Andrew Pilley

In January 2018, BES Utilities settled a High Court case against two men, in which the company had alleged that they had made false claims about the company for three years.[9][10]

Following the hearing in the High Court at Manchester, the defendants were issued with court orders containing penal notices. They gave undertakings to the court to cease their behaviour and remove any published reference to BES, its directors, employees, agents, and representatives.   If the men fail to comply with the order, they may be held in contempt of court and be fined or imprisoned. The court also ordered that if the defendants breach the undertakings, they would be required to pay £250,000 towards BES’s substantial legal costs.

Both defendants signed the following statement: “We withdraw any allegation of fraud or dishonesty against Business Energy Solutions Limited and BES Commercial Electricity Limited, their directors, officers, agents, legal advisers, and other professional representatives.”   

In September 2021 after a 5-year fraud investigation, Pilley was charged with multiple fraud charges concerning his running of BES Utilities. Fraud charges included two counts of running a business to defraud creditors or others by allowing the fraudulent mis-selling of energy supply contracts, allowing fraudulent mis-selling by sales representatives, and being concerned with the retention of criminal property.[7]

All charges are denied and a criminal trial is currently taking place as of October 2022 at Preston Crown Court.

BES Utilities was investigated by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), which found that BES failed to explain in sufficient detail customer contract details and, in some cases, wrongly blocked 108 customers from switching suppliers. The Ofgem investigation resulted in a fine of £2.00, with an agreed redress package of circa £980,000 paid by BES by way of a charitable donation to a debt advice charity and via compensation payments to several affected customers. [8]

In 2012, Pilley and fellow trustees founded the Fleetwood Town Community Trust, an independent, registered charity working in partnership with Fleetwood Town Football Club.[16] The Trust aims to provide socially inclusive community, health, and education engagement programmes within its local community.

Andy is a supporter of Trinity Hospice. In 2013, BES Utilities supported the Trinity Hospice Corporate Challenge,[17] and, Card Saver has donated merchant service terminals to Trinity Hospice and Brian House Children’s Hospice enabling members of the public to donate by card rather than having to look for loose change.[18]

In February 2019 it was announced[19] that Andy and FTFC would pledge £10,000 to help tackle bullying in schools by supporting a ground-breaking training programme headed up by local Human Behaviour Trainer and Success Coach, Norry Ascroft. Following on from the success earlier in the year Andy, along with BES Utilities[20] and Card Saver,[21] pledged a further £20,000 to the MADD About Bullying programme, supporting over 300 schools in the North West directly.

BES Utilities sponsored Blackpool Illuminations, providing free electricity in 2014 and half-price electricity in 2015. Their sponsorship was worth over £100,000 over two years – the biggest donation to the Lights in more than a decade.[22]

Fleetwood Town FC, BES Utilities, and Card Saver all sponsor local professional boxer Brian 'The Lion' Rose.[23] Pilley also gave Brian full use of the state-of-the-art facilities at Poolfoot Farm, along with access to coaches and physios.

In 2018, Andy and Fleetwood Town FC partnered with East Pines Park and offered to maintain their football pitches. The pitches were often completely out of use due to poor drainage, and after playing football at East Pines Park at a young age, Andy decided to help. Following extensive improvement work and maintenance by the grounds team from Fleetwood Town, the pitch now plays host to a variety of community football sessions for youngsters as well as weekly walking football sessions for older players.[24]

The story of a local young footballer, Jamie Oakey, who was born with one foot, inspired Andy to support England’s next generation of amputee players. Jamie, who was named in the England Amputee FA’s under-23 squad, is also part of a group of junior players hoping to take part in an international training camp in Hoffenheim, Germany, in July. To get there the young amputees and their families needed to raise £5,000, so Andy decided to provide financial support for the German training camp as well as give the England squad free use of the Cod Army’s Poolfoot Farm training base whenever they needed it.[25]

• Sponsor of Thornton Christmas Lights[26]
• Creation of the BES Fund to support businesses struggling with energy or other debts[27]
• Funder of national charity, Business Debtline[28]