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Are
electricity bills a postcode lottery?
RESEARCH from price comparison and switching service
SimplySwitch.com has revealed the huge price differences consumers
are paying for their electricity, simply due to where they live.
Analysis of each of the 14 original electricity areas in the UK has
shown that households in a company’s host region can pay up to £110
more for their electricity than those on an identical tariff with
the same supplier in other parts of the UK. The biggest cost
difference found is for customers in and around Newcastle. Those in
this region with the host supplier Npower pay £502 per annum - £110
more for their electricity than those with the same supplier in the
Ipswich area. They would only pay £392 per annum. Also, a customer
with Scottish Power in Edinburgh would pay 29.6% more than someone
with the same supplier in Ipswich.
However, these are not isolated cost differences. Host suppliers are
the most expensive in every region in the UK, by an average of £72,
meaning that customers who have not switched are forced to pay more
for an identical product.
Karen Darby, CEO of price comparison and switching service
SimplySwitch.com comments:- “These figures reveal huge price
differences and it would seem that suppliers are cashing in on their
customer’s loyalty and lethargy. We have always known that customers
outside an energy company’s host region pay less for the same
service, but we think this is unacceptable as all price controls
were lifted some years ago. It seems that the best place to
live for cheap electricity is the Ipswich area. However, if you are
not prepared to move there, perhaps you should consider switching.”
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UK
small traders to answer online consumer demand
WITH over half the UK’s
population regularly buying over the Internet, increased consumer
demand online can only be satisfied by independent small businesses.
That’s the claim made this week by UniTechnology, at the launch of
UniTrader 2006, the DIY ecommerce software for the small business
and start-up community.
As more Brits continue to shop online than any other European
population, figures show that Internet shopping is the real driving
force behind today’s retail growth and an e-transformation of
Britain’s independent retailers is underway.
Pavel Kilovatiy, UniTechnology Managing Director said:- “This
is a very exciting time for everyone involved in e-commerce. The
online community has diverse demands and needs. As small businesses
are typically specialists in their own field, they are far more able
to reflect consumer demands in their offering.”
However, the recent High Street report from the House of Commons
Small Shops Group claims that independent retailers will all but
disappear by 2015. In the report, Peter Knight MP commented:-
“I think there are some really excellent retail businesses that will
prosper, because they are enterprising and they are innovative. I
think those that are not and that are undercapitalised in particular
will really struggle...”
Is it possible for small businesses to find their salvation in the
electronic marketplace? Government figures for 2004 reported that
just 6% of small businesses were selling online, but more recent
results from the Federation of Small Businesses, whose survey took
place in September 2005, already show an increase to 18%.
UniTechnology’s Kilovatiy continues:- “We anticipate the
figures for 2006 will show a remarkable transition. Our DIY online
shop builder, UniTrader 2006, gives business owners the commercial
clout to sell successfully online, not just to the UK, but to the
rest of the World as well,” he said.
Selling online is now easier than ever, as DIY software for
businesses becomes more readily available at more affordable prices.
Today, businesses can setup an online shop for less than £400 and be
trading online in hours without any programming or website
expertise.
For businesses that are thinking of setting up an online shop,
UniTrader 2006 can be downloaded free of charge from
www.unitechnology.co.uk.
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