I noticed today that Express-EPC have dropped their price for an EPC from £39.95 to £29.95. Does no-one ever question how they can run a call centre, accounts department and get domestic energy assessors to do the work for such a low price? I don't suppose clients give it a second thought. They don't seem to mind having to pay up front, with no guarantee they'll get their EPC at the end of it - if the process goes wrong with Express-EPC then they may have to find another assessor to do the work.
The reason Express-EPC are so cheap is that they set up a bid for each job, whoever puts in the lowest bid gets the job. The bid can be anything from £1 to the price Express-EPC advertise on their site; this guarantees them a margin every time. OK that's not great for assessors, but clients are probably happy so long as the job is done quickly and they get an EPC.
However, Express-EPC are bad payers! They say that they will settle the account for domestic energy assessors in 30 days. Not true, I now have 6 invoices outstanding for the period 23 June to 12 July and not one has been paid. They actually responded to my chasing of payment by sending emails stating that 3 invoices had been paid. Not true, I've not received a penny.
I'm probably not alone in this experience; they are likely to be other assessors who have not been paid. I hope they are not taking on any more work from Express-EPC.
Be warned!
And to all those people out there needing an EPC for sale or rent of a house or flat; cut out the middle man and go direct to your local Domestic Energy Assessor, an accredited professional giving you a fair price.
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Dont hold your breath Carol. Im waiting for payments dating back to 2nd June from Express-EPC. We arent the only ones, i have viewed 3 Domestic Energy forums and they all have threads on Express-EPC. A company that instructs its staff not to disclose the name of the owner, location of its office, doesnt allow you to speak to a manger or accountant.
ReplyDeleteThe slash of prices may indicate the health of the company, a warning to customers that if you pay up front for a product you may be left in the lurch.
Dont be surprised if we see Express-EPC on "Rogue traders" or "Watchdog" later in the year. Im sure that trading standards have been informed of them by more than a few people.
If you do get paid let us know.
Tim