the-bunch limited - business to conSuMER TERMS and conditions
Please read the following important terms and conditions before You buy anything from Us and check that they contain everything that You want and nothing that You are not willing to agree to.
Summary of some of Your key rights:
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If there is something wrong with the Services provided to You, the remedies for Services will apply. We will try agree to with You the most appropriate course of action. Summary of some of Your key rights (Services): The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says: You can ask Us to repeat or fix a service if it is not carried out with reasonable care and skill, or get some money back if We cannot fix it; if You have not agreed a price upfront, what You are asked to pay must be reasonable; if You have not agreed a time upfront, it must be carried out within a reasonable time. This is a summary of some of Your key rights. For detailed information from Citizens Advice please visit www.adviceguide.org.uk or call 03454 04 05 06. The information in this summary box summarises some of Your key rights. It is not intended to replace the contract below, which You should read carefully. |
This contract sets out:
- Your legal rights and responsibilities
- Our legal rights and responsibilities; and
- certain key information required by law.
This contract is used for when You and We enter into a contract.
In this contract:
- We, Us or Our means The-Bunch Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales under company number 10303631 whose registered office is at 77 Stokes Croft, Bristol, England BS1 3RD; and
- You or Your means the person(s) buying Services from Us.
If You do not understand any of this contract and want to talk to Us about it, please speak with Us or contact Us by:
- e-mail at [email protected] where We shall endeavour to respond as soon as possible between the hours of 9:00AM to 5:00 PM on a Business Day; and
- by telephone on 0333 358 3377 between the hours of 9:00AM to 5:00 PM on a Business Day.
Who are We?
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We are registered in England and Wales under company number: 10303631. Our registered office is at: 77 Stokes Croft, Bristol, England BS1 3RD. |
Definitions
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“Broadband” |
the provision of any Wi-Fi broadband service to the Property. |
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"CanopyGrow Services" |
You have the option to use a free credit building tool (“CanopyGrow”) which includes a number of features that can be reported to credit rating agencies (“CRAs”), alongside other financial health tools. You will need to enter into a separate agreement if you subscribe to CanopyGrow Services, which are CanopyGrow Terms. |
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"Charges" |
the amount paid by You to Us for the Services and any and all other charges due under this Contract or as modified and agreed with Us from time to time. |
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"Contract" |
the contract under which we provide any of the Services to the Property which includes a Deemed Contract where relevant. |
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"Commencement Date" |
the date on which the Contract is entered into by You and Us (and becomes a legally binding agreement). |
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"Deemed Contract" |
a Contract formed between You and Us in the circumstances set out in clause 4. |
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"Electricity Distributor" |
the licensed operator of the distribution system through which electricity is provided to You . |
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"Energy" |
Gas, electricity or both: (i) as selected by You on Your Order; (ii) as provided under a Deemed Contract; or (iii) as has otherwise been agreed between You (or any person authorised on Your behalf) and Us to be provided under the Contract. |
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"Fixed Rate Tariff" |
a plan for the provision of energy, in which the unit rate charged is fixed for a period of time as advertised at the time You sign-up. |
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“Meters” |
any metering equipment used to measure or provide information on Your consumption or usage of any of the Services to the Property. |
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"Ofgem" |
the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority, which regulates the gas and electricity markets in Great Britain. |
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“Online Portal” |
the online portal through which You can manage Your account for the Services with Us. |
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"Order" |
an order for the provision of any of the Services to the Property, completed by You and submitted to Us over the internet or made with Us either on the telephone or in person. |
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"Payment Method" |
the way You choose to pay Your bill. This includes bank transfer, continuous payment authority, credits for a Traditional Prepayment Meter, or any other payment method that we have agreed with You . |
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"Property" |
the property (including any part of any land, building or structure) to which the Services will be provided under this Contract and at which the Services will be used wholly or mainly for domestic purposes. |
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"Privacy Policy" |
our policy on how we manage Your personal data. |
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“Router” |
The networking device used to forward data between computer networks and any associated equipment such as dongles, sim cards, cable splitters, filters, power adapter or wi-fi boosters (as appropriate). |
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“Services” |
the Services We provide as requested in Your Order for the provision, whether metered or unlimited as the case may be, of Energy, Water, Broadband, TV Licence, TV packages for the relevant contract term starting from delivery and connection on the terms and conditions of this Contract; and as set out in your Order including any other services which We provide or agree to provide to You; |
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"Smart Meter" |
a Meter that tells Us how much Energy or Water You are using without Us having to visit Your property to read it and which can be operated in prepayment mode. It can also show You how much Energy or WaterYou are using and may include an in-home display. |
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"Statement" |
this documents the Charges for that month and Your payment for the provision of the Services to Your Property. |
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"Start Date" |
the date on which we start to provide the Services to You at the Property as set out in clause 5, or in clause 4 in circumstances where this Contract is not a Deemed Contract. |
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“Time of Use Tariff” |
a contract for the provision of Energy, in which the Charges vary according to the cost of providing Energy as defined by a formula that forms part of Your Contract. |
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“Traditional Prepayment Meter” |
a Meter that has to be topped-up in advance in order for the provision to be made and is not a Smart Meter. |
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“Unlimited Package” |
a contract for the provision of Energy or Water at a flat rate on the basis that certain prescribed higher levels of consumption of the Services are not exceeded in any fixed period and that the Services are only used for certain purposes. |
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“TV Licence” |
a TV licence as issued by the TV Licencing Authority to enable You to watch, record or download programmes on a TV, computer or other device which will be specific to the Property; |
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“Variable Rate Tariff” |
a contract for the provision of Energy, in which the unit rates charged may go up or down over time according to market conditions. In the case of a price increase, at least 30 days' notice will be provided before the price change applies. |
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“Water” |
The water and sewerage services to the Property. |
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“Website” |
www.the-bunch.co.uk |
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"Working Day" |
any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, or a bank holiday in England and Wales. |
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"We", "Us" and "Our" |
in each case refers to The-Bunch Limited (10303631), a company registered in England and Wales and whose registered office is situated at 77 Stokes Croft, Bristol, England BS1 3RD. |
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"You ", "Your" and "Customer" |
in each case refers to the person or persons named on the Order, any persons notified to Us from time to time and accepted by Us or the person or persons who enter into a Deemed Contract with Us. |
1. Introduction
1.1 If You buy Services from Us, You agree to be legally bound by these terms and conditions as well as Our applicable tariff which shall for the Contract between You and Us.
1.2 If You buy Services from Us, You further agree to be legally bound by the terms of Our Privacy Policy which can be found here: https://www.the-bunch.co.uk/privacy-policy/
1.3 You may only buy Services from Us for domestic, non-business and non-commercial reasons also not for re-sale.
1.4 When buying any Services You also agree to be legally bound by specific terms which apply to certain Goods or Services (or both) including the terms and conditions of any third party, for example terms relating to the use of the TV Licence or a Broadband Contract.
2. General
2.1 These Terms and Conditions govern the provision of the Services by Us to You as a consumer Customer at the Property. The definitions and explanations at the start of these Terms and Conditions apply.
3. Commencement Date
3.1 Your Contract with Us starts whenYou accept the Terms and Conditions as part of Our Order process, or where there is a Deemed Contract the date when that contract is deemed to take effect from in accordance with clause 4.
3.2 By agreeing to this Contract, You are agreeing that You will:
3.2.1 provide monthly meter readings to Us by email or phone; including photographic readings in certain circumstances such as:
3.2.1.1 where Your reading is varies significantly from the estimates We hold for you.
3.2.1.2 Your reading relates to a different meter to the one We have on our systems for Your property.
3.2.1.3 Your reading requires Us to open a dispute with an alternative supplier to monitor and provide consistency and accuracy in respect of billing;
3.2.2 receive Your Statement, with notification of the next payment amount, in pdf file format via email or through accessing the Online Portal;
3.2.3 make any changes to Your continuous payment authority and contract details via the Online Portal ;
3.2.4 ensure Your personal details (including Your current email address) are accurate and kept up to date;
3.2.5 confirm to Us that You are the owner, occupier or have responsibility for the Property (or will be on the date You want Your supply to start) and
3.2.6 notify Us of any changes in the use status of Your Property (such as from domestic to business or commercial use) so that We can ensure You are on the correct tariff. We reserve the right in our absolute discretion to move You onto a non-domestic tariff where we deem appropriate.
4. Deemed Contract
4.1 A Deemed Contract is a contract between You and Us which is deemed to have been formed because We provide Energy to a property where You are the owner, occupier or have responsibility for and You have not actively agreed to that provision by Us.
4.2 Such instances where this can happen include when:
4.2.1 You move into a property where the Energy is already provided by Us until You agree to enter into a formal contract with Us or obtain the provision from another provider;
4.2.2 the person who was the named account holder with Us moves out of the Property but You remain in occupation; or
4.2.3 where You occupy a house of multiple occupancy or have signed a joint tenancy agreement at a property that We provide under a Deemed Contract where all tenants will be held jointly and severally liable for the energy provided during their contract period.
5. Start Date for the Services
5.1 We aim to begin the provision of the Services to You within 5 working days (or sooner) of the Commencement Date, unless otherwise agreed.
5.2 In order to start the provision of the Services We will require certain information from You. We may be unable to start the provision of the Services if:
5.2.1 Your existing supplier refuses to cooperate with the switch; or
5.2.2 Your account with Your previous supplier is in arrears or in dispute; or
5.2.3 We cannot complete the switch because You have not provided the required information on Your property/meter; or
5.2.4 Your meter is not for the tariff We are seeking to provide; or
5.2.5 if any other situation arises which is outside of Our control, where We have sought to resolve the situation unsuccessfully.
6. Our Prices and Charges
6.1 Our prices for providing the Services will be displayed on the Website and will be confirmed when we receive Your Order and can be accessed at any time via your online account.
6.2 Our Charges are based on the Services that you select in Your Order and on any Energy or Water consumed at the Property. Where Energy or Water forms part of the Services (and you are not on an unlimited package) that We provide to You at The Property, this is recorded by the Meters and calculated, based on a meter reading provided automatically from a Smart Meter, or a meter reading provided by You, or one of our third party agents. For Water in the absence of a Meter at the Property your usage may be calculated by rateable value. In the event that no meter reading is provided, for example if You have a Smart Meter and it stops sending Us data, We will use an estimate based on Our records for You.
6.3 The Charges to You start from the Start Date Although the provision of the Services may not start immediately and vary depending on which of the Services you select in Your Order.
6.4 For Energy and Water we may round calculations to 4 significant figures to present the Charges clearly. For example, unit prices may be round to the nearest 0.01p and monthly amounts may be rounded to the nearest penny.
6.5 Our Charges are based on:
6.5.1 A daily standing charge which is a fixed amount;
6.5.2 A single unit rate charge, which is a charge for each unit used under Your agreed tariff;
6.5.3 If You are on a Fixed Rate Tariff the rate(s) will be the one(s) that applied on the date You signed up;
6.5.4 If You are on a Time of Use Tariff or a Variable Rate Tariff, the rate(s) will be the one(s) that applied at the time Energy was consumed.
6.5.5 If You have an Economy 7 meter or equivalent, Your electricity will be charged at two rates – a higher day rate, and a cheaper night rate. This night rate will typically apply for a number of hours between 8pm and 8am. The actual times that Your night rate applies will depend on where You live. They are coded into Your meter and should also be written there for You to see; and
6.5.6 In the event that You live in a development provided by an independent gas transporter and/or independent distribution network operator, there may be incremental charges. Depending on Your area, these can include both a fixed amount and unit charge, and We may pass these Charges on to You through Your Statement for payment as a part of Your supply.
6.6 We can also charge You for reasonable costs that are not included in Our tariffs under certain circumstances. We will tell You how much such Charges are at the time and will provide a breakdown of the costs if You ask Us for one. These can include costs arising from the following:
6.6.1 Visiting Your property and stopping, disconnecting, or reconnecting any of the Services if You ask Us to do it (for example if You want to move Your meter or need to disconnect it temporarily), including but not limited to:
6.6.1.1 to repair damage caused to the meter;
6.6.1.2 to recover the costs for meter disposal or replacement;
6.6.2 Inspecting, testing, replacing or working on Your meter if You ask Us to but there is no problem with it;
6.6.3 Replacing payment cards or keys if You have a Traditional Prepayment Meter;
6.6.4 Charges We are required to pass on to Our Customers by law or regulation or a regulatory authority (such as Ofgem);
6.6.5 Any reasonable cost We incur (including administration cost) because You failed to meet the Terms and Conditions of this Contract; and
6.7 VAT is also payable at the applicable rate.
6.8 The Charges for Broadband consist of the cost of activating Your Broadband, the line rental for Your Broadband which is paid monthly in advance regardless of Your usage, the cost of Your Router (if this is not returned at the end of Your Contract), a disconnection fee of £30.00 and any costs incurred in ceasing Your Broadband service.
6.8.1 You may incur Charges for ceasing Your Broadband with Us, if You arrange a transfer to another supplier of broadband services.
6.8.2 You will incur a charge if Your Router is not returned at the end of Your Contract or if it is damaged through improper use or lack of proper care.
6.8.3 If We need to send an engineer to the Property to install Your Broadband or to fix a fault, where the engineer does not accept responsibility for the cause of the fault, or if your confirmed appointment is missed then We reserve the right to charge you for the engineer’s visit at a flat rate of £150.00 plus VAT which will be added to your account.
6.9 For Water, Your Charges will be set by the local water supplier to the Property which we will pass onto you based on an estimate for the Water usage at the Property. Your actual Water usage will be reconciled at the end of your Contract when we have obtained closing readings or based on the rateable value. We are not responsible for the type of Water billing at the Property whether that by way of a Meter or rateable value.
7. Payments
7.1 You remain responsible for paying for the Services until Your Contract with Us ends, including any Charges or debts that remain outstanding at the end of Your Contract which are not accepted by Your new supplier.
7.2 The method of payment will be a continuous payment authority to a designated debit card and You are responsible for ensuring that invoices are paid in full on the due date. If You are struggling to pay, please contact Us. We may install a Smart Meter (which We can switch into prepayment mode) or switch Your existing Smart Meter into prepayment mode. If paying by a continuous payment authority:
7.2.1 (i) You should keep Your account in credit and (ii) We will track and carry the balance forward to the next month’s Statement;
7.2.2 We set Your monthly payment amount based on the amount of Energy We think You will use across a year Your account balance will be considered within the direct debit payment. The balance will be spread over twelve months unless either; a bespoke agreement was reached, or You have confirmed a contract end date less than twelve months in advance of the current date.
7.2.3 We aim to review Your payment amount at least twice a year and can offer to reduce Your direct debit if it is too high based on actual meter readings or We can increase Your payment amount if it is too low to help You avoid building up debt;
7.2.4 We will use our reasonable endeavours to notify You at least 5 Working Days before the payment amount is due to come out of Your account;
7.2.5 if Your continuous payment authority fails due to insufficient funds, We will let You know and re-present the automated instruction within 5 Working Days;
7.2.6 Your payment amount will be shown on Your Statement, and You should contact Us if You believe Your bill is incorrect;
7.2.7 if the amount payable is the subject of a bona fide dispute, the undisputed portion should be paid on Your usual payment date. Any disputed amount should be paid via bank transfer within 7 Working Days of the dispute being resolved. No amounts can be offset or withheld on the monthly payment amount unless a credit note has been issued;
7.2.8 We reserve the right to refuse to process any transaction We deem fraudulent or suspicious.
7.3 We typically ask for payment 1 month in advance but based on Your credit history according to a credit reference agency We may require You to pay a security deposit or have someone else act as guarantor for Your payments. We will not require You to pay a security deposit if You are on a Traditional Prepayment Meter or have a Smart Meter installed which We operate in prepayment mode.
7.3.1 If We do ask You to pay a security deposit, We will periodically review Your account and may reduce Your credit balance as You build a payment history with us;
7.3.2 If We have agreed to provide You on the basis that Your payments will be guaranteed by another person (a guarantor) and that person no longer wishes to stand as a guarantor for You, then We reserve the right to install a Smart Meter (which We can switch into prepayment mode), or end this Contract, in which case You will be provided under a Deemed Contract unless We agree a different Contract with You .
7.4 When the Payment Method is by Traditional Prepayment Meter or Smart Meter (in prepayment mode):
7.4.1 You must top-up Your meter in advance in order to receive the provision of Energy;
7.4.2 You may be required to pay any additional Charges for any additional services We may provide such as replacement keys, cards etc; and
7.4.3 If the Traditional Prepayment Meter is adjusted to recover any Charges that You owe, and not just the costs of Energy consumed, We will advise You of the proportion of each top-up amount used as payment for such Charges.
7.5 If You have a Traditional Prepayment Meter, You will be placed on Our prepayment rates, which may cost more per unit of Energy consumed than Our other tariffs and be different to the tariff offered on Your Order.
7.6 We will not try to recover Charges for Your Energy that are older than 12 months from when the balance was issued unless We have already tried to recover these Charges, or You have behaved obstructively or unreasonably.
7.7 If You do not pay by a continuous payment authority and do not have a Traditional Prepayment Meter, You will still be responsible for paying for the provision in full each month by an alternative Payment Method agreed with us.
7.8 If You request a refund of credit on Your account, You must have provided Us with meter readings within 14 days of Your request, unless You have a Smart Meter that is working and distributing readings and We can collect those readings from remotely. We will only be able to give You a refund if this will not cause Your account to fall into debt.
8. Non-Payment of the Charges
8.1 If You do not pay Your bill on time, We may:
8.1.1 Require that You bring Your account into good order and We may change the nature of Your continuous payment authority arrangement so that it collects the full amount of Your bill each month plus any debt outstanding on Your account rather than just a fixed amount;
8.1.2 Change the amount of Your payment amount or adjust the Traditional Prepayment Meter tariff to recover the sum due to us;
8.1.3 Require You to post a security deposit;
8.1.4 Replace Your existing meter with a Smart Meter;
8.1.5 Offer You a payment plan according to Your circumstances;
8.1.6 Charge You reasonable costs for the missed payments;
8.1.7 Take such steps as are necessary to recover the sums due to us, which may include employing an outbound or doorstep debt collection agency or any other third party to facilitate the recovery of debt;
8.1.8 Provide information about Your non-payment to credit reference agencies, and pursue a county court judgement against You which may impact Your ability to get credit in the future;
8.1.9 Recover from You all costs incurred by Us in pursuing Your non-payment, including bank charges due to cancelled or failed payments, the cost of visiting You, including through any debt collection agency, getting a warrant to enter Your property and installing a Smart Meter which We can switch into prepayment mode;
8.1.10 Charge interest at the rate of 4% above the Bank of England Bank base rate at the relevant time on all outstanding Charges from the date the Charges first became overdue until the date You make payment of such Charges; and/or
8.1.11 Disconnect or suspend the provision of any of the Services in accordance with clause 14. If You are having difficulty in paying Your bill, please let Us know as soon as possible and We can discuss ways that might help make paying Your bills more manageable. You can contact Us by e-mail at [email protected], and We will provide all such help and assistance as We can in order to avoid disconnecting Your Energy supply.
8.2.1 If Your property was switched to prepayment through either remote switching or via warrant You will be required to clear any outstanding balances and set up a monthly payment in order for Your property to be switched back to credit settings. We may also require a credit check before switching Your property back to standard credit settings. If Your credit history is poor, You may be rejected from standard credit billing.
9. Your Rights of Cancellation
9.1 Where You have agreed a formal Contract with us, You may cancel it at any time within the 14 days following the date You submitted Your Order to us.
9.2 If We currently provide Energy or Water to the Property and You cancel Your Contract with us, We will continue the provision under Our Deemed Contract until a new supplier to the Property is appointed or You enter into a new formal Contract with us and you will need to pay Us for your use of the Services up until that time.
9.3 If You choose to start Your supply in advance of the 14th day from when You place Your Order, and then decide to cancel, Your supply we will use our reasonable endeavours to cancel the switch and revert back to Your former supplier within a further 5 working days and You will need to pay Us the Charges for the provision from the Start Date to the date when You are switched back to Your former supplier if these Charges are not taken over by Your previous supplier.
9.4 if You choose to cancel any of the Services after the 14th day from when You place your Order, certain cancellation fees may apply as follows:
9.4.1 for electricity a £300.00 cancellation fee will be applied to Your account if You wish to cancel Your electricity account. This is in addition to any amounts owing for electricity usage to the date of cancellation or switch;
9.4.2 for gas a £300.00 cancellation fee will be applied to Your account if You wish to cancel Your electricity account. This is in addition to any amounts owing for electricity usage to the date of cancellation or switch;
9.4.3 for Water, there will be a £10 administration fee applied to your account if you cancel after the 14th day from when You place Your Order; and
9.4.4 for Broadband, all remaining Broadband fees will be applied to your account, should you wish to cancel your Broadband early and will include a disconnection fee and the cost of any unreturned Router.
9.4.5 if You ask Us to start Your Broadband before the 14th day from Your Order then We will endeavour to do so, but You acknowledge that You agree to waive the 14 day “cooling off” period that would otherwise apply for Your benefit.
9.5 Where You share a tenancy with other customers of Ours at the Property, You must inform Us as soon as reasonably possible if You end Your tenancy early (but in any event no later than 30 days from the date Your tenancy ends) and You acknowledge that You remain responsible for all Charges under this Contract to Us unless (in Our absolute discretion) We agree to any of the following:
9.5.1 for the other customers of Ours at the Property to pay Your Charges to what would have been the end date of Your Tenancy (had you not ended it early); or
9.5.2 a replacement customer agrees to take over Your tenancy at that Property and to enter into a contract with Us under substantially similar terms including the payment of the Charges for all of the Services that You were contracted with Us to provide during Your tenancy at the Property.
9.6 If You cancel Your Contract for any of the Services with Us after 14 days from the date of Your Order and a management fee is active, You will be charged 50% of those management fees for the period outstanding under Your Contract with Us for those Services.
10. Changing the Contract
10.1 We can change the terms of Your Contract at any time, which may include situations where it is necessary for Us to comply with any laws, or other rules that We are obliged to follow.
10.2 We will inform You of any changes and the latest copy of Our Terms and Conditions will be available on Our website.
10.3 We will not change the unit rate prices or standard charges applicable to Your Contract while You are on a Fixed Rate Tariff.
10.4 If We propose to make changes to Your Contract that are not to Your advantage (including increasing Charges or changes to a Time of Use Tariff formula that results in higher Charges) We will give You 30 days’ notice of the changes. If You do not agree with the changes, You can switch to another supplier or end this Contract and start a new Contract with Us without penalty. This does not apply at the end of a Fixed Rate Tariff, where clause 12 will apply, or if We change Your payment method in accordance with Your Contract.
11. Ending the Contract
11.1 You may end this Contract by giving Us 28 days’ notice provided that:
11.1.1 Either another supplier takes over providing Energy to the Property by the end of Your notice period, or the provision has been disconnected by this date; and
11.1.2 All sums due by You to Us have been paid.
11.2 We may end this Contract immediately if:
11.2.1 You are in material breach of the Contract;
11.2.2 You did not pay Us what You owe Us when it was due; and
11.2.3 You no longer own or occupy the Property; and
11.2.4 We no longer have the relevant licences to provide Your Energy.
11.3 If Ofgem gives a “Last Resort Supply Direction" to another supplier in respect of the Energy in relation to the Property, We reserve the right to terminate this Contract with immediate effect.
11.4 You may be charged an exit fee if You are on a Fixed Rate Tariff and terminate a contract early.
12. Fixed Rate Tariff Contracts and Unlimited Packages
12.1 When Your Fixed Rate Tariff ends, unless You choose to move onto a new Fixed Rate Tariff, Variable Rate Tariff or Time of Use Tariff, subject to availability (and provided You do not provide us with notice to cancel the renewed Contract within 14 days), and at Our discretion, We will issue new documentation for Your new contract and automatically transfer You to either:
12.1.1 the cheapest Variable Rate Tariff;
12.1.2 a renewed Fixed Rate Tariff that is cheaper than (or as cheap as) Our cheapest Variable Rate Tariff, in each case calculated based on Our estimate of Your annual consumption and as appropriate for Your payment method, meter type and other relevant account arrangements; or
12.1.3 transfer Your account to the supplier of Your Energy who will enter into a new contract with You.
12.2 If You move onto a new Fixed Rate Tariff when Your previous Fixed Rate Tariff ends, We will start a new Contract based on the new Fixed Rate Tariff on the date the old one ends.
12.3 If You are on Our Unlimited Package You warrant to Us that the Services will not be used for any non-domestic, commercial, industrial or illegal purpose and that You are not re-selling any of the Services.
12.4 If You are on Our Unlimited Package You warrant to Us that You have declared the correct number of bedrooms at the Property and notified Us of any unusual items such as swimming pools or hot tubs that consume a lot of Energy.
12.5 If You are on Our Unlimited Package We reserve the right in Our absolute discretion to move You (without prior notice) on to a Fixed Rate Tariff or a Variable Rate Tariff where we believe that clause 12.3, 12.4, 12.6 or 12.7 has been breached and /or to ask You to moderate Your usage.
12.6 If You are on Our Unlimited Package You agree to provide Us with readings from Your Meters on a monthly basis and acknowledge that if You fail to do so that We will charge You £5.00 per Meter per month.
12.7 Our Unlimited Package is only available if You have the provision of both Your Gas and Electricity with Us.
12.8 If You are on Our Unlimited Package You agree to be bound by Our excessive usage policy which means that You will be charged for any consumption that exceeds the limits set out in the table below:
| Standard | Fair use | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House Size | Gas | Elec | Gas | Elec | |
| 1 | 15955 | 3187 | 20742 | 4144 | |
| 2 | 18927 | 3673 | 24605 | 4774 | |
| 3 | 23252 | 4520 | 30227 | 5876 | |
| 4 | 26403 | 5390 | 34324 | 7007 | |
| 5 | 30518 | 6385 | 39673 | 8301 | |
| 6 | 35667 | 7126 | 46367 | 9264 | |
| 7 | 40788 | 8340 | 53024 | 10842 | |
| 8 | 43834 | 9562 | 56984 | 12431 | |
| 9 | 50879 | 10840 | 66143 | 14092 | |
| 10 | 53601 | 12119 | 69681 | 15754 | |
| 11 | 56324 | 13397 | 73221 | 17416 | |
| 12 | 58501 | 16830 | 76051 | 21879 |
13. Moving House
13.1 If You are moving and request Us to provide any of the Services to Your new Property, We will cancel Your existing Contract and provide a new Contract appropriate to Your new Property. We will not charge a termination fee.
13.2 If You are moving and do not request Us to provide any of the Services to Your new Property, We will cancel Your existing Contract within 2 Working Days’ of the day You move, according to what You tell us, or two Working Days’ notice from when another person begins to occupy the Property.
13.3 If You are moving and do not tell us, We will terminate Your existing Contract with effect from the date when a new owner or occupier starts taking a supply at the Property.
13.4 If You move Property You must tell Us within 28 days of moving out for the Charges to be finalized.
14. Disconnection
14.1 We can suspend or disconnect the provision of any of the Services by following the relevant processes if:
14.1.1 You have not paid Your bill on time;
14.1.2 You are in material breach of the Contract;
14.1.3 We have reason to believe Your Meters may have been damaged or tampered with; and/or
14.1.4 We are required to do so by any law, code or agreement.
14.2 If We disconnect the provision, You are required to pay:
14.2.1 Our reasonable costs to disconnect the provision; and
14.2.2 Our reasonable costs to reconnect the provision.
14.3 We will take all reasonable steps not to disconnect Your supply in winter (October to March) if You are on Our Priority Services Register or if We otherwise know that the occupants of the Property are of pensionable age, disabled or chronically sick. The Priority Services Register is a free voluntary system that We use to ensure the correct support is given to Our most vulnerable customers. This scheme is overseen by Ofgem.
15. Meters
15.1 The volume of Energy provided to the Property is measured by the Meters installed on the Property. This meter (and any in-home display that may be installed along with the meter) is the property of the meter provider and Your usage of this is covered in the standing charge.
15.2 You are required to take reasonable steps to ensure that the Meters is protected and not damaged or interfered with in any way and to notify Us should any damage or interference occur.
15.3 Unless Your meter is a Traditional Prepayment Meter or a Smart Meter which We are able to communicate with remotely, You are required to provide Us with a meter reading each month at a specified time.
15.4 We, or Our agents, will periodically visit the Property to take a meter reading (if You do not have a Smart Meter that We can read remotely) and/or to carry out a safety inspection of Our Meters.
15.5 If You have a Smart Meter at the Property that was installed by a previous supplier, We will endeavour to use it as such, but We may have to treat it as a traditional meter until such time as We notify You otherwise or arrange to install a replacement Smart Meter.
15.6 We do not provide supply to Property where a non-smart or non-Secure brand pre-payment meter is installed. In the event of an Order for a site where such metering is installed You will pay in full, the cost of amending such metering systems prior to Us providing You . Any costs incurred by Us as a result of a failure to meet this condition can be passed through to You .
16. Access and Smart Meters
16.1 You agree to give Us or Our agents access to the Property and the Meters at reasonable times for the following purposes:
16.1.1 To take a meter reading;
16.1.2 To carry out a safety inspection;
16.1.3 To install, replace, test or reposition the Meters;
16.1.4 To disconnect the provision;
16.1.5 To reconnect the provision; and/or
16.1.6 To install a Smart Meter.
16.2 If You do not have a Smart Meter at Your Property, We may install one for You . We will arrange an appointment with You for installation. If You repeatedly refuse to allow Us to install a Smart Meter, You may not be eligible for Our full range of products and services, which may include specific Smart Meter tariffs which may be cheaper.
16.3 If You have a Smart Meter that We can read without visiting Your property, You agree that We can:
16.3.1 Use the Smart Meter to remotely monitor Your Energy usage;
16.3.2 Remotely repair and update the Smart Meter;
16.3.3 Switch it from credit to prepayment mode or disconnect Your supply (We would notify You before this happens);
16.3.4 Collect information about how Your Smart Meter is working, for example to see if it has any faults or has been tampered with;
16.3.5 Use information from Your Smart Meter to do certain things, such as work out Your bill and tailor Our service and products to suit You better. We will only use this information to offer You products or services if You have given Us Your permission to do so;
16.3.6 Take half hourly meter readings, provided You have consented, or where You have not consented to half hourly readings, We may take daily reads, providing We have notified You in advance, or monthly reads in all other circumstances. We will have written to You explaining Your consent options either during the installation of Your Smart Meter, or at the point We became aware You had a Smart Meter already installed from a previous supplier. You can change Your frequency preferences at any time by contacting us.
16.3.7 Take a meter reading at any other time where We are permitted to by Ofgem, such as to provide You with a bill or investigate a query on Your account.
16.4 We will only use the information We collect from Your Meters in line with Our Privacy Policy.
16.5 You must tell Us straight away if Your Meters is damaged or stolen, stops working properly or if You think it has been tampered with.
16.6 You must not remove Your Meters without Our permission, and We may recover any Meters We have provided You with if Our agreement with You ends.
17. Complaints
17.1 If You submit a complaint, We will follow the complaints policy on Our website: www.the-bunch.co.uk
17.2 If You need independent advice at any time You can contact Citizens Advice by phone on 03454 040506 or visit their website at www.citizensadvice.org.uk/energy/. Their service is free, independent and confidential.
17.3 When You submit a formal complaint, We will do everything in Our power to resolve the issue.
17.4 If We cannot find a mutually acceptable solution, We will write to You to explain Our position and Our best offer. This is known as a deadlock letter.
17.5 In the event of You not wanting to accept the suggestion in the deadlock letter, or if the issue has dragged on for more than eight weeks, You can then refer the issue to the Energy Ombudsman.
17.5.1 You can contact the Energy Ombudsman by phone on 0330 440 1624, by email at [email protected] or through their website, www.ombudsman-services.org/energy.html. Alternatively, You can write to them at Ombudsman Service: Energy, PO Box 966, Warrington, WA4 9DF;
17.5.2 The Ombudsman will undertake a full review of Your concerns and of the actions that We took in order to try to get to a resolution. This is a free and independent service;
17.5.3 Their decision is binding for Us but not for You .
17.6 More information on Your rights can be found in the ‘Know Your Rights’ document on the Citizens Advice website.
18. Your Information
18.1 We agree that We will use any personal data that You provide to Us in accordance with Our Privacy Policy, which is available on Our website at www.the-bunch.co.uk. We may run checks on You (and anyone else also responsible for payment) at Credit Reference and Fraud Prevention agencies, initially and periodically to help Us assess Your ability to pay for Your Energy bills. When We run this check, the credit reference agency will record the fact that a check was made (even in the event that You do not become a Customer of The Bunch).
18.2 If You have an account with us, We will routinely share information about Your payment record with credit reference agencies. If We consider that Your account is in default (i.e. You have not paid Us and are in breach of Your Contract) We will notify You and if You do not pay us, We will report the unpaid debt to credit reference agencies who will record that default on Your credit file.
18.4 If You tell us, or We believe that You or another member of Your household are in need of extra care, We will record that information and store it on Our Priority Services Register in order to ensure You get the service You need. The extra care might be because of Your age, health, disability or financial circumstances, or it could be because You are vulnerable for another reason. This is in line with Energy UK’s ‘safety-net procedures’. More details can be found in Our ‘Support for Vulnerable Customers’ code of practice on Our website at www.the-bunch.co.uk.
18.5 We will always process personal data fairly and lawfully in accordance with Your rights. This means that We will not process Your personal data unless You have consented to this happening or where We have another legitimate basis for doing so. The processing of all data will always be necessary to provide Our product and services and will not unduly prejudice Your privacy.
18.6 It may be necessary to share Your data with third parties, including any partner if You are served under a white label supply arrangement, in order to process Your data and comply with industry obligations.
18.7 We will ensure that any personal data We process is accurate, adequate, relevant and not excessive, given the purpose for which it was obtained. We will not process personal data obtained for one purpose for any unconnected purpose unless You have agreed to this or would otherwise reasonably expect this. You may also ask that We correct inaccurate personal data relating to You .
19. Our Liability
19.1 We will not be liable to You for:
19.1.1 Any loss due to circumstances beyond Our control (Force Majeure event);
19.1.2 Any loss which is indirect, consequential, economic or financial including loss of profit, revenue, goodwill, business, contractor wasted expenses;
19.1.3 Any loss which was not or could not have been reasonably foreseen even if We, Our employees, subcontractors or agents did not follow this Contract; or
19.1.4 Any loss caused to You by the gas transporter or the Electricity Distributor in excess of the amount We are entitled to recover from the gas transporter or the Electricity Distributor on Your behalf.
19.2 If You suffer any loss or damage, Our responsibility to You will be limited to a maximum of £2,500 in any calendar year.
19.3 We do not limit or exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by Our negligent acts or omissions.
20. Safety and Emergencies
20.1 You must tell Your Electricity Distributor immediately if You become aware of any matter or incident which;
20.1.1 Affects or is likely to affect the security, availability and quality of the service of the distribution network; or
20.1.2 Causes danger or requires urgent attention regarding the provision or distribution of electricity.
20.2 If You suspect or are aware of a gas leak You must immediately telephone the Gas Emergency Number 0800 111 999.
20.3 If You have caused a stoppage, limitation or disconnection then You may have to pay a reasonable charge to restore Your gas/electricity supply.
21. Transfer of Rights
21.1 We may transfer, subcontract, assign or novate any or all of Our rights (including the right to recover the Charges) or obligations under the Contract without Your consent, but this will not affect Your rights under the Contract.
21.2 You may not transfer the Contract or any of Your rights under it without first obtaining Our written consent.
22. National Terms of Connection
22.1 As Your supplier We are acting on behalf of Your network operator to make an agreement with You . The agreement is that both You and Your network operator accept the National Terms of Connection (NTC) and agree to keep to its conditions. The NTC is a legal agreement. It sets out rights and duties in relation to the connection at which Your network operator delivers electricity to or accepts electricity from Your home or business. If You want a copy of the NTC or have any questions about it, please write to: Energy Networks Association, 6th Floor, Dean Bradley House, 52 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2AF: phone 0207 706 5137, or see the website at www.connectionterms.co.uk.
22.2 You can find the postal address and telephone number of Your electricity network operator on Your Statement.
23. No Waivers
23.1 If We do nothing, or delay taking action, when You breach the Contract, We will still be entitled to take prompt action to enforce a similar or subsequent breach of the Contract by You .
24. Notices
24.1 Notices to You under this Contract will be sent by post or hand to the billing address, or in the case of email to the last known email address that You have provided. We will treat such notices as having been received 2 Working Days after We have sent it to You, unless We receive evidence to the contrary.
24.2 Notices to Us under the Contract must be sent by post to 77 Stokes Croft, Bristol, England BS1 3RD.
25. Validity
27.1 If any part of this Contract is declared invalid or is void or unenforceable, the validity of the rest of the Contract will not be affected.
26. Governing Law
26.1 The laws of England and Wales apply to this Contract if the Property is located in England or Wales. If the Property is located in Scotland, Scottish law shall apply. Any disputes arising shall be dealt with exclusively by the English or Scottish courts as applicable.
CANOPYGROW SERVICES TERMS
1.1 Canopy is the trading name of InsureStreet Limited (“Canopy”), a company registered in England and Wales with registered office at First Floor, Buckhurst House, 42/44 Buckhurst Avenue, Sevenoaks, Kent, England, TN13 1LZ.
1.2 If a CanopyGrow Service is activated, these terms apply. These terms are important, so please read them carefully as they contain details of our statutory and regulatory responsibilities to you, and your contractual obligations to Canopy. Upon activating a CanopyGrow Service, you agree to these terms before using CanopyGrow Services.
1.3 Canopy is an appointed representative of Resolution Compliance Limited (‘Resolution Compliance’), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. This information can be checked using the Financial Services Register maintained by the Financial Conduct Authority, and reference number 764233. Canopy provides regulated Account Information Services as an agent of Plaid Financial Ltd., an authorised payment institution regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (Firm Registration Number: 804718) for the provision of payment services, including account information services (“Plaid Financial Ltd”).
1.4 CleverCredit is a CanopyGrow Service feature, which is available to you through The Bunch, which reports the payments you make to The Bunch as subscription fee instalments (“Subscription Fee Instalments”). On sign up, the fee for the CleverCredit feature becomes immediately due and payable to Canopy.
It is agreed between Canopy and you that the CleverCredit feature is to act as an exempt credit agreement under Section 60F (2) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001, in that it is a borrower-lender-supplier agreement for fixed sum credit where credit is provided without interest or other charged over a period of 12 months or less, and repayable in no more than 12 instalments. You will not receive any cash for the exempt credit agreement. Following the 12 month term, these terms apply to any subsequent 12 month period.
The first Subscription Fee Instalment will be due on the date you subscribe to the The Bunch Services, with the remaining 11 Subscription Fee Instalments due on the same day each month after (“Repayment Date”) until you have repaid the Subscription Fee in full.
If your Repayment Date falls on a non-working day, your Subscription Fee Instalment will be due on the next working day. However, where the Repayment Date cannot be the same day of a particular month i.e. if there is no corresponding Repayment Date within a certain month, for such month the Repayment Date shall be the nearest day before.
As you pay via the Subscription Fee Instalments, Canopy will report the Subscription Fee Instalments you make on time to Experian and Equifax, or any other CRA. This seeks to help build your credit history and improve your credit score.
It is important you pay each Subscription Fee Instalment by the relevant Repayment Date, as Canopy will also report late or unpaid Subscription Fee Instalments to the credit rating agencies, which may have an adverse impact on your credit score.
Canopy cannot guarantee your credit score will improve due to your use of the credit building feature, nor can they guarantee how long it will take to see any improvement in your credit score, as this depends on a variety of other factors, such as your management of other financial commitments, which are outside of their control.
The Bunch will not act as a debt collector or agency but may from time to time send communications on behalf of Canopy. Conditions relating to termination of the contract are outlined in the CanopyGrow terms.