Price comparison websites are soon to be probed and examined by the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA).
It’s going to look at how well sites such as Moneysupermarket, Uswitch and GoCompare can be trusted. The
CMA wants to look into whether consumers should be made aware of how sites earn their commission after it emerged that consumers are not always made aware of the cheapest deals on comparison price websites.
Companies often pay a fee of around £30 to a comparison site for each new customer they gain.
The CMA will examine four areas:
- What consumers expect from comparison tools, how they use them and their experiences
- The impact of such tools on competition between suppliers listed on them
- How effectively comparison
tools compete with each other
- The effectiveness of existing regulation
But one energy provider said the CMA was clueless about comparison sites.
How transparent are you with your pricing and the value that your customers get?
There’s always an argument that I hear between whether you should display your prices on your website and literature or keep them hidden so it generates a phone call.
I purchase my office supplies from Viking Direct; their service, quality and delivery is good. But their pricing infuriates me. They send me a brochure with special offers and discounted prices but when I log on to their website the
pricing is different. I have to call them up to get 'my' prices.
Do you have confusing pricing or any hidden charges and do your customers know about different prices that you may charge? Customers don’t like to be surprised. Especially when it comes to money!
Speak
soon.
Noel Guilford
Noel Guilford is the principal of Guilford Accounting a small business accountancy practice specialising in advising owner-managed
businesses on current accounting, finance, and tax matters. You can reach him via email at noel@guilfordaccounting.co.uk or by phone at 01244 660866. He is the author of the best selling book 'Figure it out - an entrepreneurs guide to understanding your business numbers' which you can obtain by visiting
http://guilfordaccounting.co.uk.