1.1 These Terms of Business (the Terms) set out the basis on which Utility Advice Company Limited (company number 11841515) trading as “UAC Team” (we/us/UAC Team) provides services to you (you/the Customer).
1.2 Our registered office is 303 Grosvenor House, Central Park, Telford, TF2 9TW.
1.3 These Terms, together with any Letter of Authority (LOA) you sign, form the Agreement between you and us.
1.4 By signing our LOA or otherwise asking us to provide services, you agree to these Terms.
2.1 We are a business utilities broker and consultant, not a supplier. We do not supply gas, electricity, water, telecoms, mobile or card processing services ourselves.
2.2 We may help you with some or all of the following (together, the Services):
2.3 We work with a panel of suppliers and providers, not the entire market. For some products we may work with a single preferred provider.
2.4 Our role is to:
2.5 You will always enter into separate contracts directly with the relevant suppliers (Supplier Contracts). Those Supplier Contracts are between you and the supplier, not between you and us.
2.6 We will act with reasonable skill and care, but:
3.1 You will usually sign our Letter of Authority (LOA) at the start of our relationship. The LOA, together with these Terms, forms part of this Agreement.
3.2 The LOA sets out the scope of authority you give us, including which suppliers, meters, sites or accounts it covers and what we may do on your behalf.
3.3 If there is any inconsistency between the LOA and these Terms in relation to what we are authorised to do for you, the terms of the LOA will take priority.
4.1 Commission from suppliers
4.1.1 In most cases, we are paid commission by suppliers when we help you agree a Supplier Contract or keep a contract in place.
Example (illustration only): if our commission on an energy contract were 0.5 pence per kWh and your usage under that contract was 40,000 kWh per year on a 2-year agreement, the supplier would pay us approximately £400 in total over the 2 years (40,000 kWh × 2 years × £0.005). This is only an example; the actual commission on your contract may be higher or lower and will depend on the agreed rates and your actual usage.
4.1.3 For telecoms, mobiles and card processing, our commission may be:
4.1.4 Suppliers may also make additional payments to us, for example where:
This does not change the price you pay unless we tell you otherwise.
4.2 Information about our commission
4.2.1 For energy and water contracts, suppliers are required to show in their principal terms or contract documentation the total amount they pay to third parties such as brokers over the contract term.
4.2.2 We may also explain to you, in general terms, how our commission is structured (for example as a pence per kWh uplift or pence per day on the standing charge), but we are not obliged to provide you with a separate written estimate of our total commission in every case.
4.2.3 For all other services (including telecoms, broadband, phone and data lines, mobiles and card processing / merchant services), we are usually paid commission or referral fees by the relevant providers. Full details of our commission on those products are available on request.
4.2.4 You can ask us at any time to confirm the commission we have received or expect to receive on any contract we have arranged for you. We will provide this in a clear written summary.
4.3 Fees you may pay us directly
4.3.1 In many cases you will not pay us directly; our costs are covered by supplier commission.
4.3.2 However, we may charge you a direct fee in the following situations:
then we may charge you a Failed Contract Fee.
then we may charge you a Change of Tenancy / Early Termination Fee.
then we may charge you a Commission Shortfall Fee.
4.3.3 For each affected meter, supply point or account, the relevant fee in clauses 4.3.2(a)–(c) will be:
whichever is higher.
4.3.4 We calculate these fees using the same commission rates and assumptions that applied when the original quote or contract was agreed. On request, we will provide you with a summary of how the fee has been calculated, including:
4.3.5 We believe these fees are a reasonable estimate of the loss we suffer when contracts fail, end early or significantly under-perform, taking into account the typical commission we earn per meter or account and the time and cost we incur in arranging each contract. They are not intended to be a penalty.
4.3.6 We will issue an invoice for any direct fees, which must be paid within 7 days of the invoice date. All fees are subject to VAT. We may charge interest on late payments at the statutory rate for commercial debts.
5.1 You agree to:
6.1 We will use reasonable skill and care in providing the Services.
6.2 We rely on:
We are not responsible for errors or omissions in that information unless we knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that it was wrong.
6.3 You acknowledge and agree that:
6.4 We do not provide legal, financial, tax or regulatory advice. You should take your own professional advice where appropriate.
7.1 This Agreement starts when you sign our LOA or otherwise first ask us to provide Services (the Commencement Date).
7.2 It continues until:
7.3 We may suspend or terminate this Agreement immediately by written notice if:
8.1 Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes liability for:
8.2 Subject to clause 8.1:
8.3 If we make a mistake and you suffer direct financial loss as a result, you must:
If you do not do this, we will not be liable for that loss.
8.4 We give no guarantees or warranties about suppliers’ products or services. Any issues with a supplier’s performance should be taken up with the supplier directly, although we will try to assist where reasonably possible.
8.5 This clause 8 survives termination of the Agreement.
9.1 Each party will comply with its obligations under applicable data protection laws, including the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.
9.2 We will typically only process limited personal data about your staff (for example, contact details) to provide the Services.
9.3 You agree that we may share such data with suppliers and other third parties where needed to provide the Services.
9.4 Both parties agree to keep each other’s confidential information secret and use it only for the purposes of this Agreement, except where disclosure is required by law or to professional advisers under obligations of confidence.
10.1 If you are unhappy with our Services, please contact us using the details on our website or in our welcome pack.
10.2 We will:
10.3 If we cannot resolve your complaint about a gas or electricity contract and you are a microbusiness or small business (as defined in the applicable regulations), you may be able to refer the dispute about us to an approved Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme, such as the Energy Ombudsman or Dispute Resolution Ombudsman (DRO), which is free and independent.
10.4 Details of our ADR membership (name of scheme and how to contact them) are available on our website and on request.
10.5 Nothing in this clause prevents either party from starting court proceedings at any time, but we encourage disputes to be raised through our complaints process and ADR first.
11.1 Any formal notice under this Agreement must be in writing and sent to the registered office or principal place of business of the other party, or by email to the addresses notified for this purpose.
11.2 Notices are deemed received:
12.1 You must pay any amounts due to us without set-off or deduction.
12.2 If any part of this Agreement is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the rest will continue in full force.
12.3 This Agreement is the entire agreement between us about the Services and replaces anything previously discussed or agreed.
12.4 Changes to this Agreement must be in writing and signed or confirmed by both parties.
12.5 Nothing in this Agreement creates a partnership, joint venture or employment relationship between us.
12.6 You may not assign or transfer this Agreement without our written consent. We may assign it to an entity in our group or a purchaser of our business.
12.7 No third party has any rights to enforce these Terms under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
13.1 This Agreement and any dispute arising out of or in connection with it is governed by the laws of England and Wales.
13.2 The courts of England and Wales will have non-exclusive jurisdiction. This means that:
Energy
Water
Telecoms
Telephones
Mobiles
Payments