How we treat you when you're deciding
We don't use tricks. Here's the full list.
Most websites selling something use manipulation patterns. They work, which is why they exist. They also corrode trust and train people to distrust buying things online at all. We've written down what we don't do, so you can hold us to it.
The list
Ten things we refuse to do.
Each of these is a pattern used by a significant share of the websites that sell things. We've ruled them out for Smart Energie. If you ever find us doing any of them, email anthony@smartenergie.co.uk directly.
1. We don't invent scarcity.
We'll never say "only 3 slots left this week" unless the number is real and visible in our actual calendar. If we're fully booked for a month, we tell you that instead.
2. We don't use confirmshaming.
When we offer a newsletter, the decline option says "No thanks". Not "No, I don't care about my energy bills" or any other phrase designed to make you feel bad for declining.
3. We don't pre-tick consent boxes.
Every opt-in is opt-in. Marketing consent, newsletter sign-up, data-sharing: empty by default. You actively choose to say yes.
4. We don't hide costs.
The price on our quote is the price on your install day, unless one of five specifically named conditions applies (listed on our Honest Total Price page). No "admin fees," "booking fees," "scheduling fees."
5. We don't use countdown timers.
Real scheme deadlines (the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, for example) have real dates. We state the date. We don't strap a ticking clock to every page to manufacture urgency.
6. We don't force account creation.
You can use our Instant Quote tool, get a full fixed price, save it by email, and book a survey, all without creating an account. Always.
7. We don't make unsubscribing hard.
Every email we send has a one-click unsubscribe link. It works first-try. You don't have to log in, verify anything, or "tell us why you're leaving."
8. We don't preselect the most expensive option.
On the Instant Quote results page, three boiler options are shown: cheap on the left, recommended in the middle, premium on the right. The middle one is what we'd typically install for a home like yours, not the highest-margin one.
9. We don't drip fees.
Every mandatory cost is in the first price you see. If it's genuinely extra (a survey finding, a scope change), you're told before the work happens and you can walk away with no cost.
10. We don't buy or filter reviews.
Every review on our Trustpilot and Google pages is from a real customer. We ask, we don't pay. Some reviews are critical. We leave them up and respond to them publicly.
Accountability
Holding us to it.
If any of the above ever isn't true in practice, we want to know. We'd rather hear from you than read about it in a review six months later.
Contact routes:
- Email anthony@smartenergie.co.uk goes to the ops director, not a support queue
- Phone 0800 999 1129 and ask to speak to a director
- External: see the resources at the bottom of this page if you'd rather route a complaint through a regulator.
The honest version
Why this page exists.
Because the people who need to read it usually can't tell which websites do and don't use these patterns until it's too late.
Industry-wide, roughly two-thirds of UK websites in home services use at least three of the ten patterns above. We know because we've audited them. We think the gap between "everyone else does this" and "it's acceptable" is where trust is lost in this industry. So we've planted our flag on the other side of it.
If we ever drift, tell us. We'll fix it.
External resources
If you've experienced these patterns elsewhere.
Citizens Advice and the Competition and Markets Authority take reports of unfair trading practices seriously. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 is the legal framework. Which? Trusted Traders is one of several voluntary accreditation schemes worth checking before booking any installer.