Security deposits, credit checks and what happens if your gas supplier fails

Usually not. Your fixed contract was with the failed supplier, so it normally ends when your account transfers. You’ll be placed on the new supplier’s deemed terms, which Ofgem expects to be reasonable, and some appointed suppliers offer fresh fixed contracts. Whatever happens, you can compare the market and move without an exit fee on those deemed terms.

They often are, particularly if your old fixed price was agreed when wholesale gas was cheaper. The appointed supplier prices its deemed terms on today’s market and its own costs of taking on customers at short notice. Comparing the new unit rate and standing charge with a few market quotes shows quickly whether staying put makes sense.

Yes. You aren’t tied to the appointed supplier, and deemed terms don’t carry exit fees, so you can agree a new contract once your account has transferred. Have your MPRN, a recent meter reading and your company details ready. A switch typically takes a few weeks, and your supply carries on as normal throughout.

Nobody can predict a supplier failure with certainty, but you can weigh up track record, size, the strength of the parent group and published accounts. Read the contract terms on price changes and credit checks too. A broker can explain the differences between suppliers on a shortlist, though the final choice and its trade-offs are yours.

Yes. Clearsight Energy can gather quotes for your site once your account sits with the appointed supplier, set them against the deemed rates you’re on now, and explain the contract terms for each. Send your MPRN or the welcome letter from the new supplier to get started. There’s no obligation to accept any quote. Get in touch →

Ofgem tries to appoint a supplier that agrees to honour customer credit balances, and in most past failures balances have been carried across. It isn’t a legal requirement for every business account, so check the new supplier’s opening statement carefully. Your final meter reading is what separates the energy you’d paid for from what you still owe.

Yes. Debts don’t disappear when a supplier fails. The administrator or the appointed supplier will usually collect any balance owed for gas used before the transfer. If you think the amount is wrong, raise it in writing with whoever is billing you and keep copies of your readings and past bills as evidence.

Check that the closing reading matches the one you took on the failure date, that the unit rate and standing charge reflect your old contract, and that payments you’ve made are all credited. Estimated closing readings are a common source of errors. If the closing and opening readings don’t line up, you could be billed twice for the same gas.

Yes. Clearsight Energy’s bill validation service can compare your closing and opening readings, the rates applied either side of the transfer and any credit carried across, then help you raise discrepancies with the right party. Send copies of the last bill, the new supplier’s first statement and your own meter photos. Get in touch →

There isn’t a standard figure. Suppliers base it on their credit assessment and your expected bills, and it’s often in the region of a few months’ estimated usage. Larger sites or higher-risk profiles tend to see bigger requests. Ask the supplier to explain how they calculated it, because the basis can sometimes be revisited with better information.

Sometimes. Offering to pay by direct debit, sending up-to-date management accounts, choosing a shorter contract or providing backing from a parent company or director can all change the outcome. Credit appetite also differs between suppliers, so a business turned down by one may be accepted by another without a deposit.

It’s possible. Each supplier sets its own credit criteria and uses different data, so a new company or one with patchy history can get different answers across our supplier panel. Submitting the same application to several suppliers at once is quicker than going one at a time, and it avoids repeated delays while your current rates run on.

Keep your Companies House filings up to date, make sure your registered and trading addresses match, and clear any county court judgments where you can. Suppliers also look at trading history, director records and payment behaviour with credit reference agencies. Recent management accounts help a young company show it’s trading well before its first full year is filed.

Yes. Clearsight Energy can put your application to several suppliers, show you which will accept the business and on what terms, including any deposit, and explain the trade-offs between them. Share your MPRN, company number and an idea of your annual usage to start. You decide whether any offer suits you. Get in touch →

Terms vary, but suppliers commonly hold a deposit for at least 12 months or until your credit position improves. It’s usually returned when you close or switch the account, after the final bill has been settled, with any unpaid amount deducted first. Most suppliers don’t pay interest on it, so check your contract for the exact conditions.

You can. After a year or so of paying on time, ask the supplier to re-run its credit assessment and send recent accounts showing your position has improved. Some suppliers will release the deposit or apply it as a credit to your account. Put the request in writing and ask for their decision and reasons in writing too.

The outgoing supplier normally offsets the deposit against your final bill and refunds any balance once the account closes. Delays are common when the closing reading is estimated or the final bill is disputed, so give an actual reading on the switch date. Chase in writing if the refund doesn’t appear within the timescale in your terms.

Yes. Clearsight Energy’s bill validation service can review your final bill, the closing reading and how the deposit was applied, then help you chase any balance that’s still owed. Send the final bill, your deposit confirmation and any switch-date meter photos you have. Get in touch →