But How Can It Be Better And Cheaper?

I get asked this a lot. We are generally used to buying goods and services at low prices and accepting lower quality - whether that's ingredients in food, raw materials in a manufactured product or customer support for services. In this post, I will outline just how Utility Warehouse (UW) is able to offer award-winning service but also at a lower price.

The 'usual' way

When it comes to your household utilities, most people fall into one of two camps - there are those who "just leave it as it is" and those who "shop around regularly". Many of those who just leave it are still with the legacy suppliers, believing that these trusted, long-standing former publicly-owned organisations will look after them and won't be gone tomorrow. Meanwhile, those who shop around regularly rely on comparison sites, which claim to give the very best deals out there. However, there are flaws in both of these approaches.

The reality is that those who stick with the legacy suppliers are usually paying way more than they need to. These companies are no longer what they once were - they are huge corporations, making enormous profits and often owned by an even huger corporation somewhere up the line. They seem to rely on the loyalty of half of their customer base and milk them for what they can get away with, with ever-increasing prices and questionable approaches to customer service. Check out the TrustPilot scores for these companies! I could give numerous examples of individuals who were formerly with these legacy suppliers for energy and broadband in particular, who have now switched to UW and have saved hundreds of pounds in the process. My record was £1,300 in the first year alone for a lady who was previously with British Gas and BT.

Meanwhile, those who shop around regularly using comparison sites often still miss out without realising it. It costs suppliers a significant amount to be recommended on comparison sites and this, coupled with significant costs for TV and other advertising means prices are higher than necessary. UW does not pay to be recommended on comparison sites - rather like Direct Line, you get the best deals by going direct, which with UW means coming to an authorised UW partner like me.

Why bundling is best

Comparison sites are set up to offer one service at a time - be that energy, broadband, mobile SIMs or insurance. The real value with UW comes from bundling together multiple services - think of it like a meal deal. Individual items that are each cheaper when bought together. Recently, I met a couple who used spreadsheets to track their spending on these services and switched supplier every time a contract came to an end. By taking a bundle with UW, they still saved around £30 a month - or £360 a year. Enough for a nice weekend break somewhere!

Cashback is king

Cashback is a familiar thing for many people now, whether that's through a cashback credit card and Amex Rewards card or a cashback site such as QuidCo or TopCashback. Prior to becoming a UW customer, I thought I was doing well to get around £100 a year in cashback from these various sources. However, aside from the level of cashback being low (typically no more than 1%) there is often a requirement to claim or transfer this cashback, something that many people actually forget to do.

With UW, cashback is what makes an already good deal absolutely unbeatable. Just by spending on the UW Cashback Mastercard, a typical household will average at least £20-30 a month in cashback that comes straight off their monthly UW bill. In our household, this is usually what we end up with, so our broadband is effectively free-of-charge every month. There's nothing else out there that compares.

The unique difference

If you're with me so far, you'll hopefully be starting to see just how unique UW is in the utilities market. However, for those who like the detail, here's a little more for you. UW is the only true multi-service utility company - others have tried and failed. Most famous was Shell, who recently launched a broadband service and sold it off within a short period of time. This means that all other suppliers operate in a single market - be that energy or telecoms. This means that a downturn in that particular market (for example, a rise in wholesale prices) has a big impact on their profits. By operating in three different major markets - energy, telecoms and insurance - UW is able to remain financially secure, as a downturn in one of these markets often coincides with an upturn in another. They have a single cost base - one headquarters and customer service base, one CEO, one board of directors - but multiple opportunities to offer value to customers whilst remaining profitable. They also have something else that's unique - a network of around 70,000 authorised UW partners - like me! We are all customers first and foremost, who share the benefits of UW via the best form of marketing, word-of-mouth. We work in our local communities to offer a level of personal customer service and support that other suppliers simply cannot offer. And all whilst remaining cheaper overall, in most cases.

So, there we have it - better and cheaper! By becoming a UW customer, you are supporting a fantastic British company and a local authorised partner. And in return, you're getting an excellent deal and fantastic customer service. What's not to love?

Contact me to find out more - jason@savingspittstop.com