OT: another scam? Or one that folks have seen before?

Question

I look after choosing the electric supplier for our village hall. Yesterday, I had a call from a woman with an Indian accent, from xxxx Associates (don't remember the name but it was a Glasgow number) asking to confirm that I am the person who chose our existing supplier, and did I know that the electric companies have got together to offer charities a much lower rate?

As this sounded like a scam I was guarded; she asked whether we were paying 5% VAT and then whether I had an invoice to hand, so I could tell her the tariffs and she could tell me what the savings might be.

I said I would contact the supplier myself, and when I said that a second time she backed off and left me the phone number (which I already had), after which I thanked her for the information and hung up.

It does strike me that she'd have probably asked me for the MPAN too, and then my email so she could "email me more information".

Armed with the information I might have given her, what scams could be perpetrated?

Tufnell Park · Answer

'She'could have been a sales agentfor a different electricity supplier trying to persuade you to change to them and claim her 'sales' commission.Other than that it is difficult to see what the objective of the call might be.

Martin Brown · Answer

There is a scheme whereby you can get something off the utility bill if you are a registered charity not-for-profit and jump through the appropriate hoops. We did it with British Gas (for an electricity only contract) a couple of years back. You have to know to ask. See:

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The rules are incredibly convoluted and arcane. You can get 10% off your bills backdated for up to 4 years if you qualify for the charity rate (a rake off of which I presume is the motivation of the callers)

Your local village hall support group will know more about it.

I suspect it was "genuine" for small values of that parameter.

Although there are some scams about where the magic low priced deal intermediary takes your money but doesn't pay it to your supplier and you later get cut off (out of pocket and owing a considerable sum).

I get mithered by such wannabe energy deals so often I let them go to answerphone or answer with dead air.

Martin Brown · Answer

[snip]The one for Yorkshire was Rural Action Yorkshire and is now rebranded are active members and have been for more than a decade.Nationally I think the corresponding group is Acre. They have useful crib sheets for things that affect community buildings and most rural counties run a network scheme with varying levels of participation. they are a bit paperwork heavy if you follow all their advice).They can provide help with applying for grants and contacts too.I have no idea what support is available for city community buildings.We get together about three or four times a year at a host village hall and discuss hot topics and try to get some extra insurance discount. Belonging to a village hall network for best practice is good for a 10% or so discount on the premium. We are members of our local network.I think most rural counties are supposed to have something similar.

OT: another scam? Or one that folks have seen before?

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