Judge a consultancy on how it is paid, what it will put in writing, and who holds the data and the decisions at the end.
Verification
- Verified as at:
- Source:
- Omnium method; Letter of Authority practice in the UK market
- Last reviewed by:
- Omnium
Figures in this sheet were current at the verification date above. Regulated charges reset each April. If you are relying on a figure, check the source or ask us.
A4 board pack. Cover page, then a running head and foot on every page.
The short answer
Choose on how the consultancy is paid, what it will put in writing, and who holds the data and the decisions at the end. Everything else follows from those three answers.
A consultancy that is paid by suppliers has a different interest from one paid by you. Neither arrangement is automatically wrong, but you cannot judge advice without knowing which one you are buying, and you are entitled to ask for it in writing before you sign anything.
How they are paid
There are three common arrangements in the UK market, and a consultancy may use more than one.
| Arrangement | What to ask |
|---|---|
| Commission from the supplier | What the commission is, how it is expressed on your unit rate, and whether it changes depending on which supplier you choose. |
| Fee paid by you | What the fee covers, what falls outside it, and whether it is fixed or based on a share of anything recovered. |
| Share of savings or recoveries | How a saving is defined and measured, who verifies it, and what happens if the figure is disputed later. |
Ask for the arrangement in writing before work starts. A consultancy that will not put it in writing has told you something useful.
Questions worth asking
On scope
Does the work cover invoice checking, capacity, consumption and compliance, or only the renewal? Is water handled, and handled in house or passed on? What is explicitly excluded?
On authority
What does the Letter of Authority allow? Ask whether it permits signing a contract on your behalf, and whether it can be limited to obtaining data only. Ask how it is withdrawn and how long that takes.
On evidence
When a saving or a recovery is reported, what document supports it? A credit note, a corrected invoice or a supplier confirmation is evidence. A spreadsheet line is not.
On exit
At the end of the agreement, who holds your supply numbers, meter data and contract copies, and in what format are they returned? Is there a notice period, and does the agreement renew automatically?
Warning signs
- A saving quoted before anyone has seen your invoices or your data.
- An authority document that permits signing contracts you have not read.
- Pressure to decide on a rate the same day, with no written comparison to keep.
- No willingness to state how the consultancy is paid, or an answer that changes when written down.
- Reported results with no supplier document behind them.
Checks you can make yourself
Confirm the company at Companies House, including how long it has traded and who the directors are. Ask which trade body or code of practice it works under, and read the code rather than the badge. Ask for two clients of a similar size and structure to your own and speak to them directly.
Ask what happens when the answer is that nothing is wrong. A consultancy that can only be useful by finding a problem is under pressure to find one.
Related sheets
- How to compare energy consultancy services
How to put competing energy consultancy proposals on a like-for-like basis: the distinct service types, the lines every proposal should answer, and how to compare cost.
- Regulation of energy brokers and consultants
Commission disclosure has been a licence obligation since October 2024. Ofgem regulation of third party intermediaries is an intention, not yet law.
- Invoice validation
What goes wrong on energy invoices, how validation works against the contract, and why we validate for payment rather than approve.
Take this sheet into a meeting
How to choose a business energy consultancy exports as an A4 board pack: a cover page carrying the title and the verification date, then the sheet itself with a running head and foot on every page.
If this sheet raises a question about your own sites, speak to us.