Middlemen v's the self employed DEA

If I had to get an EPC for my property I must admit I would probably either go with the estate agent who I was selling/letting my property through or, as many people would, just google EPC.

The minute you put EPC into a search engine you get 1000s' of results - training providers (bah humbug) and the middlemen and further down the self employed DEA.

The middlemen advertise well - they have the funds for it and probably a marketing manager. Self employed DEAs don't have the flashy website or the high ranking on the page.

The middlemen are offering EPCs at £39. The DEAs are offering to quote you a price.

The middlemen have a place for you to order now. The DEAs want you to ring or email.

The middlemen can take card payment. The self employed DEA can often not accept card payment.

So which option do you choose? Looking at it like that its probably easier to chose the middleman.
   
                                                       BUT.....................

The middleman charges you VAT and you are put through to a call centre if you have any queries. The self employed DEA probably doesn't earn enough to be VAT registered and you speak directly with the professional DEA for any queries. The DEA contacts you directly and organises everything with you.
The price the self employed DEA quotes is a final figure no hidden extras, the middleman is charging you VAT.
In the long run, although it is probably an extra 10 minutes work you will get a better final price from the self employed DEA, a more customer focused service, professional, NO call centre and better local knowledge. So when you look at it like that it is better to spend that extra time and get the better service and better price from a local self employed DEA.