FAQ's

How often do I need to login to keep my account active?

Your account will stay open as long as you require it. If there is no action on your account for a year and there is no contact made with you after your auction we may put your account on hold, and this will withdraw you from the auctions until contact is made.

Are there any fees or me to pay to Utility Bidder?

You will never be charged a fee to use our services. All fees are paid by the relevant supplier if the account is transferred successfully. If you agree a new contract with Utility Bidder Ltd and after agree another with an alternate supplier, a strike may be attached to your account that could jeopardise future auctions and affect the bids placed by the suppliers. It’s important to maintain an impeccable status to give you the best results.

What is a Reverse Auction?

A reverse auction allows the price to go down instead of up. Usually during an auction the bids are increased when placed. Our auction allows the price to be decreased until the lowest possible price has been placed. This service is one of the best ways to empower you as a consumer and finally gives you the upper hand on the gas and electricity suppliers.

How often are Reverse Auctions scheduled?

The reverse auctions for the commercial sector will be held ever Thursday between 10.00 and finishing at 14.00. When the domestic platform is finalised, the auctions will be held every Tuesday also between 10.00 and 14.00. Your individual account will trigger available for auction at day 60 before the end of your current agreement.

What does risk-free mean?

Participation in a Reverse Auction for energy procurement is a risk-free opportunity to secure the best possible price for energy. Risk-free means that Utility Bidder will work with the client to evaluate the opportunity, market conditions, develop a procurement strategy, prepare all necessary procurement documents and conduct the auction. At the conclusion of the auction, Utility Bidder will identify the lowest bidder and compare the bid to the current market conditions. Then the business can make a decision to enter into an agreement or walk away without consequences or costs.

Am I obligated to take the lowest price?

You are not obligated to take anything that Utility Bidder Ltd offers. We are simply an introducer of businesses to the electricity and gas suppliers. We encourage all registered clients to shop around before your auction and obtain the best rates that you can get. If you choose at the end of the auction to take the rates put forward by Utility Bidder Ltd and enter into a new agreement. At this stage you are obligated to take the new price with the winning bidder/supplier.

How are suppliers motivated to participate if the buyer can just walk away at the end of the auction?

Some suppliers spend hundreds of thousands in new acquisition every year. We are a tool that simply takes your business to the suppliers at the correct time. High paid telesales executives trawl through endless amounts of data looking for renewal end dates. The electricity and gas suppliers are under no contractual agreements to use our service but run the risk of losing business if they choose not to bid. As the suppliers are bidding blindly they have no way of knowing if the sites that are on the platform are currently signed to their service. They don’t only run the risk of not obtaining the new sites but also losing their existing client base.

Can I still register if I already have a contact for electric power or gas in place?

Of course, you can register at any point during your current utility agreement. As we need time to retrieve your account details from your existing supplier, we would prefer you register your details early and guarantee you the benefit of the auction than delaying your registration and potentially missing the opportunity to lower you rates using our unique auction platform.

How do you cancel my current contract on my behalf?

Just before you complete your registration with our site you have to read the terms and conditions at the bottom of the page. In the terms and conditions you agree to you state that you would like us to cancel your agreement at duration to avoid the automatic rollover. We send your current suppliers notification of intent to terminate the agreements at the contractually stated end date.

How do you obtain my current details from my supplier?

There are two mandatory tick boxes in the registration process, one is the terms and conditions and the other is a letter of authority. This letter allows Utility Bidder Ltd to approach your current suppliers and obtain your current account information so we can produce you rates at the correct time.

How do you calculate the savings?

When your account is in its cancelation period your supplier usually sends a renewal letter out to your premises via post. In this letter is a rate that you current supplier deems to be the correct rates for your individual criteria at that period of time. This way any price that has been provided by your current supplier should be the starting point for calculating the savings.

How do I know that you have offered me the best rates available?

Unlike most brokers and comparison sites we are 100% impartial. We charge the suppliers a set FEE therefore do not favour any one supplier. We encourage you to spend a while having a look into the utility markets for yourself. We want you to feel secure when we contact you after the auction finishes that the price we have offered is the best one for your needs. We even provide links directly through to suppliers for you to obtain quotes directly. Use the comparison sites as up to now have been a good way to research rates.

Are there advantages for multiple sites to participate in a Reverse Auction?

If you have more than one site that comes up for renewal at the same time. The supplier may lower their standard prices to gain your custom. You will be in a better position to negotiate a better price if you had more than one site to offer a supplier. The same principle applies to our website. Are you just another comparison site? The only thing that a comparison site does is provide tariffs for all the suppliers that work under their umbrella. We go that one step further and actively engage suppliers in a bidding war for your business. We do not have any prices to offer you. Instead we have created a platform for all suppliers to bid against each other.

What is a Smart Meter?

Smart meters are the next generation of electricity and gas meters. They will bring about the end of estimated bills and meter readings, and provide customers and energy suppliers with accurate information on the amount of electricity and gas being used. Smart meters will empower customers to make choices on how much energy they use. Suppliers will install two-way communication systems that display accurate real-time information on energy use in the home or business of the consumer and back to the energy supplier.

How often do the prices change?

Prices can change very quickly due to movements in the energy markets that are beyond our and the suppliers control. We will always attempt to secure the prices offered at auction but they cannot be guaranteed due to the fluctuations within the market.

What is Climate Change Levy?

The Climate Change Levy (CCL) is a tax on energy delivered to non-domestic users in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to provide an incentive to increase energy efficiency and to reduce carbon emissions, Rates of the levy are: * 0.159/kWh for gas * 1.242p/kg for coal * 1.018/kg for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) * 0.456p/kWh for electricity

Where do I find my MPAN number?

The supply number is typically 21 digits long, and can be found on your electricity bill. If you cannot find your S number, you should contact your current electricity supplier, who will be able to help you.

I have outstanding debts on my current agreement, Can I join the auction?

You can register your details at anytime with Utility Bidder Ltd. If the best price we obtain is with another supplier the outstanding debt will need to be paid in full before the transfer of suppliers takes place.

I have just moved in to new premises, what auction can I join?

There are so many things to worry about when taking on a new endeavour like this. To get the best price you need to contact every supplier available and see what they will offer for a new acquisition site. If you register with our site today an account manager will fast track your details onto our auction platform. You will have our very best price within 7 days or sooner.

Are you going to help us change supplier once the auction has finished?

We aim to deliver you a first class experience whilst using our site. We don’t want to just get you the best price; we want to do all the work for you also. We will show you a step by step process of how the transaction is taking place. If there are any problems with the transfer of your account we will contact you directly to sort them out.

Once the auction has finished, how long do you hold the price?

The price is never guaranteed until the the contract is agreed and then locked in by the supplier. On rare occassions a supplier may bid but is unable to still offer that price at the end of the auction due to fluctuations on the wholesale energy markets. We will always do our best to obtain the prices offered in auction!