FAQ

The Concept

Why don't you want my full name, address and phone number?

We would not give our names, addresses and phone numbers to a complete stranger. We'd be worried that we'd start getting unsolicited mail, calls and spam. We're not asking for yours because we want you to feel safe enough to express your interest without thinking you'll pestered in the future. This should maximise the number of people who are prepared to demonstrate an initial interest and therefore make this a worthwhile project to invest time and effort in. More people, better results.
Tip: If you are really paranoid about spam, set up a free email account with an on-line service e.g. Googlemail and give the new address, go into its settings and have it forward all mail to your normal account. If you get spam, you can turn off the forwarding setting and never hear from us or anyone you have given that address to again.

Why are you asking questions about my property?

We need to know a bit about your property in order to estimate how much energy you use and allow us to come up with some kind of total value for the WeAllSwitch.com contract. Most people can not come up with how many therms or kilowatts they use off the top of their head. This method allows us to get a good idea. We will ask for more detail later if required.

How will this work in real terms, step by step?

If we get enough expressions of interest, it should give us enough aggregate authority to begin making enquiries with energy companies and industry professionals and get some administrative help in.

At this point we will be able to talk in theoretical terms about what can be offered to the membership and really get to grips with what can be achieved in terms of price per therm/kWhs dependant on actual take up. We will also have a picture of what losses each company can expect to take if We All Switch, which should provide some incentive to the companies to give lower quotes.

The next step will be to get in touch with the membership and ask you to give us your full details By this point you should have seen enough about WeAllSwitch.com in the media to feel confident to provide us with your full information.

We will award the contract to an energy company.

We will write to you and provide two forms to sign, date and provide a meter reading on. If you are happy with the deal, you will send both forms back to us in the business reply envelope provided. We will pass the forms on to the winning company. When they receive the forms they will send one of them to your current supplier to inform them that you are leaving and the other one will be used to open your new account. You will get a final bill from your old company.

You will have switched.

We will be in touch to ensure you are getting customer satisfaction from the new company and will continue to watch the market and re-negotiate on your behalf year after year. You can sit back and leave the hard work to us.

I know someone who is interested but does not have internet access.

That's OK. They don't need internet access to switch. Just fill out the on-line form on their behalf. We will communicate with the email address you provide (so you will have to keep checking it for them). At a later stage you will have to specify that you are acting on someone else's behalf. When it comes to switching, we will send the forms to the energy users home address which you will have to provided at a later date with their permission. They can then sign the forms. You can not sign the forms for them and we will not switch an address which we have not had physical, postal, communication with.

All very well and good, what are you getting out of it?

Look, we are decent people, not part of big business (see below who we are) but we do want some money out of this. In order to execute these deals we will need to hire a few people and will rack up some modest expenses. We hope to use freelance industry professionals who can be paid on a performance only basis. We'll be looking to get a bit of money out of the adverts we will place in the emails we send to you in the course of administering the list. We will take a reasonable cut from the company awarded the contract in the form of a percentage or headcount finders fee. This fee will not vary by company and we will not be swayed by higher or lower rewards. All bidding companies will be presented with the same terms. Comparison sites make their money by presenting you with a database of similar energy tariffs and get a payment for most of the people that they switch. We are not a comparison site. We will do so much more and will take considerably less.

The People

Who are you, I heard that you are just some bloke?

I am. My name is (I'll tell you if we get enough members!) I am 30 something and was born and raised in Yorkshire and I live in a semi-detached, poorly insulated house in Staffordshire with my wife, two kids and three hamsters. I come from an IT/banking background. When I type "we" on this website I actually mean "I" at the moment. WeAllSwitch.com is not a company, has no employees and I am just taking a chance on this taking off as a movement. If I get enough expressions of interest I will be engaging industry professionals on a performance based fee structure to enact the industry specific aspects of the negotiation work. I know my limitations!

Do you know what you are doing?

OK, you got me! The honest answer is "Not really!" I have set this site up as a response to the current situation and I am not up to speed on all aspects of the sector. I am fully aware that there are regulations, guidelines and best practices for companies which switch customers between energy firms and that is one reason I have not incorporated WeAllSwitch.com into a company yet. At present I am just a guy making a list of people who want lower prices. I will not recommend any kind of switch before obtaining advice on how best to proceed and how to protect both mine and the members interests. You are not signing a contract, just expressing an interest in the plan so I can get in touch with you if it takes off. If it does take off I'll be looking at other sectors. Cheaper credit cards anyone? How about home insurance?

Why do you think you can do this?

This whole credit crunch period seems to be an ideal opportunity to start something like this up. I have mulled over various aspects of the situation and decided that the way energy companies are treating people is one of the most despicable aspects of the whole debacle and I've decided to do something about it. They are taking tremendous amounts of my money, and everyone else's, at a time when we need it most. I think that if enough of you tell someone else about this site and I can get a big enough list of people together, business will have to listen. I may be proved wrong, but not for a lack of trying.

Are you making any money out of it?

Not at the moment. Will I make any money out of it? I hope so, I don't envisage working for this many people without getting paid but at present this is not even a company. The expression of interest part of the process does not generate any money. I may allow companies who want to target people on the members list to send me an advert to include in future emails and charge them a fee for doing so. However, I will never let third parties distribute advertising directly. I am a paranoid anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti-spam type of guy and it goes against everything I hold dear to send out unsolicited mail. There is clearly a business opportunity here though. At the moment switching companies wait for customers to come to them and give them the deals third party companies want to present. WeAllSwitch.com has a new and different approach in that we want to be the customers champion and deliver a fait accompli to big business, work with us and get the business, quote too much and lose it. The model could be made to work for many sectors.

The Communication

You do not seem to have a telephone number or address on this site?

No kidding. I can't answer that many calls or letters. I am just one guy at the moment. If you really, really, really, need to get in touch, you can write to WeAllSwitch at Googlemail dot com  Don't write reams of stuff, don't send an attachment as the whole mail will be deleted automatically, don't expect a long reply, don't ask for a telephone number unless you are a quantifiable media organisation or company which operates in the energy sector. Do, in all eventualities, include a telephone number. DO offer me financial support to help me get this off the ground!