1Install is an AV installer that prefers to deal directly with the client who owns the room, and we do not pay AV consultants a fee to put us forward for a project. Consultants have offered us exactly that more than once, we have declined each time, and this post explains why.
Why an AV installer is writing about consultants
On 16 September 2026 AV Interactive, the website of AV Magazine, published an article headed "AVIXA urged to look again at risk of bias in AV consultants", and a second the same day headed "Strengthening AVIXA's independent/affiliate framework". AVIXA is the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association, the trade body for the AV industry.
We are not going to summarise that debate or take a side in it. The headline prompted a question of our own, one that every client is entitled to ask: when a consultant recommends an AV installer to me, is the installer paying them to do so?
AVIXA's own Consultants Council page draws a distinction that helps. It describes independent consultants as those who earn solely from consulting and receive no benefits from manufacturers, suppliers, vendors or third parties. It describes affiliate consultants as those who work for or are aligned with manufacturers, vendors or suppliers and may receive incentives to recommend certain products or services. Both, it says, must disclose which category they are in and manage conflicts of interest. Whatever the outcome of the debate, that distinction is a useful one for a client to know about.
The first article is at avinteractive.com/news/business/avixa-urged-to-look-again-at-risk-of-bias-in-av-consultants-16-09-2026/.
How we prefer to work: directly with the client
On a project we take on directly, our contract is with the person or organisation that owns the room: a business owner, a facilities manager, an IT manager, a school. We survey, design, quote, install and support, and our process is set out on this site for anyone to read before they call us.
We try to make pricing as open as we can. Our meeting room quote builder lets you budget a room before you have spoken to us, and the about us page says who we are and how long we have been doing this.
What we have been offered, and why we said no
Consultants have approached 1Install offering to put us forward for projects in return for a fee. In our experience of those approaches there has always been a fee attached, and we have declined each time. We will not name anyone, and this is not an attack on consultants as a profession. Nor are we suggesting that anyone who approached us did anything unlawful. We simply chose not to take part.
Our reasons are these.
- The client is relying on the consultant's independence. A client hires an AV consultant for impartial advice on what to buy and who should install it. If one of the installers is paying the consultant, the client is no longer getting what they believe they are paying for.
- A hidden fee still has to be paid for. In practice it comes out of the price of the job, so the client funds it without knowing.
- It rewards the wrong thing. Work should go to the installer who designs the best system at a fair price, not to the one most willing to pay to be recommended.
What the Bribery Act 2010 says
We also look at this as a matter of law. A word of care first: what follows is our policy and our understanding of the Act, and it is not legal advice.
The Bribery Act 2010 makes it an offence to offer, promise or give a financial or other advantage to another person, intending it to induce someone to perform a relevant function or activity improperly, or to reward them for doing so. It is equally an offence to request, agree to receive or accept a financial or other advantage in connection with the improper performance of such a function or activity.
Among other things, the Act covers activities connected with a business where the person carrying them out is expected to act in good faith or impartially, or is in a position of trust. A commercial organisation can also commit an offence if a person associated with it bribes someone to win or keep business for it, and its defence is to prove that it had adequate procedures in place to prevent that.
We are not saying that every referral arrangement is a bribe. A fee that the client knows about and has agreed to is a different thing from a hidden one, and whether any particular payment breaks the law depends on the facts. What we can say is that hidden commissions and undisclosed conflicts of interest, where someone trusted to advise impartially is quietly paid by the firm they recommend, are the kind of conduct that anti bribery law is aimed at.
Our own approach is simple: we do not pay consultants to recommend us. 1Install is against bribery in any form.
A consultant you appoint is welcome
None of this is a complaint about independent advice. A consultant who is appointed and paid by the client, and whose only income from the project is that fee, does a useful job: writing the brief, comparing tenders and checking the installer's work. On a large or complicated project that can be money well spent.
We are glad to work alongside a consultant you have hired, to answer their questions and to have our design challenged. What we will not do is pay for a place on a consultant's list.
Questions to ask any AV installer or consultant
- Who is paying you for this recommendation, and for what?
- Do you receive a commission, a referral fee or any other benefit from the installers or manufacturers you recommend?
- Are you an independent or an affiliate consultant, in the sense AVIXA uses those words?
- Will you confirm that in writing?
- Can I see the equipment and labour in the quote itemised?
A good consultant and a good installer will answer all five without hesitation. If you would like to put them to us, we work across the capital as AV installers in London and on commercial AV projects.
Questions we are often asked
Does 1Install pay AV consultants to recommend it?
No. We do not pay consultants a fee, a commission or an introduction payment to put us forward for a project. We have been asked, and we have declined each time.
Will 1Install work with a consultant we have appointed?
Yes. If you have hired and are paying an independent consultant, we are glad to work with them, to price against their brief and to have our design reviewed. Our only condition is that no money passes between us and the consultant.
Is a referral fee against the law?
Not necessarily. Whether a payment breaks the Bribery Act 2010 depends on the facts, including whether it was connected with improper performance by someone expected to act impartially or in good faith. That is a question for a solicitor, and nothing in this post is legal advice. Our own policy is not to pay consultants for recommendations at all.
Why does it matter to me if an installer pays the consultant?
Because you hired the consultant for impartial advice, and a payment from one of the installers puts that in doubt. A hidden fee also tends to end up in the price you pay.
How do I ask an AV installer for a quote directly?
Contact the installer yourself, ask for a site survey and ask for an itemised quote. With 1Install you can start with the quote builder or the contact form, and you deal with us directly from the first call to the handover.
Book a consultation or call our head office on 01344 937999 (London office 0208 064 0196).
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