In 2010 a consortium of businesses in North West London set up Dr Cost, a utility consultancy aimed at reducing business costs substantially and set up to avoid the regular harassment by brokers and suppliers, many of whom have a vested interest with one specific utility product or supplier.

Due to the portfolio we control – in excess of £80m of gas and electric contracts, or almost 1000 Gigawatts of annual energy consumption – and using our buying power and expertise, in 98% of cases we will better prices obtained directly through other suppliers or brokers.

We only work with suppliers we have direct agreements with; to date over 30 suppliers have chosen to partner with Dr Cost to ensure our mutual commitment in providing transparent pricing and services.

Dr Cost secures contracts for care homes, hotels, restaurants, retailers, manufacturers and wholesalers, property management companies, museums, schools, charities and ambassadorial homes. Our clients range from restaurant chains, branded hotel chains, historical and royal venues to local supermarkets.

We have removed clients from uncompetitive contracts with brokers and suppliers. Our specialist services include expertise on legal and regulatory matters including unfair contracts, reduction on pass-through charges and unfair back-billing.

We have an unparalleled success rate in securing favourable decisions regarding complaints with the Energy Ombudsman and Consumer Council for Water. Refunds, rebates and savings in some cases have been as much as 100% on the billed amount.

In 2010 a consortium of businesses in North West London set up Dr Cost, a utility consultancy aimed at reducing business costs substantially and set up to avoid the regular harassment by brokers and suppliers, many of whom have a vested interest with one specific utility product or supplier.

Due to the portfolio we control – in excess of £80m of gas and electric contracts, or almost 1000 Gigawatts of annual energy consumption – and using our buying power and expertise, in 98% of cases we will better prices obtained directly through other suppliers or brokers.

Dr Cost secures contracts for care homes, hotels, restaurants, retailers, manufacturers and wholesalers, property management companies, museums, schools, charities and ambassadorial homes. Our clients range from restaurant chains, branded hotel chains, historical and royal venues to local supermarkets. We have removed clients from uncompetitive contracts with brokers and suppliers. Our specialist services include expertise on legal and regulatory matters including unfair contracts, reduction on pass-through charges and unfair back-billing. We have an unparalleled success rate in securing favourable decisions regarding complaints with the Energy Ombudsman and Consumer Council for Water. Refunds, rebates and savings in some cases have been as much as 100% on the billed amount.

We only work with suppliers we have direct agreements with; to date over 30 suppliers have chosen to partner with Dr Cost to ensure our mutual commitment in providing transparent pricing and services.

Let us carry out a utility health check on your sites by forwarding one recent copy bill or utility schedule or provide authority to us to contact your suppliers for billing information.

Supplies under contract would benefit from undergoing a full review of your current tariff for contract competitiveness. In 20% of cases we find contract anomalies – such as capacity or CCL (Climate Change Levy) reductions or a mis-sold uncompetitive contract and many of these we are able to correct even within an existing contract. Once you are in our system, we will contact you personally, prior to your contract ending, to offer our pricing service. In 98% of cases we will beat your renewal quotation.

Dr Cost examines annual usage and patterns, meter exchanges, meter operator agreements and other standing charges; we offer choices on contract length tailor-made for each meter or site and align multiple supply contracts to common end dates. We also provide an account management role with direct utility billing to ensure that billing errors are picked up and resolved.

Dr Cost has no vested interest in any one supplier, and should a client prefer we can remove all commission from a supply contract and agree on a work-based fee for our services.

Dr Cost provides full account management including billing validation, saving you time and money on contract renewals and especially where billing is incorrect.

We address billing issues with the suppliers. Where needed we will administer changes of occupancy, VAT declarations, power assessments, meter operator agreements and debt reduction. In addition, we can arrange meter installations or meter upgrades, often at zero additional cost.

Should you take over a new site the change of occupancy process will need to be to be managed efficiently and recorded carefully to ensure the existing supplier does not commit you contractually to excessive out-of-contract charges during the contract period. We monitor and record the process and ensure that your supply is changed quickly and effectively. Contract alignment can also be arranged to ensure that future contract negotiation includes other supplies that you manage for greater negotiating possibilities.