Improving switch success rates
Loqate's Utilities Register: how does it compare?
Explore how Loqate's simple API compares to taking a DIY route to the switching process.
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Loqate's Utilities Register
When considering ways in which to speed the switching process, the DIY route may at first appear the most logical approach. However, it is not as simple as it first seems and requires significant time and investment to overcome the inherent complexities.
This comparison illustrates the benefits of using Loqate’s simple to use API virus the DIY route.
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Utilities register |
DIY |
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Dual fuel searching Both gas and electricity supply points can be searched from a single address or postcode entry. |
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Optimised Searching EES and GES are always searched in parallel, reducing the overall search time and improving the speed and efficiency of your customer journey. |
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Combined addresses Matched gas and electricity addresses are merged into single ‘dual-fuel’ records so you can immediately identify dual and single-fuel properties and highlight these to your customers ahead of selection. |
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Verification reformatting and cleansing of unstructured and poor-quality addresses Loqate’s Verify service is embedded within the Utilities Register and allows users to submit poorly formatted and erroneous addresses, even without a postcode. Verify will standardise the address, identify building and business-name components, or correct the postcode and automatically submit well-formed queries to EES and GES. |
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Enhanced building searching The Utilities Register will allow optimised searching on any building field (building name, number, flat or business name). |
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One REL returned for dual-fuel properties In addition to providing the MPL addresses Loqate’s Utilities Register provides the REL address for each property returned from EES and GES. The REL together with its associated UPRN are required for switching. As a licenced Ordnance Survey partner and Premium reseller, and as part of the Utilities Register agreement, Loqate offer OS licencing for use of the REL and manage auditing and royalty submissions to OS as part of the Utilities Register contract. |
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Batch and non-interactive searching The Verify option within the Utilities Register allows you to stream non-verified and unstructured records through the service for automated cleansing and standardising of addresses and append meter-point and REL details to your customer records. This is particularly useful for non-interactive scenarios where an end-user is not available at the point of capture to select and validate a property detail from a drop-down pick list on a web-site. |
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Email, Phone, and Bank validation To complement the capture of supply-point data, Loqate offers email, landline and mobile, and bank validation services to ensure a seamless switching journey for residential and commercial consumers alike. |
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UPRN searching The use of Loqate’s services allows to you undertake reverse searching on UPRN, something not available through the existing EES service. |
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Daily Customer cleansing - including REL-appending for supply-point addresses Loqate can provide offline daily, weekly, monthly, or ad-hoc validation, cleansing, and meter detail/REL-appending for supply-point addresses, via its bureau service. Our team of addressing experts will ensure that the quality of customer data is improved to the highest level. |
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A Single API Using Loqate’s Utilities Register requires you to only integrate to a one service for your dual fuel switching journeys, removing the need to develop separate implementations to the two very dissimilar GES and EES interfaces. |
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Multiple Meter-Point Addresses Loqate’s Utilities Register returns details for all MPxNs within a single response structure for Meter Point Location (MPL) addresses that contain multiple MPxNs and/or Related MPANs. This removes the need to make multiple calls to EES or GES to retrieve and process the MPxNs individually. |
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Tested for null UPRNs The Utilities Register correctly handles meter point addresses not yet registered within the Central Switching Service (CSS) and which may have null UPRNs and blank RELs. |
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