SSE Fined £10.5m By Ofgem Over Mis-Selling
Ofgem (The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets) said the proposed record penalty against SSE (Scottish and Southern Energy) is the largest it has made against an energy firm.
What does Ofgem say?
“The level of fine reflects the seriousness and duration of breaches, the likely substantial harm that they have caused and the likely gain to SSE.”
“In particular, SSE consistently failed, over a prolonged period of time, to conduct its sales activities in a way that would provide clear and accurate information on prices and potential savings to enable customers to make an informed decision about whether to switch suppliers.”
“Today’s fine sends a clear message to suppliers that Ofgem will hold to account those companies which fail to treat consumers fairly.”
“It is time for the energy industry to take note and get behind Ofgem’s reforms to rebuild trust and make the market simpler, clearer and fairer for consumers.”
What did Ofgem find?
- A failure of SSE’s management arrangements
- Insufficient attention was paid to ensuring compliance with obligations
- Misleading statements by sales agents to potential customers about savings
- Unsubstantiated statements by sales agents to potential customers about savings
- Failings in the opening lines on the customer’s doorstep
- Failings in-store or
- Failings over the phone
- Failings in the confirmation process which follows a sale
What do SSE say?
On its website, SSE said:
“We’ve been busy making lots of practical changes to make it simpler, fairer and easier for you to deal with us. We’re building a better way to do business, and we believe the changes we are making will improve the energy industry for good.”
Have customer’s lost money?
They could have.
Customers may have been encouraged to change Energy Suppliers due to savings which never existed. If that’s the case customers could have been paying over the odds for their energy due to potential misrepresentations by SSE.
Do You Want To Know More?
If you want to find out more about financial mis-selling, simply click here.