Intemediaries take cut of client cost

Value in the the Energy Performance Certification (EPC) process is under attack from middle men who inflate prices, experts warned.

Delegates at a Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) seminar spoke of agents who claim to be working on behalf of clients and get a price for an EPC. They then pass on the price with a cut for themselves, thus inflating the cost.

One leading EPC provider confirmed the existence of such middle-men. “There are some unscrupulous providers out there. They ask for your details online and then act as brokers by trying to find assessors. They tend to squeeze fees for assessors and hike up fees for clients.”

The provider added that clients also need to be aware of the grading of qualification for assessors, which dictates the type of building they can assess. “There are a lot of providers that don’t have access to assessors that are qualified highly enough,” he said.

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