Commenting on the fact that Co-operative Energy has won The Big Switch, the UK’s first nationwide collective switch from Which? and 38 Degrees, Richard Bates, Director of Empowered Consumers, at Consumer Focus, said:
‘It’s great to see the first collective switching in the UK in motion – this is an approach that is set to grow and be applied to other markets in the future.
‘Many people have been turned-off from switching in the energy sector and other markets, and can be stuck with a bad deal as a result. Collective switching offers an opportunity to put power back into consumer’s hands and makes getting a better deal much more straightforward. This first collective switch shows that better value can be obtained by an intermediary who works on behalf of consumers. It is a system which is convenient and low effort for customers with potentially significant rewards, and would work in many other consumer markets.
‘It’s good for competition that one of the smaller players in the sector has won the bid. What remains to see now, is how many customers take up the deal that Which?’s Big Switch is offering. We hope this will prove a success and pave the way for other schemes that offer consumers a straightforward route to better value deals.’
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Consumer Focus recently issued ‘Get it, together’, a report which makes the case for collective switching.
