your chances of success.
Each case is individual and how long the process takes will depend on various factors, so it’s difficult to estimate how long your claim will take.
No – whilst we may contact the broker for disclosure purposes, we target the supplier for both the commissions and profits made at your expense.
We backdate these funds with interest and seek to have them paid to you and your business in the shortest amount of time possible.
This ensures that there can be no avoidance of payment if your claim is successful, even if the broker is no longer trading.
No – FDM primarily aims to pursue contracts that have since expired.
In the case that your contract is still ongoing, FDM Solicitors will make sure that the claim is pursued in a way which will not have an adverse effect on your contract.
In the unlikely event that your claim is not successful, you will not be expected to cover any legal costs or suffer any consequences as a result of your claim.
If necessary, you will be protected by an ATE (After the Event) Insurance Policy, which ensures that any legal costs you would normally be expected to pay are instead covered, ensuring minimal risk in pursuit of damages owed to your business.
Undisclosed Energy Claims (UEC’s) are becoming more common as more light is shed on industry malpractices. In 2018, a study by OFGEM revealed that 67% of small (fewer than 50 employees) businesses used a Business Energy Broker.
Yes – Our senior advisors would be more than happy to discuss your situation in more detail.
We seek to resolve all enquiries swiftly and with full transparency at every step of the process, so if your claim is unlikely to be worth your time, we will inform you.
To assess your case, we will need the following documents:
- A signed copy of your LOA – Letter of Authority/contract (s) with your broker
- A signed copy of energy supply contracts or alternatively invoices
It is very unlikely that you will have to go to trial. The energy supplier in question faces escalating legal costs and negative publicity among other reasons that dissuade them from taking that route.
In the event that your case reaches the trial stage, FDM Solicitors will pay for a barrister to represent you and your claim. As you are covered by ATE (After the Event) Insurance, there is no premium to pay if your claim is lost, as it is a self-insuring policy.
Yes – whilst management fees, provided they were disclosed to you properly, are entirely legal, it is highly likely that your broker could have also been in receipt of secret commissions from your new energy provider. In this case, not only do you have a claim, but potentially, this could strengthen your case even further.
Related Blog Posts
The Shocking Reality of Undisclosed Energy Commissions and How To Reclaim Your Money
Uncovering the secrets behind undisclosed business energy commissions and how you might be eligible to claim.
Business Energy Claims criteria: Are you eligible?
Has your business fallen victim to undisclosed commissions within your energy contract? Find out if you’re eligible to make a claim and how to kick-start the process.
Reviewing your business energy contract: What to look out for
Guidance on understanding business energy contracts and how you can avoid pitfalls such as hidden commission fees to help you make an informed decision.
