With a decade of experience in direct utility sales, totalling more than 50,000 SME energy contracts, Gary Styles, the founder of BEE, is well placed to advise small business owners on how to cut through the maze of confusion when it comes to securing the best electricity and gas deals for their needs
His aim is to educate Britain’s small businesses about the workings of the energy industry so they are aware of the potential pitfalls of their contract choices in an industry that is not regulated or bound by a code of practice, resulting in examples of sharp practice that can cost business owners dear.
For example, third party sales companies contracted by suppliers will often sell energy contracts which pay the most commissions – sometimes as much as £2,000 per contract – ignoring other more suitable options
One energy company was recently paying out 21 per cent of the customer’s first year annual electricity spend as a commission payment: a nice earner for the sales people who are under no obligation to disclose this fact to the customers they cold call. But with the commission stakes so high, and no redress schemes for mis-sold contracts, it’s no wonder that energy sales people or brokers are motivated more by their financial incentives than by finding the right deal for their business customers
BEE’s mission is to cut out the middle man to empower business owners by offering them a free, simple and quick way to find the best energy deals for their needs online and with the minimum of hassle. There’s no hard sell, no misleading claims, no time wasting and no cold calling – we promise!
Impartial and transparent in our dealings with customers and suppliers alike, BEE offers the widest choice of competitive contract options for gas and electricity – many of them exclusive to BEE, thanks to our strong relationships with energy providers - based on price, contract length, ‘green’ concerns and payment choices
Free to businesses to use, we earn an average fee of £75 per contract from suppliers* but this never gets in the way of our impartiality. In comparison with commission fees of up to £2,000 this small charge means that suppliers can pass on savings directly to business customers
Gary and his experienced team also want to make sure that business owners understand that cheapest is not necessarily the best value for money when it comes to selecting the right gas or electricity supply contract. It is essential to have an overview of the entire contract proposition, including such important factors as payment terms, contract length and termination notice periods
While cheapest may not always be best in the long run, the spiralling cost of electricity and gas bills, which have increased by 40 per cent in the past 12 months, has hit small and medium-sized enterprises hard
In addition to helping our customers to find the right energy contracts we also wanted to help them to become more energy effecient. According to a recent Carbon Trust survey, energy efficiency is now the number one cost-cutting priority for UK businesses looking to combat the impact of the economic slowdown. According to the study, Britain’s SMEs could collectively save around £1.3 billion during the next 12 months simply by implementing cost-effective energy efficiency measures
We estimate that growing businesses spend £6 billion a year on energy but about £1 billion of this energy is wasted, so there are big savings to be made
Says Gary: “We are confident that business customers will use BEE because we give them the tools to enable them to make the best decision – which may not always be the cheapest option – for their specific business needs. We have simplified the process and cut through the clutter to offer small and medium-sized businesses extensive and exclusive product choice and impartial advice to give them peace of mind as they go about the important business of running their business
“Shopping around for energy contracts is time-consuming and confusing: too many small business owners have learned to their cost that a cold call from an ‘energy broker’ offering to ‘compare the market’ and save them money really was too good to be true.”