Website allows consumers club together to seek cheaper bills

A free website is recruiting as many members as possible in order to negotiate cheaper deals with the major utility companies.

Founded by husband and wife Barry and Maria Broderick, the idea behind reducemybills.ie one of a team approach to tackling large bills.

Up until the end of February, people can sign up to become members of this club. In March, the site will then negotiate with the service providers on behalf of its members, with the idea being the more members it has, the more power it has to negotiate a better deal.

After reaching the best possible price with utility companies, members will be told of the deals secured and can log into their account and choose the package they would like to sign up to.

A former Trinity College lecturer, Ms Broderick pointed to a trial run by British consumer magazine Which? some years ago which signed up 37,000 people and secured savings averaging £223 (€268) per person.

“We saw that there was nobody doing anything like that here and that it was worth pursuing. Suppliers of all services can only get what the market is willing to pay. If consumers don’t stand up, then they can charge anything. In every other area of life you can haggle, so why not try and get the best deal on things like gas and electricity.”

She said the power of the system lay in the number of people who signed up.

“So far, we have signed up over 700 people. People can sign up for free, there is no obligation or cost on members. The more people who sign up, the more power we will have when negotiating for the best deal from the service providers.”

She said the company would make money by getting a once-off commission from the utility companies they sign up with.

“There is a huge benefit not only for the consumer, but also for the supplier if we can bring thousands of customers with us to their service. We are not a price comparison website. We are hoping to get a better deal than those you see advertised.”