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Recently two members of the TEAM Bureau had the pleasure of presenting their client Ealing Homes with a refund cheque from their utility supplier worth £445,637. In total over £800,000 has been recovered by the TEAM Bureau with the balance used to pay Ealing Homes’ outstanding energy bills.

In early 2008, routine energy bill validation in the TEAM Bureau, in combination with a site visit by a TEAM Energy Consultant, identified that Ealing Homes was being charged 17.5% VAT on their electricity and gas, instead of 5%. As a result Climate Change Levy was being charged to their accounts by mistake.

Overpayments for the last three years have now been claimed back, equating to in excess of £580,000 for VAT and £248,000 for Climate Change Levy.

"TEAM have been very pro-active in taking this forward and we are extremely pleased with their work. Even though we do reclaim our VAT, this has huge cash flow implications as regular outgoings are massively reduced," states Ealing Homes' Mechanical and Electrical Manager, Peter Gray.

Ealing Homes is an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) which manages the residential housing stock on behalf of the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing Homes started using the TEAM Bureau service in November 2007 through the pre-tendered Buying Solutions framework agreement.