RateShield is BearChoice’s energy bill review, comparison and monitoring service. We use the bills and information you provide to assess available electricity and gas plans and explain your options. RateShield is an annually renewing membership once your first membership payment is taken.

To join RateShield, you must be the account holder or authorised to provide information about the energy account. Your selected membership covers electricity, gas, or both at one residential property. Service availability depends on your location, tariff, meter and available plan information. We will tell you if we cannot assess your service reliably. Business services require a separate arrangement.

We review your bill information, compare eligible available plans and publish results in your member portal. We may request updated bills or clarification and contact you about results, payments and your membership. Reviews are periodic, not continuous, and are not guaranteed at a fixed interval. Comparisons depend on the market sources and data available to us; we do not guarantee coverage of every retailer or plan or that we will identify the cheapest offer.

By joining, you request reviews and relevant service communications for your selected property and services. Keep your contact details and bills current and tell us about changes to your retailer, address, tariff or usage. You choose whether to stay or switch. Cancelling RateShield does not cancel your energy contract.

Provide accurate, complete bills and information that you are authorised to share. Incomplete or unclear information may delay a comparison. We may ask for more information before publishing results or assessing whether the first membership fee applies. Automated bill extraction and comparison results are subject to review; an unverified scan alone does not establish the savings threshold.

We compare estimated annual costs using a consistent usage basis for your current plan and the alternative, taking account of relevant supply charges, usage rates and applicable discounts or credits. We explain material assumptions and offer conditions. Eligibility, tariff compatibility and known switching costs are considered before identifying a qualifying offer. Optional switching assistance is a separate fee and is disclosed separately. Savings are estimates, not guaranteed money received. Actual bills may differ because of usage, rates, eligibility or offer changes. For a membership covering both electricity and gas, the first-fee threshold is assessed against the combined estimated annual savings for the covered services at that property, without counting the same saving twice.

We explain the available option, estimated annual savings and important conditions through your portal or service communications. Before taking the first membership payment, we notify you of the qualifying comparison, the membership fee and the planned charge date. The membership fee pays for RateShield’s service; it is not conditional on completing a switch or achieving the estimated saving in practice.

We do not switch your energy service without your separate approval. You can switch directly with a retailer without a RateShield switching fee. Optional switching assistance costs AUD $19.99 per switch and requires separate agreement before work begins. It is not included in the annual membership fee. A retailer’s contract, eligibility rules and applicable cancellation rights apply separately.

Annual fees for one residential property are AUD $39.99 for electricity AUD $39.99 for gas or AUD $59.99 for both.Displayed prices include any applicable GST. There is no upfront membership charge.Your first annual fee becomes payable only once we have reviewed and identified an available eligible plan with estimated annual savings strictly greater than your selected membership fee. If no qualifying option is identified, no first membership fee is charged. The first fee applies even if you choose to stay with your current retailer or switch independently. Your first paid membership period starts when the first annual payment succeeds and lasts 12 months. After that, membership automatically renews for successive 12-month periods until you cancel. Each renewal fee applies whether or not a new saving is identified. The savings threshold applies only to the first annual fee. With your express consent, Stripe saves your payment method and processes the first qualifying membership fee and subsequent annual renewal fees, including when you are not logged in. We send a renewal reminder at least 14 days before each renewal charge, stating the date, amount and how to cancel. If we miss that notice, we postpone the charge to allow at least 14 days after the reminder. Renewal is at your agreed annual price unless you expressly accept a price change in advance. We do not charge a higher price solely because revised prices appear on our website. If payment fails, we notify you and explain any proposed retry or suspension; a failed payment does not start a new paid period. Existing members granted free founding membership retain that entitlement under their original offer. These paid fees and automatic renewals do not replace their free entitlement.

We handle your personal information under BearChoice’s Privacy Policy. We use account details, bills and usage information to administer membership, assess options, communicate with you and keep necessary records. We use providers including Wix and Stripe to deliver the service and process payments. Stripe handles payment credentials; do not send full card details to BearChoice by email or chat. We share information with relevant partners or retailers when necessary for a comparison or switch you request, as described in our Privacy Policy.

You can cancel without a cancellation fee by emailing info@bearchoice.com.au or calling 03 7058 0183. Include enough account information for us to identify your membership. Cancellation takes effect for future charges when we receive your request; administrative processing does not extend your payment authority. If you cancel before the first membership charge, no first fee is taken and monitoring ends. If you cancel after paying, automatic renewal stops and your paid access continues until the end of that 12-month period unless you request earlier closure. Cancel before the renewal charge to avoid paying for another year. We confirm cancellation and the end date. For a change-of-mind cancellation after a correctly authorised payment, we do not ordinarily refund the unused period. This does not limit refunds or other remedies required by Australian Consumer Law. We refund incorrect or unauthorised membership charges, including a renewal taken after we received cancellation. If we end a paid service for reasons unrelated to your breach, we refund the unused membership period proportionately. We may suspend access where reasonably necessary for security, misuse or legal obligations and will explain the reason where permitted.

Membership communications include review results, requests for bills, payment notices, renewal reminders and cancellation confirmations. Marketing consent is separate. You can unsubscribe from marketing without cancelling your membership or necessary service communications.

We may make reasonable changes to reflect service or legal developments. We notify you in advance of material changes and explain your options. Changes do not retrospectively authorise charges or remove accrued rights. Fee increases or an expanded payment authority require your express agreement. Additional residential properties require a separate confirmed arrangement. Advertised annual add-on prices are AUD $29.99 per additional property for electricity or gas, or AUD $39.99 for both. Before you add a property, we confirm its coverage, first-charge conditions, billing date, renewal arrangements and cancellation options. Saving a card for your main membership does not by itself authorise an add-on charge.

Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or modifies consumer guarantees or other rights and remedies that cannot lawfully be excluded under Australian Consumer Law. Where the law entitles you to a refund, cancellation, repeat service or compensation, these terms do not remove that entitlement.

For questions, cancellations, payment enquiries or complaints, contact BearChoice at info@bearchoice.com.au or 03 7058 0183. We acknowledge your request and take reasonable steps to resolve it promptly. These terms are governed by Victorian law, subject to any mandatory laws and rights that apply where you live.