Commercial gas, electricity and telecom provider, BES Utilities, has this month joined forces with Business Debtline, one of the UK’s leading debt advice charities, to help support customers who are struggling with energy and other debts.
Business Debtline, run by the Money Advice Trust, is the UK’s only dedicated free debt advice service for the self-employed and small businesses, and BES recently agreed a donation to fund the charity’s work as part of a 3 year referral partnership.
BES advisers will be trained to identify customers who may be in financial difficulty and, where appropriate, signpost them to Business Debtline for independent help and advice. At the same time, information about Business Debtline’s services will be available on the BES website and on various company correspondence.
Speaking about the partnership, Head of Industry Regulation at BES, Joel Chapman, said:
“At BES, we recognise that these are still tough economic times for some small businesses, and we’re committed to signposting customers to independent help and support wherever we can. We’ve seen first-hand the fantastic work which Business Debtline does to assist companies and sole traders who are faced with financial problems, and we’re proud to be able to support their work over at least the next three years. ”
Jon Elwes, Head of Business Development at the Money Advice Trust, said:
“The support of utility companies like BES is crucial to our efforts to ensure the self-employed and other small business owners in financial difficulty get the free advice they need. This really can turn a small business around – after speaking to our expert Business Debtline advisers, 54 percent of small business owners are able to overcome their immediate problems and continue to trade. We look forward to developing our relationship with BES to bring the benefits of free debt advice to their customers over the next three years.”
Both organisations are currently making the final preparations for the partnership launch, which will take place in early June 2015.
