AUGUST TRADE NEWS Bad weather blamed for shopping centre delay Chester council  not supporting retailers New rules 'won't help save retail centre' Irish shoppers look abroad for bargains British consumers spend more on beauty products Yorkshire town gets behind plastic bag reduction scheme Rising obesity prompts calls for VAT rule changes eBay restructures fee scheme to make fixed-priced sales cheaper Online sales boom despite slowdown Music retailer goes out of business Matalan named and shamed for how it treats wholesalers BCC slams higher parking charges proposals Booming wholesaler moves to new warehouse Market traders told to only 'shout quietly' London's retailers show growth despite gloom Counterfeit goods dealer sentenced to prison UK's smallest town protests supermarket plan More retailers and wholesalers going out of business Online retail sector predicted to expand rapidly Henley retailers protest development plans Retail sales continue to slow Tiffany appeals US court's eBay ruling Report criticises electricity suppliers' treatment of small businesses MK retailers protest Tesco expansion plan Yorkshire retailers protest supermarket move Manchester wholesaler shut down over fraud worries Businesses welcome plans to reduce red tape Rate hold accepted by small businesses Internet sales put pressure on the high street Huge counterfeit goods haul in Somerset Irish entrepreneur online retail plans Wholesaler sector set to struggle Staycations could help British retailers Retailers 'gloomy' about economic outlook Retailers report footfall continues to decline as consumers cut back Hidden door reveals huge counterfeiting operation in Manchester shop No recession for the UK this year East London wholesaler goes into receivership London mayor reveals plans to support small retailers Toy retailers defy gloom Retailers urged to embrace online sales Trade News Archive August 08 July 08 June 08 May 08 April 08 March 08 February 08 January 08 Subscribe to our newsletter   Go to The Wholesaler UK Directory 11th August 2008 Report criticises electricity suppliers' treatment of small businesses A new report has criticised the services that energy companies are providing to business clients. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said that utility companies were not delivering the same fair and transparent services to their small business clients that they are compelled to offer domestic customers. For example, the BCC said that domestic suppliers are required to publish their tariffs for ease of comparison, but added that there was no such rule for business contracts. What's more, the typical domestic customer can switch supplier every 28 days, but businesses are usually tied into long-term agreements that can last as much as five years. "With the economy slowing and energy bills on the rise, it is totally unacceptable that hard pressed businesses are left so open to exploitation by energy suppliers," BCC director general David Frost explained. "Ofgem's investigation into the industry must hold the suppliers to account over the very apparent lack of transparency and fairness in their dealings with business." BCC said that a new, independent watchdog was needed to ensure small businesses were provided with a fairer service from utility suppliers. Recently, Thames Water, United Utilities and Severn Trent suggested that water bills might rise by as much as 4.5 per cent a year above inflation between 2010 and 2015.     (c) 2008 Adfero Ltd. Sponsor of August Trade News Cantilever TV Brackets   Comment on this news story To comment on any story please click on the above link, put the story title in the subject line and please provide your name, trading style ie. retailer or wholesaler and the town where you trade.