Worried about your bills?

We understand that this is a stressful time for all business owners and bill payers, with rising costs across the board. This page serves to provides some general guidance for those businesses who may be facing payment difficulty including:

• What to do if you are worried about your ability to pay
• How to ensure you’re not paying more than you need to be for your business energy
• How we will communicate with businesses customers who fail to make payment

Worried about your businesses ability to pay?

Keep in contact.

If you’re having any issues paying your energy bills or you’re worried about falling into debt, the first step is always to get in touch with us on 0161 546 9940 or accounts@crowngas.co.uk as soon as possible, as there may be steps we can take to support the payment of your bill.

Seek external debt & budgeting advice.

If you regularly find yourself unable to pay bills or are worried about growing debt, the pages below contain more useful information, free advice and support.

Citizens Advice click here

Business Debtline click here

How to ensure you’re not paying more than you need to be

Check that you are in contract.

If your business contract recently ended and you are yet to renew, or your business recently moved into a new premises supplied by us, it is likely you are being charged our Deemed or Out of Contract rates.

These rates are often a lot higher than the average contract rate and are not subject to a price cap, as is the case in the domestic market.

We would encourage you to contact our Sales team who can provide you with a quotation for a Fixed Term contract. Please contact on 0161 762 1883 or email sales@crowngas.co.uk.

Check that your bills are based on actual meter readings.

If you have not provided us with regular meter readings for your site, then it is possible that we could be charging you based on an estimated meter reading. This could mean you are either paying for energy that hasn’t yet been used, or you are risking a big ‘catch up’ bill when an actual meter reading is provided.

We recommend you submit a meter reading in the last three working days of each calendar month to ensure they are captured in your next bill. Meter readings can be provided in one of four ways, whichever is easiest for you and your business:

• Submit meter readings via our Customer Portal
• Email readings to meterreads@crowngas.co.uk
• Submit reading online via our website form
• Call us on 0161 762 7744

Consider registering your interest in a Smart Metering Solution.

Alternatively, you may consider registering your interest in an AMR or smart meter, which may allow readings to be automatically taken at regular intervals and remotely sent to your supplier over a secure data network.

Manage your account via our Customer Portal.

The Crown Gas & Power customer portal is a quick and effortless way to manage your energy account, 24/7. All your account information is available at your fingertips – you will be able to view how much energy has been consumed and how much you have spent and your contract length.

Benefits:

• View your balance
• Easily make online payments
• View your monthly statements
• Access & download invoices
• All your contract documentation archived in one place

How we will communicate with businesses customers who fail to make payment

Crown Gas & Power have a duty to treat all our customers fairly, including those who may be facing payment difficulty, and we take all reasonable steps to engage with customers who have failed to make payment.

The key points of communication in our debt collection process are illustrated below:-

The physical disconnection of a meter only occurs as an absolute last resort, and only in relation to the non-payment of an energy bill. The decision to disconnect is not a decision taken lightly. Such action is taken to ensure both our continued commercial sustainability as well as ensure that our good paying customers are not left picking up the tab through higher contract prices.

If you are concerned about the affordability of your contract and would like to contact us, please email heretohelp@crowngas.co.uk