BESN Case Studies

Antony’s story

Anthony sought advice from a BESN champion following a presentation at our BESW themed ‘Tea & Tech’ event at the Upper Norwood Library Hub.

He had primarily attended as he was having difficulty managing very large energy bills but as we discussed his situation it also became clear that other factors were also affecting him.

Anthony has limited English so I had to take him through the options for switching providers and tariffs slowly; limited English had also been a reason why Anthony had not felt confident in dealing with the utility companies directly.

We quickly established that he had been with his gas provider for around 20 years which meant that he was on a pre-existing variable tariff with very high standard & unit rates, and had a similar situation with his electricity provider (10 years).

Switching Anthony to the same provider for both gas & electricity, setting up a monthly direct debit for payment and switching electricity tariff meant that we managed to bring down his yearly bills by £1,048.

However, Anthony was also concerned that he had a £600 debt outstanding with his gas provider; another reason why he had been reluctant to switch in the past. I spoke with the utility companies and we arranged for a repayment plan to be taken over by the new provider allowing Anthony to switch and start saving straight away.

While running through the options with Anthony I also established that a member of his household had a disability which meant they were unable to work and he had some concerns about properly warming the home. I looked into some aid local to Anthony and was able to book a home visit for a Green Doctor to access his home and help suggest some energy saving measures.

Anthony felt empowered to look into his energy bills next year but also really appreciated the support, “Thank you for helping me to save so much money- I wasn’t confident doing it alone but now I feel like I could look into this myself.”

Maria’s Story

Maria is in her seventies and came in contact with a BESN Champion while at a local food bank waiting to receive emergency food supplies.

Maria commented, “I am so glad I met you – your interventions have really helped me!”

Maria expressed a clear frustration with her energy supplier that wasn't responding to a complaint that her physical disabilities are preventing her from accessing gas and electric meters located in her cellar to take readings.

Maria described the difficulties she was having communicating with her supplier over the phone and online due to having both visual and hearing impairments. She felt extremely anxious about being over charged on her usage and getting into debt.

After explaining her concerns, Maria was advised to sign up to her suppliers Priority Service Register and book an appointment for an engineer to visit her home to take a meter reading.

As Maria hasn't switched tariff for over a year and in a contract with her supplier, she was also advised to ask her supplier directly if there are any better tariffs available.

On Maria's request, the champion called the energy supplier on her behalf and together they successfully booked an appointment for an engineer to take a meter reading.

Through this call, Maria also switched tariff making an estimated annual saving of £546.

Suffering from memory loss, at the end of the one-to-one session, Maria was provided with a written summary of advice and actions taken.

The champion explained, “When I first approached Maria she was very distressed by the situation. After receiving advice and support her demeanour completely changed. I could visibly see the impact this situation was having on her health and the relief she felt after the session.”

Since then, Maria has received follow up contact over the phone, advice on recent bills and had a successful home visit from her supplier to take her meter readings.