All BES electricity contracts offer a free of charge SMART meter to be installed at site where possible. A SMART meter is designed to provide us with accurate, regular information about your energy usage, allowing BES to provide more accurate invoices and reduce the impacts of estimated invoices for long periods.

By entering into a contract with BES, you agree that you will allow us to install such a device (if one is not already installed). If we are unable to install a SMART meter for technical reasons this will not alter the contractual agreement between us, however it will mean that if you wish to receive accurate monthly invoices, you will be required to provide the monthly reads to us via phone, email or through the MY ACCOUNT section of this website. 

Additionally, if a Smart meter is not installed at the premises, we will instruct a pedestrian meter reader to attend your premises every 6 months throughout our agreement

There are a variety of meters, ranging from the complicated dial meter, to the smart meter detailed above. If you do have a dial meter, please follow the below instructions:

• Read ALL black dials from left to right

• Dials next to each other move in the opposite direction

• If the pointer falls in between numbers, always note the lower number

• If your pointer is between 9 and 0, 9 is classed as the lower number

• Ignore any Red Dials

To view more details on how to read a meter please click here to download our helpful PDF.

It is in your interest, if you do have a dial meter, to contact our customer services team as soon as possible to get an upgrade arranged for you. They can arrange this as well as help you read the meter itself if you are having any problems.

The smart meter will provide us with reads the majority of the time, however if there are any issues connecting to it, you will find it is much easier to read. There should be a button on the meter which reads ‘select’ or ‘display’ which when pressed will take you through all the relevant information such as date, time and most importantly meter reading.

If the information is not clear, please contact our customer services department who can provide further guidance, if required.

This may be due to us not receiving a meter reading from you in time for our invoicing period. To ensure readings are utilised for your next invoice, please provide these on the nearest business day following the 8th of each month. The estimate will be based on previous usage on the account, as well as information provided to us from the electricity industry regarding your meter type/size.

On the rare occasions where a smart meter is installed and we have been unable to connect to the meter to obtain a reading, we will attempt to contact you in order to obtain a meter reading in the date range stated above. Please refer to ‘How do I read my meter?’ in the FAQ’s

The first port of call would be to contact the electricity distribution company for your area (the numbers for which can be found on the back of your BES electricity invoice, alternatively click here), to establish if there has been a power cut or any issues in or around your area you should be aware of. If they are unable to resolve the problem you should contact us during our opening hours (Monday – Friday 8:30-17:30) and we will arrange for an agent to visit your property as soon as possible.

We advise, that in these cases, the customer contacts a qualified electrician to have all appliances at site tested as this is often found to be the root of the problem. If the electrician finds no issues please contact our customer services team who will be able to investigate this for you.

BES (under the agreement of the customer and at a cost of £120 + VAT) can arrange for the Meter Operator to visit the property and test the meter. If the results of this show the meter to be faulty we will refund the cost of the visit and replace or repair.

Please contact us for costs for de-energising or removing your meter as we will need to discuss the reasons for this. If the meter is de-energised the customer will still be liable for standing charges. These standing charges will not apply if the meter is removed completely.

BES make every effort to obtain an accurate meter reading to open or close your account. If we have been unable to do so, and you believe the reading on your invoice to be incorrect, please contact us, and we can look to have this amended for you.

In order to get the supply split completely, you would need to contact your local area electrical distributor who will be able to provide you with information and costs in regards to this.

No, unfortunately at present BES do not offer this service,  you would need to contact a qualified electrician if this is something you would be interested in having fitted.

In order for us to close your account and send a final invoice we require an up to date meter reading and forwarding address to send the final invoice. We may request lease agreements or other documents prior to processing a change of tenancy. If you know the details of the new tenants taking over the premises please forward them to us.

If you are moving to new premises and want to continue being supplied by BES we can arrange a low cost quote to continue our relationship.

Please contact BES Utilities here or call us on 0844 5678 427 and we'll be happy to help. Please note that we will require a current meter reading and the date that you moved in to the premises. We'll then put the new account in your business name.

All telephone calls received by BES are recorded for training, verification and quality purposes.

For all general enquiries, you can contact our highly trained customer service team by telephone on 0844 5678 427 Monday to Friday, 8:30 – 17:30.

Via Email – customerservices@besutilities.co.uk

Alternatively, you can write to us at –

BES Utilities

Fleetwood Town Football Club

Parkside Stand

Park Avenue

Fleetwood

FY7 6TX

Invoices are generated on a monthly basis. Electricity customers are invoiced on or around the 15th of each month. Payment will be collected by Direct Debit 7 days from the date of your invoice.

This guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instruction to pay direct debits. If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your direct debit the organisation will notify you in advance of your account being debited. Please click here for a new copy of the Direct Debit Guarantee.

CCL (Climate Change levy) is a government-imposed tax to encourage reduction in gas emissions and greater efficiency of energy used for business.  It is applied to UK businesses that use more than 12,000 kilo-watt hours of electricity a year, or 53,000 kilo-watt hours of gas.

This will be stated on your invoice from BES. It is usually charged at a rate of 20% however if your business meets the minimum requirements then it will be charged at the lower rate of 5%.

The BES Tracker ensures that our customers are charged for their electricity consumption at a rate which is both fair and transparent. Each April and October, the five industry costs which together make up the customer’s retail price are reviewed against the same costs at the previous tracker review and the aggregated and weighted total price movement is applied to the customer’s existing retail price.

The five industry costs included in each tracker review are:

1. Wholesale energy,

2. “Green” costs and levies,

3. Distribution (DUoS),

4. Transmission (TUoS) and

5. Metering.

If you have any questions about the market tracker product, please email tracker@besutilities.co.uk

Your current electricity rate is shown on your monthly invoices.

The term of your contract can be found in your welcome pack with the contract prices (at point of sale) along with your agreed rates.

Direct Debit is the only payment option available to our customers. To complete a Direct Debit mandate, please click here.

At BES we know that if you are running your own business for the first time, or you are unfamiliar with the energy industry, agreeing a contract that suits you best can be daunting.

At BES we strive to provide you with courteous and professional service to ensure you find the deal that’s right for you.

However, if you need some additional help and decide to appoint an energy broker of TPI to act on your behalf, we need you to provide some additional information to help us liaise with your third party advisor.

To safeguard your details, we need you to send a signed Letter of Authority (LoA) so that we only discuss your account with yourself or your appointed third party.

Sending your Letter of Authority to BES is simple and can be done via post or email.

When sending your Letter of Authority to BES, please ensure you clearly explain which individual/company you have appointed, along with their contact details.

Please also tell us how much authority you have granted to your third party as this can range from gathering quotes, to agreeing a contract on your behalf.

By post

All you have to do is send a signed copy on company letter headed paper to:

Customer Services Team
BES Utilities
Parkside Stand
Fleetwood Town Football Club
Park Avenue
Fleetwood
FY7 6TX

By email

All you have to do is send an email from the email address registered to your account, to confirm that you give your authority to a third party to act on your behalf.

Please send your email to customerservices@besutilities.co.uk.

A copy of our complaints procedure can be found here.

105 is a new three-digit number that people can call to report or get information about power cuts. Read more here.

Write down the numbers shown on the display, reading from left to right. Don’t include any red numbers, any with a red border or anything after a decimal point.

If you think that your meter is faulty it may be worth considering the following points, before reporting any issues:

• If the meter readings we’ve used were read by you or a meter reader, and are not estimated

• If your previous invoices have been billed to estimated readings and we have recently received an actual meter reading, your invoice may be higher due to the underestimation of your previous invoices

• The time of year, as you may use more during the winter months

• If there’s been a price change since your last bill

• If you’ve changed anything in your business, for example new appliances

• If there’s been an increase in the number of people in your business

• If there’s been recent building work/improvements completed at your business, the appliances used may have increased your usage

• If your meter displays more than one reading, please ensure the correct readings are provided

If you have checked the above and you still believe that your meter may be faulty, please contact us on 0844 567 8427 and we’ll be happy to assist you.

The great news is that we’ll update your account automatically. Please note that this may take up to six weeks, however, your account will be backdated to reflect the date of the meter exchange.

If your meter has been changed within the last six weeks it’s possible that we haven’t updated your account yet. The next bill we send to you will show the correct meter detail, if this is not the case, please contact us.

If your meter is Metric there will be a M3 (the symbol for cubic meters) on the front of the meter, if the meter is imperial this will have Cf (the symbol for cubic feet).

You open outside meter boxes with a specially designed key. In order to take your own meter readings you may need a key.

If you’ve just moved into your premises the landlord or previous occupier may have left one for you.

If your landlord or previous occupier has not left you a meter key these are available from any hardware store.

If you contact BES Utilities here or call us on 0844 5678 427 and we'll be happy to help. We'll need to know the date you moved in, and a current meter reading. We'll then put the new account in your business name.

Invoices are generated on a monthly basis. Gas customer invoices are generated on or around the 4th of each month. Payment will be collected by Direct Debit on or around 7 days from the date of your invoice.

This guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instruction to pay direct debits. If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your direct debit the organisation will notify you in advance of your account being debited. Please click here for a new copy of the Direct Debit Guarantee.

CCL (Climate Change Levy) is a government-imposed tax to encourage reduction in gas emissions and greater efficiency of energy used for business. This is applied to UK businesses who use more than 12,000 kilo-watt hours of electricity a year, or 53,000 kilo-watt hours of gas.

This will be stated on your invoice from BES. It is usually charged at a rate of 20% however if your business meets the minimum requirements then it will be charged at the lower rate of 5%.

Your current gas price is shown on your monthly invoices.

The term of your contract can be found in your welcome pack with the contract prices (at point of sale) along with your agreed rates.

Direct Debit is the only payment option available to our customers. To complete a Direct Debit mandate, please click here.

In order for us to close your account and send a final invoice we require an up to date meter reading and forwarding address to send the final invoice. We may request lease agreements or other documents prior to processing a change of tenancy. If you know the details of the new tenants taking over the premises please forward them to us.

If you are moving to new premises and want to continue being supplied by BES we can arrange a low cost quote to continue our relationship.

All telephone calls received by BES are recorded for training, verification and quality purposes.

For all general enquiries, you can contact our highly trained customer service team by telephone on 0844 5678 427 Monday to Friday, 8:30 – 17:30.

Via Email – customerservices@besutilities.co.uk

Alternatively, you can write to us at –

BES Utilities

Fleetwood Town Football Club

Parkside Stand

Park Avenue

Fleetwood

FY7 6TX

The BES gas budget plan payment scheme (BPP) is offered to all customers with an AQ below 293,000 KWh (above which a monthly meter read is required by the industry).

The budget plan simply divides predicted consumption by 12 to give you a monthly amount. The predicted consumption is called the AQ (Annualised Quotent) and is derived from what the industry (Xoserve) hold for your meter, based on historical consumption.

This is recalculated and updated once a year to reflect variations in consumption patterns. Therefore your monthly Direct Debit amount will be dictated by this calculation.

Call the National Grid Emergency immediately - 0800 111 999 (This is a 24 hour emergency line).

You will also need to:

• Open all doors and windows to ventilate the property.

• Do not turn on/off any electrical switches.

• Extinguish all naked flames, do not smoke, strike matches or do anything which could cause ignition.

• If there are any electrical security entry phones/locks, please open door manually.

A copy of our complaints procedure can be found here.

At BES we know that if you are running your own business for the first time, or you are unfamiliar with the energy industry, agreeing a contract that suits you best can be daunting.

At BES we strive to provide you with courteous and professional service to ensure you find the deal that’s right for you.

However, if you need some additional help and decide to appoint an energy broker of TPI to act on your behalf, we need you to provide some additional information to help us liaise with your third party advisor.

To safeguard your details, we need you to send a signed Letter of Authority (LoA) so that we only discuss your account with yourself or your appointed third party.

Sending your Letter of Authority to BES is simple and can be done via post or email.

When sending your Letter of Authority to BES, please ensure you clearly explain which individual/company you have appointed, along with their contact details.

Please also tell us how much authority you have granted to your third party as this can range from gathering quotes, to agreeing a contract on your behalf.

By post

All you have to do is send a signed copy on company letter headed paper to:

Customer Services Team
BES Utilities
Parkside Stand
Fleetwood Town Football Club
Park Avenue
Fleetwood
FY7 6TX

By email

All you have to do is send an email from the email address registered to your account, to confirm that you give your authority to a third party to act on your behalf.

Please send your email to customerservices@besutilities.co.uk.

BES Telecom is the one-stop-shop for all your business communication needs and is committed to saving you money to maximise the potential of your communication assets.

BES Telecom provides UK-based businesses with a comprehensive telecommunications package enabling customers to save money and take control of their communications assets.

Changing to BES Telecom is a simple process with no interruption to service; you’ll even keep your existing telephone number. Once you have completed the sign up process, we will send you confirmation of your order by email. You do not need to inform your existing supplier, we will do it for you. The transfer normally takes around 10 days, once completed you will have access to our business class services and begin making the savings.

There will be no interruption to your service and your phone number will stay the same.

None whatsoever. You will enjoy the highest available quality in call service, keep the same telephone number and no additional equipment is required. You just pick up the phone and dial as normal. The only difference you will notice is our company name on your bill and the significant savings you will make.

All the work is carried out at your local telephone exchange, and there will be no disruption to your service. You can continue to use your current telephone handset exactly as you are used to. We will send you a pre-configured router in the post if you have selected business broadband within your package.

All previous supplier’s equipment will require removal upon transfer to BES Telecom. Most equipment can be unplugged easily or switched off. If however you are transferring Broadband to BES Telecom and are using your own equipment, you will need to ensure this is configured correctly. We will send you the relevant settings to do this in your welcome pack. Please note we only support the set-up of our own Broadband equipment.

We use the highest quality digital networks, therefore your calls and line quality will continue to be crystal clear and 100% reliable. However in the event of a fault, simply call our UK based Faults Team on 0844 5678 427. We will arrange for the fault to be repaired by a qualified Open-Reach engineer. We will follow this up and ensure any problems are resolved in a timely and satisfactory manner.

Yes, you can continue to use any directory enquiry service. Calls to the emergency services operate in exactly the same way.

Please contact BES Telecoms one month before you leave your current premises and advise us on the details of your move.

A member of our customer services team will be happy to discuss the cost of transferring your existing number to a new line at your new premises. Please call 0844 5678 427 for more information.

In most cases, you should be able to keep your existing telephone number. Feel free to contact us for more information.

Yes, unless you are currently ex-directory, in which case your number won’t appear in the BT directory.

Yes, we offer a comprehensive service which includes new line installation. If you move address in most cases we can provide the same great service at your new address. Simply contact Customer Services with your request.

The destination will show the area or country called for numbers starting in 00XX (International Calls) or 01/02/03XXX (Local, National Calls), for 08XX(Non-Geographic Calls) numbers it describes the service and for 07XX (Mobile Calls) or 09XX (Premium Rate Calls) it states the network and/or owner of that number.

No, once you have switched, you will receive one easy to understand monthly invoice from BES Telecom. It will include your call charges, line rental and broadband (however, if you have elected not to transfer all services to BES Telecom, you will still receive invoices from your previous/current supplier).

You will receive your invoices on a monthly basis and they will include all call and line rental charges.

Direct Debit is the only payment option available to our customers because of the low margin nature of this business and the high administration costs of running a Credit Control Department.

Direct Debit is safe and fully protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee. Any person settling invoices by Direct Debit is covered by the standard Direct Debit Guarantee. This Guarantee is offered by all Banks and Building Societies that take part in the Direct Debit Scheme. The efficiency and security of the scheme is monitored and protected by your own Bank or Building Society. If an error is made by us or your Bank or Building Society, you are guaranteed a full and immediate refund from your branch of the amount paid. BES Telecom will notify you 7 days in advance of your account being debited. You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by writing to your Bank or Building Society. Please also send a copy of your letter to us.

For full details and advice on MAC codes, please click here to visit the MAC Code section of the website.

If you experience a fault, please contact us as soon as possible on 0844 5678 427.

We endeavour to repair your fault as soon as possible, however in some special cases; it may take a longer period of time to resolve an issue. Click here for more information.

A copy of our complaints procedure can be found here.