--- title: "Protecting customer credit in the event of a disorderly retail exit" ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-a7756c7f-378f-4d45-a320-d614c5128ada" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-a7756c7f-378f-4d45-a320-d614c5128ada" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-a7756c7f-378f-4d45-a320-d614c5128ada.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-a7756c7f-378f-4d45-a320-d614c5128ada.json" source: "Contracts Finder" current_stage: "Tender" buyer: "WATER SERVICES REGULATION AUTHORITY (OFWAT)" published: "2019-07-17" --- # Protecting customer credit in the event of a disorderly retail exit Buyer: WATER SERVICES REGULATION AUTHORITY (OFWAT) Current stage: Tender OCID: ocds-b5fd17-a7756c7f-378f-4d45-a320-d614c5128ada [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-a7756c7f-378f-4d45-a320-d614c5128ada) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-a7756c7f-378f-4d45-a320-d614c5128ada.json) ## Summary The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) is seeking tenders for the project titled "Protecting customer credit in the event of a disorderly retail exit". This initiative falls under the business and management consultancy industry and is based in the United Kingdom, specifically in regions such as the West Midlands and London. The procurement is currently at the tender stage, with a deadline for submissions set on 13 August 2019. The contract is expected to commence on 29 August 2019 and end by 16 December 2019, with an estimated contract value of £30,000. This tender presents an excellent opportunity for consultancy firms and legal service providers to engage with regulatory frameworks that protect consumers' financial interests within the retail sector. Businesses with expertise in customer financial protection, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder engagement will find this procurement particularly suitable, especially those capable of conducting comprehensive reviews and proposing effective solutions in alignment with Ofwat's objectives. ## Notice The overall objectives of the project are, in the event a retailer makes a disorderly exit, to: - Gather options for protecting customers' monies; - Assess whether there is, or could be, a mechanism to provide recourse for retailers to recover the (reasonable) costs of honouring credit balances when taking over the supply of affected customers; - Recommend the most effective option(s) for protecting customers' monies and mitigating the exposure of the incoming retailer, including an assessment of any legal or regulatory changes that may need to be made to the existing framework, as appropriate. In order to achieve the overall objectives, the Customer requires that the following key tasks ("the Services") will be carried out by the Supplier: Key Task 1 - By reviewing what other regulators (including, but not limited to, the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, Ofgem, the FCA and the CAA) do to protect customers' money or provide recourse for retailers (or similar) to recover the (reasonable) costs of covering credit balances, and by reference to your experience of similar organisations, set out what mechanisms exist that are used to protect customer money. In doing so, highlight pros and cons across the different schemes. Key Task 2 - Set out the costs and risks associated with incoming retailers taking on credit balances of an outgoing retailer (Ofwat will provide background information). Key Task 3 - Evaluation and Options proposal - From your own knowledge, advise on any options to: a) Secure customers money, including but not limited to, instances where they have made pre-payments, deposits, etc. b) Introduce mechanisms for incoming retailers to be able to claim money back where they have taken on/ honoured credit balances from an outgoing retailer. We require Task 3 to involve stakeholder engagement, which may involve stakeholder workshops, so as to incorporate views from trading parties and customer groups. Key Deliverables The Supplier will provide the following as key Deliverables of the project: Deliverable 1 - Draft report will incorporate all key tasks 1, 2, and 3. The draft report will be subject to acceptance and sign off by the Associate Director, Market Outcomes and Enforcement (MOE), before moving on to the next stage. Deliverable 2 - Final report - to include any feedback received from Ofwat on Deliverable 1. The final report will be subject to acceptance and sign off by the Director, Business Retail, MOE. Timescales The Supplier will provide the key deliverables in accordance with the following timescales: Key Deliverables Date Deliverable 1 14 October 2019 Deliverable 2 25 November 2019 It is expected that the contract will commence on 29 August 2019 and the signing off of the Final Report by the Director, Business Retail, MOE (16 December 2019) shall be the contract Expiry Date. More details can be found in the Invitation to Tender (ITT). ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Contracts Finder | | Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/a207ba20-7be7-47b5-8ebc-ff1381e7e4de | | Notice type | Tender Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Open | | Procurement method details | Open procedure (below threshold) | | Tender suitability | SME | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Tender | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 17 Jul 2019 | | Submission deadline | 13 Aug 2019 | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 28 Aug 2019 - 16 Dec 2019 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £30,000 | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Active | | Lots status | Not specified | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | WATER SERVICES REGULATION AUTHORITY (OFWAT) | | Locality | BIRMINGHAM | | Post town | Birmingham | | Postcode | B5 4UA | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLG West Midlands (England) | | ITL 2 | TLG3 West Midlands | | ITL 3 | TLG31 Birmingham | | Local authority | Birmingham | | Electoral ward | Ladywood | | Westminster constituency | Birmingham Ladywood | | Delivery location | TLG West Midlands (England), TLI London | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security ### Codes - 79100000 - Legal services - 79400000 - Business and management consultancy and related services ## Release History - 17 Jul 2019 at 16:45 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/a207ba20-7be7-47b5-8ebc-ff1381e7e4de ## Documents - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/a207ba20-7be7-47b5-8ebc-ff1381e7e4de 17th July 2019 - Opportunity notice on Contracts Finder - https://www.mytenders.co.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JUL157700 NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the myTenders Web Site at the link provided. ## Notice URLs - http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/ ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. 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