Price comparison specialists Love Energy Savings is celebrating having achieved 5,000 Trustpilot reviews – in what they say is an industry first.
The Bolton firm, who aim to secure cheaper prices for business energy customers, joined online review community Trustpilot in February 2013.
They’ve now surpassed the 5,000 review barrier while also getting an overall ‘TrustScore’ of 9.6 out of 10 and the full five stars.
Love Energy Savings Managing Director Phil Foster says their ‘Excellent’ rating should instil faith in consumers concerned about dealing with an energy broker.
Meanwhile Mr. Foster says they’re the first business-to-business Third Party Intermediary (TPI) to break such a boundary.
He explained: “When it comes to the business energy market, it’s fair to say that some TPIs behave in a less than honourable fashion, preventing businesses form exploring all of the avenues available to them and ultimately costing them money in terms of potential savings.
“Those practices don’t just drive disengagement among consumers, it also tarnishes other reputable TPIs with the same brush.
“We’re delighted to have achieved so many positive reviews on Trustpilot. It’s a milestone for us and a milestone for the industry in general.
“And it proves that there are reputable firms, like us, out there who are driven to find the best tariffs for a business’ utilities- not in driving up profits at the expense of customers.”
To illustrate the point, one review left on Trustpilot for Love Energy Savings this week reads, ‘Once again, excellent service from Love Energy! Our Gas supply was up for renewal and a very friendly account manager contacted us to remind us. Amy makes everything so easy; she provides us with all our options and the latest prices, taking away the stress at times of renewal.’
Meanwhile it’s not the first time Love Energy Savings, headquartered off Manchester Road, has called-out industry bad practice.
Last year they published a report demanding ‘greater transparency’ in an industry which remains unregulated and without an official Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) Code of Practice.Highlighting what microbusinesses and SMEs need to look out for and expect from reputable TPIs, the document stated: “The practices of a small number of TPIs has left many businesses questioning the integrity of the industry, resulting in the majority of TPIs, who operate openly and honestly, being tarred with the same brush.
“The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) concluded in 2015 that small businesses in the UK pay too much for their energy, with the ‘Big Six’ charging on average 8% margins on electricity and 10% on gas to SMEs, compared with averages of 4.4% for domestic customers and larger businesses.
“In many cases, these inflated prices are due to suppliers allowing TPIs to simply ‘write their own cheque’ in terms of the commission they are able to add to the base cost of electricity and gas.”
“It is to be hoped that a robust and effective means of policing this sector will be introduced soon. In the meantime, the market remains unregulated and, while a voluntary TPI Code of Practice provides some guidance, it is limited in its effectiveness.”
In response to the Love Energy Savings whitepaper, The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) acknowledged that: “It is vital that we do all we can to help businesses to engage in the energy market to ensure their energy bills are as low as possible.
“High energy bills can hit hard and make the cost of running a business more expensive.”
