The business
The Fircroft Newsagency sits in Lancing, on the West Sussex coast. Bhadresh Patel, a former postmaster, has been in charge of it for 25 years and has been a member of the Federation of Independent Retailers, the Fed, for the same 25 years.
The problem
What pushed Bhadresh to move wasn't the price. It was being ignored.
"I felt like my previous energy supplier signed me to a contract and then didn't want to know from there, so I wasn't going to renew with them." — Bhadresh Patel, Fircroft Newsagency
This is more common than the energy industry likes to admit, and it's a genuinely difficult position to be in. Deciding not to renew is easy. Knowing what to do instead is not. The market is opaque, the tariffs are hard to compare, and the obvious fear is that you leave a supplier who ignores you and end up with one that ignores you for slightly less money. Most operators, faced with that, do nothing and get rolled onto out-of-contract rates, which is the most expensive outcome available.
The solution
Bhadresh had seen our partner mentioned in The Fed, the Federation of Independent Retailers' magazine, and it had stuck with him. When he rang the Fed contact centre to say he was unhappy with his supplier, they put him through to our partner where our consultant and Fed members account manager Anthony Gayle handled it.
The call took about 10 minutes.
What came out of it was better than a straight price cut. Two things changed:
- A lower unit rate on a new two-year electricity contract
- No standing charge at all once the contract takes effect. Not a reduced one, none
Together those come to a saving of £157 a month, and £3,782 across the two years. Terms were sent over, signed, and the shop is set for the next two years.
"When I spoke to Anthony, he was brilliant with me and explained my options clearly. In about 10 minutes, we finished the call and I'd secured a deal I was happy with. He sent over the terms and I signed them, so I'm all set for the next two years. Anthony made the process of securing my new electricity contract straightforward and hassle-free. His support really helped me. I'll be saving a good sum of money and I'm looking forward to cheaper bills. I would recommend them to anyone."— Bhadresh Patel, Fircroft Newsagency
What this means for your business
No standing charge is rarer than it sounds. The standing charge is a fixed daily fee for being connected to the supply. You pay it whether you trade that day or not, so it's the one part of the bill you can't shrink by using less. Some contracts drop it and recover the cost in the unit rate instead, so it's worth knowing which structure you're on. Fircroft ended up with a lower unit rate and no standing charge, which is why the two together come to £157 a month.
And price isn't the only reason to move. Being ignored on billing or meter queries is a legitimate trigger to review, and a review usually turns up a saving you weren't looking for. Bhadresh went looking for better service and came away with £3,782.
Neither point depends on selling newspapers. For a restaurant or takeaway, a care home or a hotel, only the scale changes: the more electricity you get through, the more an unreviewed contract quietly costs you.
Send us your most recent bill and within 24–48 hours you'll know your unit rate, your standing charge and your renewal date, and whether any of it can be improved.