Business energy broker commission: what you can ask

How the payment can be built into the contract

The Ofgem supply and complaints framework discussed here applies to Great Britain; Northern Ireland has a separate energy regulatory framework.

An energy broker may arrange for a payment to be collected through the supplier's charges. An uplift can sit within the unit rate or standing charge, with the supplier passing the agreed remuneration to the broker. Your business pays the energy bill, but the broker's payment may not appear as a separate item on it.

Other brokers charge the business directly for their service. Some arrangements may involve more than one form of remuneration. Ask who pays whom and which agreement creates each payment. A statement that there is no upfront fee does not answer whether the broker is paid through the supply contract or receives another payment later.

The method can affect how the total develops. If remuneration depends on consumption, the amount attributable to the contract can change with usage. If it is linked to time or charged directly, different assumptions apply. Get the basis and the contract duration in writing instead of asking only whether the service is free.

Keep the supply contract and broker engagement terms together. They may deal with different obligations: one governs energy supply, while the other can govern the service, authority to act and termination. Ending one agreement does not automatically work out what happens to the other. That distinction matters especially when moving premises or changing plans before supply starts.

What the supplier must disclose

For relevant contracts entered into from 1 October 2024, Ofgem's rules require suppliers to include applicable third-party costs in the Principal Terms for all non-domestic customers and to provide that information on request. The disclosure covers the duration of the contract and expresses the cost using the applicable energy-unit or daily basis.

Micro businesses have an additional monetary-total disclosure requirement. Where a total depends on estimated consumption, ask which usage assumption was used and how the figure relates to the charging basis. A full-duration estimate and a payment already made to the broker are not necessarily the same thing.

The licence requirement does not require broker fees to appear on the energy bill. Looking through bills alone can therefore miss the information. Nor does this supplier disclosure rule automatically cover a separate fee the business pays directly to a broker. Ask for those direct charges under the broker's own terms as well.

Ask for information that can be checked

Start with the contract reference, supply address, fuel, start date and end date. Write to the supplier asking for the third-party cost disclosure in the Principal Terms and the information available on request under its non-domestic licence obligations. Ask for the charging basis and the full duration covered. Keep a copy of the request.

Contact the broker separately to ask how it is remunerated on that contract, including any direct fees. Ask if the broker's answer and supplier's answer describe different periods or assumptions. A mismatch may need explanation before it can be treated as an error. Avoid adding estimated consumption and actual payments together as if they were separate charges.

If someone else agreed the contract for the business, find the authority they were given and the documents they received. A missing file in your own inbox does not establish that disclosure never happened. Equally, a generic statement that commission may be received does not answer every question about a particular arrangement.

Use one chronology for the enquiry. Include the date of the sale, the documents provided, the questions asked and the replies received. Keep original attachments, not just copied extracts. This makes the issue clearer if you later need to use a complaints process or obtain legal advice.

Regulation is changing, but implementation matters

As of 9 September 2026, the dedicated Ofgem regulatory regime for energy brokers is not presented in the cited official material as an operating authorisation system. The government decided in October 2025 to bring third-party intermediaries into regulation, with legislation and implementation work required. An announced policy is different from an authorisation a broker currently holds.

Ofgem's 2026 market review is part of that work. Do not interpret participation in a consultation, membership of a trade organisation or appearance in a dispute scheme as proof of authorisation under the future regime. Ask what a claim of regulation refers to and which legal entity and activity it covers.

There are existing protections. Suppliers have licence duties, including standards for treating non-domestic customers and commission disclosure. They must secure relevant micro and small business contracts through brokers belonging to a qualifying dispute settlement scheme. The Energy Ombudsman operates a broker scheme that can consider eligible disputes against its members.

Check the broker's scheme membership before agreeing and save the complaints details. If the business is outside the eligible size or consumption tests, do not assume that the same redress route applies. Our micro and small business energy rights guide explains the categories and escalation process.

If commission was not properly disclosed

Court developments in 2025 and January 2026 show why the legal relationship and informed consent matter in commission disputes. Where a broker owes fiduciary duties, inadequate disclosure can have legal consequences; a January 2026 Supreme Court disposal by consent resulted in judgment for commission in the case concerned. That does not establish an automatic right for every customer. A solicitor must consider the particular engagement, disclosures, duties, evidence and time limits before advising on a claim.

For a practical first step, request the documents rather than starting with a predicted recovery amount. Identify what you were told before agreement, what authority the broker held, and whether the information concerned the actual payment or only the possibility of remuneration. Keep the supplier and broker complaints routes separate where they address different conduct.

Do not treat a dispute about the sale as automatic cancellation of the supply agreement. Continue to address current bills and obligations with the supplier while seeking advice about disputed items. If you are considering appointing a representative, read their charging, cancellation and authority terms before giving access to the business's records.

A complaint may seek an explanation, missing documents, correction of an error or another appropriate remedy. State what you want investigated without promising yourself a particular result. Clear evidence gives the decision-maker something specific to assess and avoids turning an information request into an argument about an unsupported figure.

Questions to ask before the next agreement

Ask the following in writing and keep the answers with the offer:

• Who pays you for this contract, and is any payment made directly by us?
• What is the remuneration basis and the amount attributable to its full duration?
• Does your remuneration change with the supplier or contract selected?
• Which part of the market do you consider, and what limitations apply?
• What authority are we giving you to request information or agree terms?
• Which dispute scheme covers this engagement, if we are eligible?
• What happens to your fees if we move, cancel or the supply does not start?

Do not assume that permission to obtain quotations is permission to enter a binding contract. Read the authority wording and limit it to what the business intends. A person taking a sales call should know whether they are authorised to agree terms and when a decision needs approval by somebody else.

Also ask which supply charges can change. Commission disclosure does not explain pass-through network costs, termination conditions or the effect of a change of tenancy. Those questions belong in the same review because they shape the agreement the business will actually have to perform.

What to do next

Gather the Principal Terms, broker engagement, recent bill and any written authority. Request the missing remuneration information from the relevant party and preserve the replies. If the issue remains unresolved, use the appropriate complaint route or obtain legal advice on the actual documents.

CostQuote takes one enquiry and introduces one named specialist partner, identified before your details are sent. If you go ahead, that partner pays the introduction service a referral fee, which does not change what you pay. It is an introduction service, and its terms explain that role.

For a new business energy enquiry, have the supply details and contract dates ready. Ask the named partner the same remuneration and scope questions you would ask any other service. A clear introduction does not replace checking the terms of the eventual energy contract.