Terry Crouch

‘Big six’ energy firms had 4 million complaints last year

terrycrouch — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:22:39 +0000

Which? has released the results of it’s satisfaction survey 2012 on the best and worst energy suppliers. Although 14 suppliers are listed for England, Wales and Scotland for most business customers it’s the ‘big six’ that they are most likely to use that managed to tot up a unimpressive 4 million complaints last year. Mistakes on bills and inaccurate meter readings were the biggest source of complaints and Richard Lloyd of Which? suggests that up to £4million is left unclaimed by wronged customers as a result of not following up compensation claims. This task is something Auditel does for our clients on a regular basis. Our no savings, no fee approach is ideal for clients who do not have the expertise or time to pursue a claim.

Why Should I Benchmark?

terrycrouch — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 11:57:09 +0000

Benchmarking helps your company to compare how well you are performing against others and identifies whether your company is at a disadvantage. Whether you are benchmarking to increase productivity or reduce operating expenses, driving best-in-class performance through benchmarking may increase efficiencies, profitability, and improve customer service.

The IoD has recently published a useful Directors Briefing on Benchmarking including;

• The opportunities benchmarking offers

• How to select benchmarking partners

• How to use benchmarking.

It can be found at http://www.iod.com/Mainwebsite/Resources/Document/Benchmarking_1011.pdf

£7.7 billion lost ignoring energy efficiency measures

terrycrouch — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 10:07:52 +0000

Last week EON published the findings of a survey that nearly four million of the UK’s 4.8 million small businesses are potentially missing out on £7.7 billion every year by not implementing energy efficiency measures.

Over 4 million don’t have lighting timers or motion sensors in their workplace;

Over 600,000 admit to leaving the windows open when the air conditioning or heating is on;

Over 3.5 million don’t have an energy monitor installed in the office but nearly 750,000 have a smart meter.

There are many ways to implement energy efficiency within a business and if the following seems a little daunting then Auditel can help companies by offering practical help and support in achieving their goals;

1. Understand your utility tariffs and charge rates

2. Carry out Energy Audits. Know what is being used, when it is being used and by which department.

3. Implement meaningful management reporting on utilisation and performance management against reduction targets.

4. Where appropriate make changes to your building infrastructure, low energy lighting, power factor correction etc.

The full EON report can be found here; http://pressreleases.eon-uk.com/blogs/eonukpressreleases/archive/2011/10/24/1753.aspx

Automatically Renewable Contracts – End of the Line

terrycrouch — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:39:29 +0000

Ofcom today announced a decision to amend General Condition 9 in order to prohibit Automatically Renewable Contracts (ARCs also referred to as rollover contracts or rollovers) to residential customers and small businesses with no more than ten employees in the fixed voice and broadband sectors.

For fixed voice and fixed broadband residential and small business ARCs the prohibition on the sale of new ARCs will take effect on 31 December 2011. This means that the sale of new ARCs will be prohibited from that date.

Now all we need is a similar decision from Ofgem for Utility supplies!

Further details of the Ofcom decision can be found here including provisions for existing contracts:

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/arcs/statement

Celebrating the UK’s best business talent – Auditel to sponsor the 2011 IoD Director of the Year Awards UK Final – Large Company

terrycrouch — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:00:44 +0000

On Friday 23rd September, the IoD Director of the Year UK Awards UK Final ceremony will take place at London’s Lancaster Hotel at a special celebratory lunch. The event is the IoD’s premier event in their calendar.

This year’s Director of the Year Awards have once again attracted an abundance of exciting high-calibre entrants from across the UK. The shortlists have now been drawn up and the second round of judging is underway, which means this year’s competition is reaching its conclusion.

Founded in 1994, Auditel is the UK’s premier cost and purchase management specialist. Auditel manages the full range of business expenditures for more than 3,400 clients ranging in size from multi-nationals to museums and from national charities to local manufacturers.

They are delighted to be sponsoring the Large Company category at the IoD Director of the Year Awards again this year and welcome the involvement in raising awareness and celebrating the very best of business leaders in the UK. The award is open to Directors from FTSE and other large listed companies who have shown excellence in their own region.

Academy Status

terrycrouch — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 15:52:54 +0000

As of the 3rd of June 1244 schools have applied to be an academy of which 831 have been approved. There are many benefits to Academy Status not least having control of a slice of budget that is at the moment used by the local authority in providing centralised services. As an Academy this would instead be received directly from the DofE.

However, schools that have historically been part of the Local Authority now find themselves having to make their own purchasing decisions not least having to organise their own insurance policies. The Department for Education advises schools converting to academies to obtain quotations from three separate sources to ensure that terms are competitive. This process may prove time consuming when demands upon the school are at their greatest with all the other implications of the change to academy status. Indeed some concern has been expressed about the accuracy of buildings values that have been provided by the Local Education Authority for insurance purposes.

Auditel through their partnership with Bluefin can help schools planning to take up academy status negotiate their way around this insurance headache.

More information can be found at www.bluefingroup.co.uk/academies

Eliminating Financial Waste in Care Homes

terrycrouch — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 11:13:12 +0000

The care sector is facing huge challenges at the current time. Stagnant revenue growth and increasing costs are squeezing profitability for many care providers.

At the Care Show, Bournemouth International Centre, 29th and 30th March 2011, Cost Management Consultants Kien Lac and Terry Crouch will discuss how to tackle spiralling costs and ultimately sustain or even improve the bottom line performance under these difficult economic conditions.

Their keynote presentation will cover the issues of:
• Why it is important for businesses to control their costs, especially in difficult times
• Why sustainable cost management activity is more effective than a simple cost reduction
• What is ‘financial waste’ and where it can be found
• How to undertake effective Cost Management, through practical case study examples
• The key considerations that any business can apply to help them manage their costs and successfully navigate the challenges now and into the future.

The full press release can be found here

http://www.prlog.org/11342297-eliminating-financial-waste-in-care-homes.html

Energy Management How the FD can make a difference

terrycrouch — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:34:02 +0000

I’ve just been reading a report published by FinancialDirector and AccountancyAge of the results of a survey carried out by British Gas Business of 200 Finance Directors. The survey was designed to obtain an understanding of the twin issues of energy use and cost and how this would affect businesses in 2011. When asked to rate their confidence in handling the different challenges they face 57% counted themselves confident in addressing their core responsibilities but only 23% feel confident in managing their energy costs. The report goes on to say that “the issue of energy management, cost and efficiency is currently not discussed at board level as regularly as it might be – given the proportion of a business’ overheads it can account for. Currently, 41% of FDs say it’s only very occasionally discussed at board meetings, with one in four (25%) saying it’s hardly ever discussed”. In summary the report suggests that FDs need to stop looking at energy as simply another business cost but should take the opportunity to gain competitive advantage by looking beyond short term cost reduction and rethink the way energy is purchased, used and measured. Auditel have been advising companies since 1994 on energy issues using our Total Cost of Purchase approach which takes into account all the costs – both direct and indirect – of business energy overheads. Unless you’re an expert, trying to unscramble all the factors that need to be taken into account to find the true cost of a service is a complex puzzle.

The Royal Air Force Museum

kirsten — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:57:57 +0000

The Royal Air Force Museum is Britain’s only national museum dedicated wholly to aviation. Occupying two public sites at Hendon in North London and Cosford in Shropshire, with a reserve collection kept in Stafford, the museum attracts over half a million visitors every year and tells the story of powered flight from early bi-planes to the latest strike-jets.

Case Study:

Download a PDF copy of the case study.

Left to right: Ruth Dawe, Auditel Consultant; John Kitchen, RAF Museum’s Corporate Service Director and Laurence Fitch, Auditel Consultant

John Kitchen, the Museum’s Corporate Service Director since 2003, has seen the organisation change and grow, with major re-developments and new permanent exhibitions at both of their sites. A natural sceptic about the use of middle-men to make cost savings, John was nonetheless intrigued by a document sent out by Auditel consultants, Ruth Dawe and Laurence Fitch, that landed on his desk in late 2008, and which coincided with concerns he was already having about the museum’s communication costs and two previous, but failed, attempts to implement savings.

After an initial meeting John engaged Ruth and Laurence to carry out a thorough review, focusing firstly on charges associated with fixed line and mobile communications and secondly on the museum’s Private Networks infrastructure.

“ I would count myself as being a sceptic where organisations like Auditel are concerned but there’s no doubt they’ve provided value for money for us.” – John Kitchen, the Museum’s Corporate Service Director

Initial investigations into the Museum’s landline contracts showed that, while not officially part of the MoD, the museum was included in the keenly priced £3.5 million Commitment Contract with BT. However, drawing on the experience of colleague William Ball, a thorough analysis of 72,000 landline calls found that their particular call profile was not an ideal match for this contract and, when put out to tender, the Auditel team identified and delivered combined savings for line and call traffic of 12.9% against the existing MOD/BT plan. A review of maintenance contracts for the switchboards resulted in further savings of 28% per year.

Despite the Museum signing a new 24-month mobile contract with Orange just one month before Auditel were engaged, Ruth and Laurence carried out a review of this category anyway. A review that identified a billing error of £44 per month for handsets, for which Auditel obtained a rebate and liaised with Orange to ensure charging would be correct going forward.

With landlines and mobiles under management, Ruth and Laurence moved on to reviewing the Museum’s private networks, drawing on the expertise of their colleague, Terry Crouch to find and implement significant savings of £22,810, or 74%, in this complex area.

John Kitchen remarks, “Since the presentation of their initial report what’s been so remarkable about the service provided by Ruth, Laurence and their team has been their professionalism, the ongoing support we’ve received and the manner in which they’ve dealt, and continue to deal, with suppliers on our behalf. It takes a huge amount of pain away from me because they handle everything so effectively. All I have to do is sign a couple of letters giving them permission to do all the hard work – I’ve been really impressed. “

“As a quasi-governmental department we are part of an initiative to curb the use of consultants in the public sector but, with a £50m development at our London site and cuts to Grant-In-Aid possible, I would like to extend Auditel’s remit to cover more business cost areas if we’re allowed to do so. I would count myself as being a sceptic where organisations like Auditel are concerned but there’s no doubt they’ve provided value for money for us.”

Savings Achieved:

Private Networks – £22,810 – 74% Saving
Fixed Line Telecoms – 12.9% Saving
Telephone Maintenance – 28% Saving
Mobile Rebate of £44/month for handsets

Download a PDF copy of the case study.

Electricity and Gas Back Demands on the Increase?

terrycrouch — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:15:48 +0000

Two articles on the BBC website in the last 3 days (see links below) have bought to the public attention an increasing trend seen by Auditel by utility companies, since the financial crisis started to bite, taking a more pro-active approach in revenue analysis and financial recovery. In a similar approach to that taken by Auditel on behalf of our clients where we carry out free of charge back-audits to check for invoicing errors, utility companies are now employing external companies to do the same for them. Although the articles do not give all the story it proves that when companies are hit with these back demands a little complaining can go a long way in obtaining an initial reduction from the supplier. However, Auditel can help these companies reduce their liability with a level of expertise that most clients do not have the time or experience to carry out for themselves. In the case of the Ice Cream firm were they aware that the Limitation Act of 1980 states that ‘Actions founded on simple contract’…..’shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued’ a good starting point when a 10 year back demand is made! Is the client in a position of knowledge to argue with the supplier on the assumptions they have made in terms of meter readings and 6 year old tariffs? Finally, beware, ‘If the debtor acknowledges the debt in writing or makes a part payment within the original limitation period, then the time limits start to run again from the date of acknowledgement or the date of payment’.

Blackburn Ice Cream Firm – £60,000 back demand http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-12108666

Uckfield Deli – £18,466 back demand http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-12122819