Client information. Billing services. From ENER-G Switch2 Limited

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1 Client information Billing services From ENER-G Switch2 Limited

2 Introducing ENER-G Switch2 Limited meter reading and billing services Introducing ENER-G Switch2 Limited meter reading and billing services 2

3 Introducing ENER-G Switch2 Limited meter reading and billing services There are still a significant number of UK households connected to communal energy schemes paying a fixed flat rate charge for their energy supply. These costs do not relate to actual consumption and may result in disproportionately higher or lower charges than those for metered properties. Accurate metering and billing can lead to a reduction in energy demand and help towards reducing residents carbon footprint. ENER-G Switch2 has introduced an automatic metering solution and related services to tens of thousands of residents, helping them to significantly reduce their energy costs (and or by) enabling them to pay for their actual energy consumption. ENER-G Switch2 have a proven track record in offering the following: Credit billing and credit control Debt management Pre-payment and point of sale management Tenancy management Introducing ENER-G Switch2 Limited meter reading and billing services 3

4 Credit billing and credit control Credit billing and credit control Whether meter reads are collected through our Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) systems or supplied by you, ENER-G Switch2 can issue monthly or quarterly bills to your residents and manage the cash collection and credit control process on your behalf. Credit billing From assisting you in setting the energy tariff (please refer to our tariff calculations guide), to sending the first bills out of the door, you will have one point of contact to ensure the setting up of your scheme is managed efficiently. We believe a close working relationship with our clients is essential to the smooth running of any scheme, which is why we appoint a dedicated key account manager to oversee the scheme and provide you with one point of contact. This relationship is also important when managing the changes in occupiers; ensuring billing accounts are opened and closed in a timely manner. Also, we are very aware that we are dealing with your money and the debt risk on site is yours, so having this good working relationship is beneficial to both parties in ensuring that debt risk is minimised. All correspondence, from the bills to the credit control letters and registration packs, are specifically designed for your scheme and enable you to promote your own corporate image alongside ENER-G Switch2, should you require this. Your residents will be able to contact our call centre representatives during office hours to discuss their energy bill, meter reads, payments plans or even get advice on how to reduce their consumption. Credit control Our basic service also includes credit control procedures to encourage residents to pay their bill in a timely manner. Two reminder letters are sent out, the first if no payment is received within 14 days of the bill being issued and if required a further chasing letter 7 days later. We can offer an additional debt management service if required. Data validation All reads loaded onto our billing system go through a validation process, highlighting where no reads have been received or the read is high or low in comparison to previous usage. To give you peace of mind, we will check the integrity of the AMR system once every two years. 4

5 Credit billing and credit control Cash collection Cash collection methods allow your residents to chose how they pay for the utilities they are using plus they will receive one bill that covers everything, which we will send directly to them. Methods include: Variable or fixed direct debit Payment via PayPoint or the Post Office using our bar-coded bills or a payment card Credit / Debit card payments via a 24/7 telephone line Internet billing Standing order Reporting All money collected on your behalf is paid into a dedicated client bank account and once every month we carry out a reconciliation to produce a financial report. This report includes the invoices raised in the period, money collected and any outstanding balances, enabling you to keep a track of how much your residents are paying. All monies collected are transferred over to your nominated company account once a month following reconciliation. Credit billing and credit control 5

6 Debt management Debt management Providing there is a billing contract in place ENER-G Switch2 are able to provide a debt management service for an additional fee. This can involve taking your residents to court, which may result in a County Court Judgement or disconnection of supplies. Please note that we carry out these procedures in line with OfGem regulations. ENER-G Switch2 will take all calls relating to either action so you do not need to be involved directly with your residents. Disconnection of supply If your scheme allows isolation of supply outside of the actual property, then we can offer a disconnection service that allows us to terminate the utility supply to a property. Note this excludes cold water supplies. Once the credit control process has been exhausted, ENER-G Switch2 will, on your behalf: Issue a final notification letter to the resident and if no response within 14 days Issue a disconnection notice to all known addresses, including hand delivered to the property If no response is received, we will then disconnect the relevant supply Usually we will reconnect the supply when the resident has paid at least 50% of the amount owed, and agrees to enter into a payment plan. Charges will be levied to the residents account for late payment and disconnection/reconnection. 6

7 Debt management Legal action If it is not possible to disconnect supply on your scheme, ENER-G Switch2 can take your resident to court on your behalf. Following the final notification letter we will then send the file to our solicitors, who will then: Send a notification to your resident of impending court action If no response within 14 days, then judgement is issued through the courts, resulting in a County Court Judgement against the debtor Some of the court fees can be added to the debtors account with ENER-G Switch2, but all court fees must be paid in full following the judgement. Initially ENER-G Switch2 will pay these fees, but this will be re-invoiced to you for you to recover when the judgement is settled. We appreciate we are managing the scheme on your behalf and are conscious of your reputation with your residents, hence we will not take either of the actions noted without your consent. We will liaise with you on each account and make recommendations for the next action. Once an account is going through the debt management process we will ensure you are kept up-to-date regularly with each account. Debt management Agree the next steps to ensure you get full settlement of the judgement 7

8 Prepayment and point of sale management Prepayment and point of sale management The installation of a pre-payment unit (PPU) is becoming more popular as they are a way of helping residents to monitor and manage their finances, allowing them to pay as they go. Where the scheme permits ENER-G Switch2 can offer pre-payment as an alternative to credit billing for your scheme. The PPU and Point of Sale (POS) unit have been developed by ENER-G Switch2 and allows a standing charge as well as a variable charge to be deducted. A POS agent is required to host the POS unit, and ENER-G Switch2 will work with you to find a suitable agent and assist you with contract negotiations with the appointed agent. Once a contract is in place, ENER-G Switch2 will work on your behalf with the agent to ensure they understand the unit so they can easily dispense energy credits to your residents. ENER-G Switch2 have a fully staffed call centre available during office hours to take calls from residents or the POS agent to deal with their queries. We can also offer a 24/7 service to deal with calls out of hours and to maintain the pre-payment system. It is recommended we visit the properties once every 2 years to maintain the integrity of the system. Tariff and vending amounts ENER-G Switch2 will assist you in setting the tariff, and standing charge if required, and recommend the vending amounts each resident can purchase. ENER-G Switch2 will also advise you on the level of emergency credit to be loaded onto the PPU. Emergency credit This allows your resident an additional agreed amount of extra energy once their credit has been used. Usually this will last approximately 3 days, allowing them sufficient time to get to the POS agent to top up their smart card. All they have to do to get this credit is to swipe their smart card against the PPU. ENER-G Switch2 will also form a close working relationship with the agent to ensure they make prompt payment of the money they have collected from your residents to a dedicated client bank account. 8

9 Prepayment and point of sale management Smart card The resident will be given a smart card to use against their PPU. This card is specific to a dwelling and is used in conjunction with pre-payment unit. Every time they top up their card, data is transferred from the POS unit immediately using mobile broadband technology to our smart systems. This also allows ENER-G Switch2 to produce accurate purchase history on request for an individual property. Reporting A monthly report is provided showing all the properties on your scheme with a PPU installed and is the most important management tool for the successful operation of your scheme. The report will show how much each property has purchased over a rolling year and will highlight high and low purchase profiles based on parameters set in conjunction with you. Prepayment and point of sale management Prepayment unit Vends Credit Payment transaction via modern banking slip and till roll Point of sale outlet Data centre reconciliation Bank Statement Takings Bank 9

10 Tenancy management Tenancy management In today s economic climate, more and more properties are purchased as buy-to-let investments. However what is often not understood is that the leaseholder is liable for the energy supply to each property regardless of whether they are tenanted or not. As a result of this, ENER-G Switch2 offers a tenancy management service for leaseholders and whilst you are not obliged to offer this service to your tenant, our experience shows that this is a beneficial service for private leaseholders. Through this service we will issue bills direct to your tenant and carry out credit control procedures on your behalf. It is important to note that whilst we offer this service to the leaseholder, the ultimate liability for debt remains with them. In view of this we keep them informed art all stages of our credit control procedures. 10

11 CONTACT US: Tel: Fax:

12 ENER-G Switch2 Limited The Waterfront Salts Mill Road Shipley BD17 7EZ Tel: +44 (0) Fax: +44 (0) ENER-G Group Limited ENER-G House Daniel Adamson Road Manchester M50 1DT Tel: +44 (0) Fax: +44 (0) Printed on environmentally friendly chlorine free paper ENER-G Holdings plc