June 2024 Newsletter from Nationwide Energy
A Message From Our Operations Director Gerry O’Hara…
“June has been another busy month for the Nationwide Energy Team
Our Contracts Team continue to battle delays and unreasonable demands from suppliers to process changes of tenancy (CoT’s). SSE is currently the slowest with a timescale of 10 weeks to process CoT’s due to backlogs. While SSE will compensate the customer, it means additional costs and pressure in the interval. On many occasions the Team have to take the suppliers to the Energy Ombudsman to ensure fair outcomes for customers. While overwhelmingly successful with these complaints, the customer is again having to wait months for an acceptable outcome.
Our Billing & Metering Team are also receiving a high number of requests for support from customers due to debt. We are seeing a marked increase in debt being passed to debt collectors. The number of disconnections has also risen sharply. The increasing presence of smart meters means that disconnections can be done remotely, with customers suddenly losing power with no warning.”
Call us: 024 7632 8995
A Message From Our Sales Manager, James Willis
“Amidst the Euro fever many of our customers are busy with, our field team has actively engaged with diverse businesses beyond our usual client base creating fun Facebook videos, to spread the word!
We have met a wide range of business owners from local burger joints to serene farms and post offices, we’ve shared insights and improved energy contracts.
Did you know we now offer a referral scheme where you are eligible for up to £25 per supply if you refer a business that signs into energy agreements with us?
If you know a business owner in any sector who needs help or advice on their energy, broadband or payment solutions please encourage them to get in touch with us—we’re here to assist!”
Call us: 024 7632 8995
Pozitive Energy Problems…
We wanted to highlight a problem brewery & pubco partners have experienced with Pozitive Energy resulting in the sudden disconnecting of the electricity, remotely, when a new operator has taken over.
The common elements appear to be:-
- The brewery/pubco take responsibility for a short period.
- That CoT is still processing – this can take several weeks but will be significantly delayed if all relevant information requested is not provided.
- Before that CoT is completed a new operator takes responsibility for the site.
- A second CoT is then logged on Pozitive’s system, this leads to Pozitive viewing the site as high risk and moving to disconnect.
- Any communication with the pub will be in the name of the operator in situ prior to the brewery or pubco taking responsibility.
- Despite being disconnected remotely, Pozitive are demanding a £1,200 reconnection fee to do this remotely.It’s crucial that all CoT’s are processed as quickly as possible. The challenges to this include:-
- Delays in providing documents such as leases, surrender of lease etc. These documents need to be provided urgently.
- Mismatch of legal entity between the lease and the Pozitive contract for the previous operator e.g. the lease is as a sole trader however they agreed the contract as a limited company. In such circumstances, suppliers will reject the CoT. If the operator agreed the contract themselves, no one else may be aware of this.
- Correspondence sent to the pub from the supplier is discarded – it needs to be read.
- There is no forwarding address – if one isn’t available they will accept the last known address,Any site with Pozitive must therefore be viewed as higher risk and in the situation described above as very high risk. The increasing presence of smart meters makes remote disconnection straightforward for a supplier.
We are seeing an increase in the number of disconnections across the board and it is prudent to confirm with operators if there is any debt on their energy.
Any customers struggling to pay current rates or are at risk of default can contact our Billing Team for support and advice on their options.
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Nationwide Energy were delighted to support the Greene King South-West Team in their Annual Macmillan Summer Ball.
We had the opportunity to meet many customers at the Trade Show earlier in the day and then catch-up with others at the dinner and afterwards. The event and its associated fundraising activities raised over £50,000. It was a great success, and the hard work of the Greene King Team and Wayne Farrell in particular were recognised on the night.
I Would Recommend…
“I took over the Walnut Tree in November 2023. To get my business off to a great start, I had a meeting with Jason Cross, Nationwide Energy’s Regional Consultant. He helped me arrange my energy and talked me through the packages from Daisy Telecoms and I chose them for my phone and broadband.
It was really important to keep the same phone number for the pub and Daisy ported the number for me. The switching process was very easy, and I was kept regularly updated by Lauryn in Nationwide Energy’s admin team. I have found the broadband to be very reliable. The speed is good and there has been no loss of service.
I would recommend both Daisy and Nationwide Energy Consultants to other business owners.”
Hannah Scullion,
The Walnut Tree,
Ashford
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