Ofgem
A Third Party Intermediary (TPI) is an organisation or group of individuals who give energy related advice, with the intention of helping you to either buy the energy from a specific supplier, or manage your energy needs. A TPI can be an energy broker, procurer or comparison website and, although you may think that you are buying your energy from them, it is in fact the supplier that you have a contract with.
The energy industry from a supplier perspective is highly regulated. Suppliers are tested, fined and follow a far stricter compliance than even the banking sector does, in an attempt to keep things transparent and fair for the consumer.
TPI’s and the brokerage industry on the other hand have no such regulation. With over 65% of consumers using a TPI to source their energy there are obviously questions that need to be asked before you enlist the help of an intermediary.
At Energycentric we value and respect our position within the industry and align ourselves to the TPI Code from Ofgem, one that ensures transparency and accountability in everything we do. One thing a TPI must comply with is consumer protection laws, including those for business customers.
They must clearly identify themselves when interacting with a customer and endeavour never to mislead through their advertising either.
Although Ofgem can apply to the courts for an injunction for companies who break these rules, they at present do not licence TPI’s and so therefore cannot enforce an official Code of Conduct. Instead they simply set out voluntary principles that it encourages all brokers to follow.
The Principles that Ofgem identifies are:
- Honesty
- Respect
- Accuracy
- Transparency
- Customer-Focused
- Professionalism.
At Energycentric we have embraced these values and placed them at the centre of our Mission Statement. For every interaction we have with a customer we clearly identify ourselves and our services at the start of the conversation, seeking consent before continuing. We also respect our customer’s wishes and will always cease contact, whether present or future, on the request of the customer.
As a company we also research the whole market, to give our customers the best possible deal. Many TPI’s only research a fraction, which is why Ofgem have proposed that all brokers clearly state the percentage of the market they cover and accurately present their offers.
We train our staff to incredibly high industry standards, teaching them to respect these principles and to deal confidently and knowledgeably with customers they interact with.
Our whole ethos is around customer service and ensuring that the customer receives the best value they can in the most professional and transparent way possible. By strictly adhering to the Ofgem code for TPI’s we allow ourselves to do exactly that.
