Cancelling, cooling-off and inherited business electricity contracts

Usually only by paying an early termination fee, which reflects the supplier’s lost revenue and the energy it bought for you. Some contracts allow early exit if you move premises or close the business. Read the termination clause, ask the supplier for a written figure, and compare that against the cost of staying before deciding.

Some suppliers let you transfer your contract to a new premises, sometimes at revised rates. Others treat the move as the end of the contract at the old address and offer a new one at the new address. Let your supplier know early, provide a dated final reading, and check whether any exit or transfer terms apply.

Yes. Clearsight Energy can compare suitable contracts across the suppliers on our panel for you. A recent bill helps, though your MPAN, address, current supplier, contract end date and an idea of annual usage are usually enough to start. We’ll set out the options, the term, the rates and the broker fee so you can decide in your own time. Get in touch →

Verbal contracts can be valid if the call was recorded and you agreed to the key terms. Suppliers should send written confirmation and principal terms afterwards, including any broker fee. If you weren’t given clear information or didn’t agree, ask for the call recording and raise a complaint. Eligible small businesses can escalate to the Energy Ombudsman.

Check the supplier, start and end dates, unit and standing rates, whether it’s fixed or pass-through, the broker fee in the principal terms, termination terms and whether the contract auto-renews. Make sure the MPAN and business details are correct. If anything is unclear, ask for it in writing before you agree.

Some contracts move onto out-of-contract rates at the end of the term, while others renew automatically for a further period unless you give notice. For microbusinesses, suppliers can’t require advance notice to leave a fixed-term contract at its end, except on evergreen contracts. Diarise the end date and start comparing a few months ahead.

Clearsight Energy can keep track of your contract end dates and get in touch ahead of renewal to compare suitable contracts. That way you aren’t caught by rollover rates or notice windows. We’ll explain each option and the broker fee, and you decide whether and when to proceed. Get in touch →

Usually, yes. The contract is with the company, not the individual, so a director leaving doesn’t end it if they had authority to sign at the time. Questions arise where the person wasn’t authorised or the business wasn’t told the key terms. Ask the supplier for the signed contract or call recording so you can see exactly what was agreed.

You can raise it. Ask the supplier for the contract, the principal terms and any recording, and check who agreed it and when. Since October 2024 suppliers must show broker fees in the principal terms for non-domestic contracts, which can reveal how it was sold. If you believe it was mis-sold, complain formally to the supplier first.

Request the signed contract or verbal recording, the principal terms, the date agreed, who agreed it and their role, the broker involved if any, and the fee disclosed. Ask for the rates and end date in writing. Keep a timeline of when you found out and every contact since. That pack is what a complaints team, or later the Energy Ombudsman, will look at.

If the complaint isn’t resolved after eight weeks, or the supplier issues a deadlock letter, eligible small businesses can go to the Energy Ombudsman. Larger businesses may need legal advice. If the contract stands, the practical route is to see it out, give notice correctly and plan the next one, so you aren’t caught on out-of-contract rates afterwards.

Confirm the end date and notice period in writing, then diarise the notice deadline. Many businesses start comparing contracts several months before the end date so the new price is agreed well ahead. A new contract can usually be signed in advance and set to start the day after the old one ends, which avoids any gap on rollover rates.

Yes. Clearsight Energy can compare suitable contracts set to start the day after your current one ends, and help you serve notice on time. Send your MPAN, the end date and the company details now in place. We’ll set out the options, the price basis and our fee, so you can decide when the timing feels right. Get in touch →

Give the supplier the completion date, a meter reading taken that day, and the new owner’s legal name and company number. If the legal entity hasn’t changed, it’s usually an update to contacts and billing details. If a new entity is taking over, it’s a change of tenancy, and the new business will need its own contract.

Usually, yes. A new legal entity is a new customer, so the supplier will assess its credit as it would any new business, and that can mean a deposit if the company is newly formed. Having the purchase completion documents and the new directors’ details ready speeds things up and helps avoid time on deemed rates.

Yes. Clearsight Energy can compare suitable contracts for the new entity, including what any credit check may mean for deposits. Your company number, the MPAN, the completion date and the meter reading you took are enough to start. We’ll explain the options, terms and our fee clearly before anything is agreed. Get in touch →

If you bought the company itself, its debts, including energy arrears, stay with it. If you bought the assets through a new entity, you generally aren’t liable for the previous business’s account, though you’ll need evidence of the change and the date you took over. Check the sale agreement too, as it may set out who pays any outstanding bills.

Clearsight Energy’s bill validation can review recent invoices against the contract rates, meter reads and charges, so you know what you’ve taken on. It’s particularly useful where estimated reads, wrong VAT or capacity charges have built up over time. Send the bills and contract you have, and we’ll set out anything worth raising with the supplier. Get in touch →