Utility Dispute Resolution Service Launched by Audits Unlimited
Unexpectedly your company receives an electricity bill for £30,000. What do you do? Do you assume it is correct and pay up or do you contact the utility company and try to query it?
Glasgow, United Kingdom, October 10, 2006 --(PR.com)-- Audits Unlimited, a leading business utility consultancy, has launched a Dispute Resolution Service, to deal with such circumstances.
Based on the firm’s 11 years experience of advising organisations on electricity, gas, water and telecom charges, the service aims to take the hassle and expense out of dealing with utility companies.
“Over many years we have acted on our clients’ behalf saving them paying inaccurate bills and for services they are dissatisfied with,” said Donald Maclean, managing partner of Audits Unlimited. “Dealing direct with utility companies can be a nightmare. Often, a customer will be confused or bamboozled by the utility company who may simply insist that the bill is correct and pass the customer from pillar to post. We have had many companies approach us because they are being threatened with court action and are at the end of their tether.”
He added: “If a client or their solicitor comes to us with a disputed bill we will carefully analyse the situation and recommend a course of action based on our in-depth experience of the utilities sector. If we believe there is a good chance of a successful outcome we will agree a percentage of the disputed bill as our payment. Only if we are successful in getting the charge dropped or reduced will we get paid.”
Once a case is handed over to Audits Unlimited they will liaise directly with the utility company and deal with all the subsequent administration and paperwork. Said Maclean: “It can be extremely time consuming dealing with the utility company. just getting through to the right person can be very difficult. Once onboard, the client can forget about this and leave it to us to do all the spade work. Our intimate knowledge of how the utility companies work means that we have a very high success rate. Other professionals such as accountants and lawyers consult us on behalf of their clients because of our specialist knowledge in this field and we could act as expert witnesses in court cases involving utility disputes. I’m pleased to say of all the cases we have dealt with, every one has been resolved positively for the client without needing to go to court.”
One of the recent cases that Audits Unlimited worked on was a referral from a solicitor. His client had been billed for almost £30,000 for electricity he was convinced he had not used. The bill had been under dispute for more than three years and the position had reached stalemate. The solicitor sought their help and within a month the utility company had admitted there were a number of errors and the customer was not liable for the £30,000 bill. Furthermore, they are helping the customer pursue a claim for compensation for some of the time and expense wasted on the matter over three years.
In another case an independent school had installed an electricity supply with a five year agreement to pay capacity charges. Audits Unlimited discovered that the agreement had tied them into much higher capacity charges than required and on a tariff which was more appropriate for heavy electricity consumers. As a result the client was paying over three times as much for electricity as it should have been. Once Audits Unlimited took on the case the supplier agreed to change to a more appropriate tariff and this was also applied retrospectively reducing the client’s outstanding bill by 66% -- a saving of more than £6,500.
For further information about the Audits Unlimited Dispute Resolution Service please visit www.auditsunlimited.co.uk or call 0141 943 3344.
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Notes to editors:
Audits Unlimited Background Information
With gas and electricity prices rising steeply, water becoming a precious resource and telecoms becoming a jungle of competing claims, many organisations are under pressure to cut costs and desperately in need of independent advice. At the same time, environmental concerns mean that organisations are under pressure to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. There is a source of independent advice on utility services and energy conservation.
Since 1995 Audits Unlimited has commanded a pole position in the provision of utility purchasing, utility auditing and utility management services to major private and public sector organisations. Two aspects of Audits Unlimited’s services are the foundations of the company’s reputation – genuine independence from suppliers and careful management of an organisation’s utility services.
Audits Unlimited’s founding partners, Donald and Linda Maclean, both have an impressive background in utility auditing and group purchasing for a PLC, with over 50 years of business experience between them. Driven by the knowledge that over 80% of organisations pay too much for their utilities, Donald and Linda decided to combine their experience to offer UK organisations a totally independent utilities advice service. Over the last ten years they have built up an experienced team of expert utility analysts and consultants.
The company specialises in saving clients money on gas, LPG, electricity, water, fixed and mobile telecoms. Based near Glasgow, they currently manage several thousand of their client’s sites, from Aberdeen in the north, to the south of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The services they provide result in savings, on average, of between 10 and 20% of their client’s utility costs.
For further information please contact Audits Unlimited on 0141 943 3344,
e-mail info@auditsunlimited.co.uk or visit the website at www.auditsunlimited.co.uk
Based on the firm’s 11 years experience of advising organisations on electricity, gas, water and telecom charges, the service aims to take the hassle and expense out of dealing with utility companies.
“Over many years we have acted on our clients’ behalf saving them paying inaccurate bills and for services they are dissatisfied with,” said Donald Maclean, managing partner of Audits Unlimited. “Dealing direct with utility companies can be a nightmare. Often, a customer will be confused or bamboozled by the utility company who may simply insist that the bill is correct and pass the customer from pillar to post. We have had many companies approach us because they are being threatened with court action and are at the end of their tether.”
He added: “If a client or their solicitor comes to us with a disputed bill we will carefully analyse the situation and recommend a course of action based on our in-depth experience of the utilities sector. If we believe there is a good chance of a successful outcome we will agree a percentage of the disputed bill as our payment. Only if we are successful in getting the charge dropped or reduced will we get paid.”
Once a case is handed over to Audits Unlimited they will liaise directly with the utility company and deal with all the subsequent administration and paperwork. Said Maclean: “It can be extremely time consuming dealing with the utility company. just getting through to the right person can be very difficult. Once onboard, the client can forget about this and leave it to us to do all the spade work. Our intimate knowledge of how the utility companies work means that we have a very high success rate. Other professionals such as accountants and lawyers consult us on behalf of their clients because of our specialist knowledge in this field and we could act as expert witnesses in court cases involving utility disputes. I’m pleased to say of all the cases we have dealt with, every one has been resolved positively for the client without needing to go to court.”
One of the recent cases that Audits Unlimited worked on was a referral from a solicitor. His client had been billed for almost £30,000 for electricity he was convinced he had not used. The bill had been under dispute for more than three years and the position had reached stalemate. The solicitor sought their help and within a month the utility company had admitted there were a number of errors and the customer was not liable for the £30,000 bill. Furthermore, they are helping the customer pursue a claim for compensation for some of the time and expense wasted on the matter over three years.
In another case an independent school had installed an electricity supply with a five year agreement to pay capacity charges. Audits Unlimited discovered that the agreement had tied them into much higher capacity charges than required and on a tariff which was more appropriate for heavy electricity consumers. As a result the client was paying over three times as much for electricity as it should have been. Once Audits Unlimited took on the case the supplier agreed to change to a more appropriate tariff and this was also applied retrospectively reducing the client’s outstanding bill by 66% -- a saving of more than £6,500.
For further information about the Audits Unlimited Dispute Resolution Service please visit www.auditsunlimited.co.uk or call 0141 943 3344.
###
Notes to editors:
Audits Unlimited Background Information
With gas and electricity prices rising steeply, water becoming a precious resource and telecoms becoming a jungle of competing claims, many organisations are under pressure to cut costs and desperately in need of independent advice. At the same time, environmental concerns mean that organisations are under pressure to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. There is a source of independent advice on utility services and energy conservation.
Since 1995 Audits Unlimited has commanded a pole position in the provision of utility purchasing, utility auditing and utility management services to major private and public sector organisations. Two aspects of Audits Unlimited’s services are the foundations of the company’s reputation – genuine independence from suppliers and careful management of an organisation’s utility services.
Audits Unlimited’s founding partners, Donald and Linda Maclean, both have an impressive background in utility auditing and group purchasing for a PLC, with over 50 years of business experience between them. Driven by the knowledge that over 80% of organisations pay too much for their utilities, Donald and Linda decided to combine their experience to offer UK organisations a totally independent utilities advice service. Over the last ten years they have built up an experienced team of expert utility analysts and consultants.
The company specialises in saving clients money on gas, LPG, electricity, water, fixed and mobile telecoms. Based near Glasgow, they currently manage several thousand of their client’s sites, from Aberdeen in the north, to the south of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The services they provide result in savings, on average, of between 10 and 20% of their client’s utility costs.
For further information please contact Audits Unlimited on 0141 943 3344,
e-mail info@auditsunlimited.co.uk or visit the website at www.auditsunlimited.co.uk
Contact
Audits Unlimited
Donald Maclean
0141 943 3344
www.auditsunlimited.co.uk
Donald Maclean
0141 943 3344
www.auditsunlimited.co.uk
Contact
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