Cornwall Council saves £538,000 in billing errors

With the help of TEAM’s Outsourced Bill Validation Service, Cornwall Council has saved more than £538,000 over the last five years.

The authority is one of the largest employers in Cornwall Council and is committed to leading the way in the UK’s action on climate change.

The Council began working with TEAM Bureau (Outsourced Bill Validation Service) in 2011.
Vikki Wilkins, Energy Management Technician, at Cornwall Council explains where it all began. She said:

“The council’s energy management team consists of just myself and I didn’t have time to go through and check hundreds of utility bills every month. I needed someone like TEAM to provide an outsourced bill validation and cost recovery service, which would allow me to concentrate on other energy projects.”

TEAM Bureau now receives all of the authority’s gas, electricity and water bills. More than 1,300 invoices are validated every month and where appropriate, overcharges are recovered from the council’s suppliers.

Cornwall Council Energy Savings

With the help of TEAM Bureau, Cornwall Council identified a major water leak and savings of some £20,000 per year.

TEAM informed the authority, that Hayle Library, one of its sites, had been using an extortionate amount of water. In August 2015, the usage was recorded at 859m³, this then exceeded to a reading of 5845m³ in March 2016. Vikki said:

“Without the help of TEAM Bureau this water leak could have gone undetected for a lot longer. The fact that they alerted me to the possibility of a water leak meant that I could get someone out to site and investigate. It’s saved us a lot of money.”

The highest ever saving recorded for Cornwall Council by TEAM is £24,569.10, from historic incorrect meter reads.

Find out more about TEAM’s Outsourced Bill Validation Service.

Outsourced Bill Validation Service

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