These Terms of Service contain important legal information about how you can use our Service and will govern our relationship with you. Please make sure you read them carefully.
We have tried to make these Terms of Service easy to read and understand. This includes using clear and transparent language. Sometimes, we still need to define a word or phrase more precisely. Where we have used bold to emphasise a word or used a word in quotation marks, that means it is a defined term, these terms are explained at the end of these Terms of Service.
In these Terms of Service, the expressions “we” “our” or “us” means Youtility Limited (“Youtility”), and references to “you” means you as the customer/end user of the Service.
These Terms of Service may be amended from time to time. Every time you wish to use the Service, please check our website for the latest version of these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy. These Terms of Service were last updated on the 18th January 2024. This document is version 2.1.
If you think that there is a mistake, if you need anything explaining, please contact us at help@youtility.co.uk.
Who are we?
The Service is operated by Youtility Limited. Youtility Limited is a company registered in England and Wales under company registration number 09802196. Our registered office is 6 Corunna Court, Corunna Road, Warwick, England, CV34 5HQ. Our VAT number is 266 210 913.
You can contact us at help@youtility.co.uk.
Our Service allows you to find alternative service providers by comparing prices and helping you initiate the switching process from your Existing Provider to a New Provider. The New Provider will then process your switch and either cancel it or complete it, in accordance with their own terms and conditions. You can read more about the service in the section titled “The Youtility Service”, below.
Our Service may be provided to you through a website or mobile application operated by one of our Commercial Partners or the Commercial Partner may link to our own web-based Service.
It is important for you to understand that we are not responsible for the actions of any Commercial Partner, your Existing Provider, the Included Providers or any New Provider that you select via the Service. We have included more detail on this below.
Why Should You Read These Terms of Service?
By using the Service, you confirm that you accept these Terms of Service and that you agree to comply with them.
If you do not agree to these Terms of Service, you must not use the Service.
If you would like to keep a copy of these Terms of Service, we recommend that you print a copy for future reference.
Also, before using our Service, it’s important that you know who we are, what we stand for, how we provide the Service to you, what’s involved and what to do if there is a problem.
We’d be more than happy to hear your thoughts. You can always contact us at help@youtility.co.uk.
How We May Contact You
As part of the process for delivering the Service we may contact you to keep you informed of the current status of your use of the Service and when a switch instruction has been submitted to a New Provider.
During the switch process your New Provider will contact you and be the primary contact for the switching process.
The Youtility Service
Our Service aims to simplify home finances by helping you find ways to save money and help you to seamlessly compare and switch household service providers.
We need to use certain information about you to provide the Service.
Where one of our Commercial Partners has integrated with our Service or directed you to our Service, they may share information about you with us so that it can be automatically pre-filled into our Service. Alternatively, you may input your information directly into our web products.
We have explained how this works and who is responsible for your personal data in our Privacy Policy.
We will use this information to provide you with a list of product information from the Included Providers. This list can be searched and filtered to help you decide whether to initiate a switch
If you choose to switch we will ask you for any additional information required by the New Provider, which we will pass to your chosen New Provider. The New Provider will then be responsible for processing your switch application, including contacting your Existing Provider and keeping you informed during the switching process.
If your switch is successful you will move supplier and your contract with your Existing Provider will be terminated. You should refer to the New Provider’s terms and conditions and your Existing Provider’s terms and conditions for further information.
If the New Provider requires additional information, they will contact you directly.
If your switch application is cancelled by the New Provider or unable to be completed by the New Provider, you will remain with your Existing Provider.
If you change your mind, you will normally have 14 days in which to cancel a switch application and remain with your Existing Provider. You must contact the New Provider directly if you wish to cancel a switch application.
Access to and Use of the Service
The Service is free for you to use. We operate two services via our Commercial Partners.
- Application Programming Interface (API): this allows our Service to be embedded into our Commercial Partner’s service or website. This experience will look and feel like the Commercial Partner’s site. These Terms of Service will be linked to from the Commercial Partner’s service or website, or will be integrated into the Commercial Partners own terms and conditions.
- Web-based: our Commercial Partner will provide you with a link to a new web session, which is external to the Commercial Partner’s service or website. This will be the Youtility Service either branded as Youtility or co-branded with our Commercial Partner. The Service is operated by Youtility. This Service is designed to work with the most popular modern browsers with the current operating versions.
We do not guarantee that the Service, or any information on it, will always be available or be uninterrupted. From time to time we may wish to update the Service. This will mean the Service is temporarily unavailable. We will liaise with Commercial Partners prior to any planned outages. Very rarely the Service may experience an unplanned interruption. If this occurs please try again later or you can contact us at help@youtility.co.uk.
Restrictions on Use of the Service
The Service is made available for UK domestic household use only, by private individuals who are at least 18 years of age. We do not offer any commercial services for businesses. Our Services are only available for those residing in England, Scotland and Wales.
If we reasonably suspect or know that you are using the Service in breach of these Terms of Service or are causing or attempting to cause any damage or interruption to the Service (maliciously or otherwise) we reserve the right to suspend your access to the Service. Where the Service is provided without access credentials, we reserve the right to prevent access to the Service from your IP address.
You agree that you will be liable to us for any damage, loss, claim, demand, liability or expense (including reasonable legal fees) that we may suffer or incur arising out of or in connection with your use of the Service and/or your breach of these Terms of Service.
You may not resell, white-label or otherwise use the Service or any part of it for any commercial purpose.
Our Provision of the Youtility Service to You
We cannot guarantee that the Service will be available at all times.
Our objective is to maintain a market wide range of comparator providers with whom you can compare your current provider payments. Where you use the Service via a Commercial Partner, the curated list of Included Providers is chosen by the relevant Commercial Partner.
We will always provide the Service with reasonable skill and care.
Extremely rarely we may need to suspend the Service or amend the list of Included Providers on the Service, for example where we encounter a technical problem, or an Included Provider is unavailable. Unless the issue is an emergency that requires immediate action, we will do all we reasonably can to resolve the issue.
Information You Share with the Service
Where one of our Commercial Partners has integrated with our Service or directed you to our Service, they may share information about you with us so that it can be automatically pre-filled into our Service. Alternatively, you may input your information directly into our web products.
We may use this information to provide you with the Service, including quotes and information about any products offered by the Included Providers and, if requested by you, to initiate a switch application to a New Provider.
We may also anonymise your information so that you cannot be identified and we may use this for analysis, research, developing and improving the Service and other products and services. You grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, transferable, worldwide, royalty-free and unlimited licence to use such information, once anonymised, in any manner and for any purpose.
It is very important that all information you provide to us by means of the Service is complete and accurate. We will use that information for the purposes of comparing your Existing Provider with other products available from the Included Providers. Those comparisons will only be useful if you provide accurate information.. We cannot be held accountable for inaccuracies in pricing or service where this occurs.
You must get permission from any other person whose information you intend to utilise before you provide it. In submitting another person’s details, you are confirming to us that you have their permission to do so and that they understand how their details will be used.
Any personal data that you provide via the Service will be held and used by us in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
You should do your own research before making a decision
Before deciding whether or not to initiate a switch to a New Provider by means of the Service, you should do your pre-purchase research in the normal way – looking at reviews, comparing information on different provider websites and requesting brochures. In some cases we may provide details on the ratings of Included Providers. Again, these details are obtained from third party sources and we are not responsible for the accuracy of this information.
The Service provides information regarding products and services offered by Included Providers. This information is supplied by the Included Providers or their agents. We are not responsible for the accuracy of this information. We do not vet, test or verify any claims made by the Included Providers. Nor do we test, verify or do any quality control on their services. We will not be responsible for your failing to achieve any savings referred to on the Service or communicated to you in the switching process. You are responsible for ensuring that any New Provider and tariff you choose by means of the Service is right for you.
We do not give you any advice in respect of any Included Provider or Included Provider’s products or services. In particular, we do not provide any investment or financial advice.
Where our Service contains links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only. Such links should not be interpreted as approval by us of those linked websites or information you may obtain from them.
We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources.
We may receive a small fee when you use the Service
When you initiate a switch to a New Provider by means of the Service, we may receive a small, fixed fee from the New Provider. This could also include a loyalty bonus if you select a product or service from your Existing Provider. The fees we receive may vary between the different Included Providers but we do not use the fee to choose how to order your results on the Service. We order the results by lowest monthly cost to you, based on the information you provide. You are able to change the order of the results by means of the Service.
We may share this fee with our Commercial Partner. Please see our Commercial Partner’s terms and conditions for additional information.
We are not responsible for the switch process or anything your Existing Provider or New Provider does (or fails to do)
We will not be liable to you for any failure or delay in any provision of any New Provider, or in any handover of service from an Existing Provider to a New Provider (for example, where you have not terminated your account with the Existing Provider, or you are unable to obtain any promotional incentive such as a voucher, reduced price which you may have received from the New Provider were it not for the delay or failure).
You should refer to the terms and conditions of your Existing Provider and any New Provider for further information about how switches are processed and their responsibilities to you. Often, a switch may be prevented if you have an outstanding debt or liability or if you are locked into an existing fixed tariff.
Other providers, products and services are available
The Service contains information on a wide range of products and services from a wide range of Included Providers. However, the Service is not a whole market service. There will be other products or services and/or other providers available to you, which are not displayed to you on the Service. This may be because they are not available to us at the moment, or which the relevant Commercial Partner has excluded from the Service (for example if they do not feel the products, service or supplier is appropriate for the Service), but would be a better fit for your requirements and/or budget.
Your agreement is with your chosen provider
The Service provides a means to assist you to switch to a New Provider.
If you choose to initiate a switch, you will be asked to agree to the New Provider’s terms and conditions. In some cases we may present these terms and conditions to you on the Service and ask you to accept the terms and conditions before you can proceed. Please note that we are presenting those terms and conditions and recording your acceptance as an agent on behalf of the New Provider or their agent. Your agreement will be with the New Provider named in the terms and conditions.
To be clear, we are solely providing information regarding the New Provider and the New Provider’s services and facilitating your switch application. When you initiate a switch by means of our Service, you are contracting directly with the New Provider, not with us.
We do not supply the services you have selected from the New Provider. The Provider supplies those services.
Before you initiate a switch application by means of our Service, you must check and make sure you understand any qualifications, conditions, restrictions, exclusions, and obligations which apply to the chosen service and/or the New Provider.
Before you sign up to buy any service from a New Provider, you must check all of the information the New Provider holds about you to ensure it is correct, complete, accurate and not misleading and that you have disclosed all relevant facts to the New Provider as part of the application process. It is your responsibility to identify and correct any mistakes or errors in the information before you apply to switch to any New Provider’s service. If you don’t you may risk forfeiting some rights against the New Provider or you may find that you are entitled to the service you wanted.
Timescales to Move to the New Provider
From the 1st April 2024 the switch process between energy suppliers must be completed with five (5) working days, or you may be entitled to receive a compensation payment from the supplier (see below).
During the first two (2) weeks following the switch application being submitted you have the right to cancel the switch application. To cancel the application you must contact the New Provider directly, using the information they have sent you. You should refer to the New Provider’s terms and conditions for more details.
Delays in Switching Compensation
If the switching process is delayed and fails to comply with the Ofgem switching standards you may be entitled to compensation. This compensation is payable by the New Provider. To pursue a claim for compensation, you must contact the New Provider directly, using the information they have sent you. We are not responsible for any switching delays or for any such compensation to you. You should refer to the New Provider’s terms and conditions for more details.
Terminating the Service
Youtility does not retain any personally identifiable information on you if you only use the Service to obtain information and quotes from the Included Providers without initiating a switch.. If you initiate a switch to a New Provider we will only retain your data for seven (7) days after which we will destroy the data. We’ll then permanently delete all your personally identifiable information from our systems in accordance with the data protection regulation (GDPR).
Our Rights in Relation to the Service
Our Services are the product of a lot of hard work and are protected by intellectual property rights including copyright, database rights and trade marks.
We permit you to use the Service for your own personal, private, non-commercial use only in order to seek a product or service for yourself. All other use is strictly prohibited.
All other rights in the Service are reserved by us. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute or create derivative works from the Service.
“Youtility” and the Youtility logo are trade marks of Youtility Limited and no licence or rights to use them are granted under these Terms of Service.
Use of the Service
In consideration for the provision of the Service, you agree to comply with these Terms of Service, including (without limitation) the restrictions on your use of the Service set out in this section.
You must not engage in any commercial exploitation, resale, or distribution of the Service or any associated content without the express written consent of Youtility.
This includes, but is not limited to, the sale, lease, sublicense, or transfer of the Service or any part thereof for monetary gain or any other form of commercial benefit. You acknowledge and agree that any unauthorised commercial exploitation of the Service may result in immediate termination of access and may give rise to legal remedies as deemed appropriate by us.
You shall not conduct, facilitate, authorise or permit any text or data mining or web scraping in relation to our Service. This includes using (or permitting, authorising or attempting the use of):
- Any “robot”, “bot”, “spider”, “scraper” or other automated device, program, tool, algorithm, code, process or methodology to access, obtain, copy, monitor or republish any portion of the Service or any data, content, information or services accessed via the same.
- Any automated analytical technique aimed at analysing text and data in digital form to generate information which includes but is not limited to patterns, trends and correlations.
The provisions in this section should be treated as an express reservation of our rights in this regard, including for the purposes of Article 4(3) of Digital Copyright Directive ((EU) 2019/790).
This section shall not apply insofar as (but only to the extent that) we are unable to exclude or limit text or data mining or web scraping activity by contract under the laws which are applicable to us.
This Service is only targeted to, and intended for use by, individuals located in England, Wales and Scotland (each, a Permitted Territory). By continuing to access, view or make use of the Service, you hereby warrant and represent to us that you are located in a Permitted Territory. If you are not located in a Permitted Territory, you must immediately discontinue use of the Service.
This section is intended to protect our intellectual property and proprietary rights and to ensure that the Service is utilised solely for your personal, non-commercial use as outlined in these Terms of Service..
Responsibility Disclaimer
We are responsible to you for foreseeable loss and damage caused by us. If we fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breaking our obligations under these terms or our failing to use reasonable care and skill, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time you agreed to these terms, both we and you knew it might happen.
We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors; for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; for breach of your legal rights in relation to the Service; and for your statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
We disclaim all and any liability for any inaccurate or misleading information contained in the Service in respect of any Included Providers and/or their products and services. You acknowledge this is reasonable, as we are passing on information for which the ultimate source is the Included Provider. Neither can we be held responsible for any liability from the actions of any Existing Providers or New Providers.
We will not be liable for damage which you could have avoided by following our advice to apply an update offered to you free of charge or for damage which was caused by you failing to correctly follow installation instructions or to have in place the minimum system requirements advised by us.
We are not liable for business losses, including any loss of profit or loss of anticipated business savings. We only supply the Service to you for domestic household use. If you use the Service for any commercial or business purposes our liability to you will be limited as set out below.
Business Disclaimer
Nothing in these terms shall limit or exclude our liability for:
- Death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors (as applicable);
- fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or
- any matter in respect of which it would be unlawful for us to exclude or restrict liability.
You are not permitted to use the Service in the course of a business or for commercial purposes. If you do so, we shall not be liable to you, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, for any loss of profit, loss of anticipated savings, or any indirect or consequential loss arising in connection with the Service and/or these Terms of Service; and
Our total liability to you for all other losses arising under or in connection with the Service and/or these Terms of Service whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, shall be limited to £100.
Other Important Terms
Nobody else has any rights under these Terms of Service, which are effective only between you and us. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of these Terms of Service.
Each of the paragraphs of these terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.
You acknowledge that you have not relied on any statement, promise, representation, assurance or warranty made or given by or on behalf of us which is not set out in these Terms of Service and that you shall have no claim for innocent or negligent misrepresentation or negligent misstatement based on any statement in these Terms of Service.
Even if we delay in enforcing these Terms of Service, we can still enforce them later. If we do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these Terms of Service, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of your breaking these Terms of Service, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date.
We will endeavour to acknowledge and respond to any enquiry or complaint you send to us at help@youtility.co.uk within ten working days of receipt.
These Terms of Service are governed by the law of England and Wales and you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the Service in the courts of England and Wales. If you live in Scotland you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the Service in either the Scottish or the English courts. If you live in Northern Ireland you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the Service in either the Northern Irish or the English courts.
Defined terms
Commercial Partner means an independent company which has arranged for us to provide our Service to you. This could be via the Commercial Partner’s own website, or they might refer you to our own website.
Existing Provider means the provider which is currently providing the relevant services to you.
Included Provider means any provider whose products or services are presented to you via the Service.
New Provider means a provider you have chosen to switch to via the Service.
Privacy Policy means the Youtility privacy policy which is available at [LINK].
Service means the Youtility service which you can use to compare prices and switch suppliers for various services and any other services or businesses operated by Youtility.
Terms of Service means these terms and conditions which govern your use of our Service.