Are Small Businesses Being Hit By Unfair Energy Bills?

New figures show that small businesses are being unfairly overcharged for their gas and electricity consumption. With all businesses struggling and utility costs rising do you think action is needed to protect small businesses from shock bills?

Last year Consumer Direct claim that their helpline received 1,848 complaints from micro-businesses who were lumped with unexpected bills after their energy charges were underestimated.

With average businesses spending up to £10,350 a year on gas and electricity, mistakes can quickly add up, resulting in companies being hit with back-dated bills for thousands of pounds.

Audrey Gallacher, Head of Energy at Consumer Focus, said that small businesses need all the help they can get in these difficult times if they are to help drive the economic growth we need.

“Getting a bill for thousands of pounds out of the blue is a nightmare scenario for any small business, especially in these difficult times,” he says.

“With suppliers able to go back six years, supplier mistakes can add up to big debts that could potentially cripple some firms.”

Energy back billing of companies is a very contentious issue, which differs quite considerably to the domestic energy market where companies can only back bill for one year.

David Caro, Federation of Small Businesses Environment and Energy Policy Chairman believes that despite small businesses using energy in much the same way as a domestic user, they do not have the same protection.

“There is a need for a radical shake-up of the practice of estimated billing, especially when the energy suppliers are in the wrong,” he says.

“A large unexpected energy bill, particularly in these difficult trading times, can be as serious as the last nail in the coffin for a small firm, which is then forced out of business through no fault of its own.”

Energy consumption and billing can have a detrimental effect to your business and it’s profitability – have you had a dispute with your energy supplier in recent years? Have you been unfairly ‘back billed?’

Moving House Tips

Moving house can be stressful, particularly if you have a lot of stuff. But if you plan ahead it is possible to minimise any potential problems you may encounter. Follow these house moving tips to save money and time when moving.

Did you know that in 2006 Britain spent £28 billion moving house? While many of these costs came from home repairs in preparation for a sale, estate agents fees, legal fees and stamp duty, a considerable sum also came from the actual cost of moving too – typically removal charges and any storage requirements that are often necessary when moving home.

While it was all too easy to swallow the extra costs associated with moving house during the heady days of the pre-credit crunch thanks to a booming property market, today, anyone moving house is looking to save money wherever possible.

If you are moving house – be it into a newly purchased property or into the ever expanding private rented sector, follow these top tips for a successful home move.

Plan Ahead: Before you move make sure that you write down key dates and events as a visual reminder of what needs to be done by when. Another good bit of advice is to declutter your home before the move, too. Clean out the garage, loft and spare bedroom – if you’ve not used something for 5 years, do you really need to move house with it?

Let Everyone Know: You and your family will be well aware that you are moving house, but remember to let everyone else know too. That may mean a quick Facebook email to all your friends, but you will also need to let utility companies, insurers, banks and the DVLA know too. You’ll also need to update records with doctors, dentists, schools (if you have kids) and anyone else that you can think of.

Storage Boxes: A few weeks in advance of your move you could buy some moving house boxes and begin packing away non essential items such as books, toys, clothes you won’t need and anything else that you can live without for a few weeks. If you have something that you can live without for while and you’d like it out of the way during the busy house move – for example a piano or an antique piece of furniture – a good idea is to put it into storage until you are settled in your new property. This way you can avoid any potential damage to your precious piece of furniture during the move.

Get Your Friends Involved: You can save a considerable amount of money by opting to move yourself, instead of using a removal company. You can hire a van for a day or weekend fairly cheaply and with a few willing friends, (preferably those who can lift heavy items!) you can move at a fraction of the cost of hiring the professionals – you even get a free work out, too. 

Do Businesses in Southampton Need More Apprenticeships?

Official figures show that youth unemployment has now risen to 1 million people. The government is doing much to encourage apprenticeships once more, but do businesses in Southampton need them?

Three decades ago apprenticeships were all the rage, training up a generation of people for work with relevant practical training in important industries such as construction, engineering, electronics and manufacturing.

In more recent years vocational style training has been replaced with more of a focus on academic study, something many businesses – not just along the south coast – but across the UK, have complained about when it comes to finding qualified employees.

Local Winchester MP Steve Brine is an advocate of promoting apprenticeships. He told the Southampton Daily Echo in April that he believed British manufacturing would be one of the main stimulus points for economic recovery and that in order to succeed it was important to “intensify our efforts to re-establish apprenticeships as the primary form of practical training.”

Plans are not only place to offer Apprenticeship Schemes in traditional industries, but also in expanding industry sectors such as IT and more creative industries.

The Apprentices for Business program claims that 80% of those employers who employ apprentices agree they make their workplace more productive.

Taking on an apprentice may even help boost sales for your company, too, as 81% of consumers favour using a company which takes on apprentices.

So, the question remains: would you take on an apprentice for your business in Southampton and do you think apprenticeship schemes are a good way forward in general for the economy?

Easter Bunny visits Hammersmith and Kings Cross

Another busy day with the hero team today! First stop – Access Self Storage in Hammersmith! After a visit to the store to pick up store assistant Nic Tolchard, the Easter bunny directed the team to Hammersmith Hospital where we visited the children outpatients ward and met little Amelia Reeve who was just about to have a blood test. She was being so brave but wanted to meet the Easter bunny to distract herself so we turned up with lots of presents and let Amelia choose her favourite! The Hammersmith Chronicle have quoted our very own Kevin Pratt in the piece out next week!

On to Access Self Storage in King’s Cross where the staff took us to a large unit FULL of toys! Bags and bags of collectables and brand new MP3 players and cuddly toys had been donated by the public! The hero team couldn’t even fit everything in the car so had to courier the ones left. An amazing result for The Royal Free Hospital where we met with Martin Spencer, press officer. Martin took us to the children’s playroom where little Bobby Moore (not THE Bobby Moore!) wanted his picture taken for the local paper (Islington and Camden Gazette).

The hospital photographer was also on hand to take some snaps for their website.

All in all, a fantastic day!

Next stop- Twickenham and Mitcham!”

Easter Bunny visits Stevenage

Another fantastic day on the Easter tour! Today we visited the Lister Hospital in Stevenage where we met with the head matron and had a lovely tour of the children’s ward.  We met some real characters and had great fun helping the Easter bunny give out his Easter treats.

  

A lot of the teenagers on the ward wanted chocolate so we managed to give out a large number of choccie eggs!

 

We were also joined by the lovely Louise Yexley from The Best Of Hitchin, Kerry Ahmani-Ferdi, Access Regional Manager and Lisa-Marie Penrose, Access CSA and the hero team all made the front news of the Stevenage Advertiser as well as The Comet Series out next week! Who said the Easter Bunny wasn’t headline news?!”

Easter Bunny visits Portsmouth and Southampton

What a fantastic day we had on Friday! The sun was shining and after zooming down the motorway to Access Self Storage in Portsmouth, we arrived at the store to stock up on donated gifts before visiting the Willows Nursery where the children flocked around the Easter Bunny asking him questions and playing with his shades. Even the Easter bunny needs to chill out in the sun!

From Willows Nursery to Portsmouth Hospital where Portsmouth Live TV and The Portsmouth Journal were waiting for the hero team to turn up.

Armed with cuddly bunnies and a giant bear, the Easter Bunny took to the ward spreading his Easter sprit to all the poorly children. Even our very own Access Marketing Manager, Kevin Pratt was interviewed for TV!!

On to Southampton where we visited the Community Toy Library before we went to see the children on the ward at Southampton Hospital!

The smiles on all the children’s faces said it all....


Watch this space for our journey to Stevenage!

Easter Appeal starts off at Access Self Storage in Reading

On the first day of the Easter tour, the hero team hooked up with the Easter bunny on the M4 and set off to Access Self Storage in Reading!

The team turned up to discover that the public had outdone themselves and there were boxes and boxes of amazing presents donated to Reading Family Aid! Brand new cuddly toys, games, colouring books and clothes had been kindly given by the residents of Reading and we can’t thank them enough!

The Best of Reading and Reading Chronicle were there to document the visit and just because he likes to boast, the Easter bunny showed off his overly hair legs to the camera men! The store manager was interviewed and staff photographed. What a fantastic day!

Watch this space for the follow up piece in the Reading Chronicle and join us on the next leg of our journey on Friday 8th April when we’ll be visiting Portsmouth and Southampton. Pray for sunshine!!