Check, Switch, Insulate - it's for businesses too

The governments latest advice to consumers applies to businesses to:

Check - Are all your supplies under contract? Deemed rates are 50 to 75% higher than contract, but your supplier won't tell you about it. Whilst you're checking, are you on the right tariff? A 3 rate supply, but you operate Monday-Friday 9 to 5? That's costing you 10% or more.

Switch - Commercial users have a greater range of suppliers and competition is fiercer, so are you shopping around and getting the best deal? Or just sticking with the big suppliers? You could be missing out on great deals.

Have you sent in your termination notice? Suppliers require anything from 30 to 120 days notice, to check now. Failure will see your contract rolled over for up to 2 years, at a rate that suits your supplier.

Insulate - Savings vary from business to business, from site to site, but there are energy saving products to suit all types and savings for 10 to 20% of total usage are not unusual. Have you checked out the options recently?

Why don't people change supplier?

Because it's just not worth it.  People tend to look at changing supplier just after their prices have risen - after all that got to be the best time to look, right?  No, because all suppliers raise/lower their prices at different time.  So you're likely to switch to a supplier who hasn't raised the prices yet - so you expect to save £100's.  But unless you chose a fixed rate tariff (more expensive, and not worth the premium in many cases), the prices are likely to rise soon after you join - erasing all or some of the savings you've made.

So when should you look at pricing?  Once all the suppliers have raised thier prices - but that can take weeks, and do you have time to check that all suppliers have raised thier prices?

The simplest strategy is to check your prices on a regular basis, for example every 3 months.