Member Article

The Endemic Energy Trend Affecting Thousands of Businesses

Energy regulator Ofgem is set to crack down on unregulated brokers after years of mis-selling to businesses.

Although few will be aware they have been affected, it is estimated that 90% of businesses who have used a broker have been mis-sold energy deals, with the practice of concealing commissions commonplace.

Under new regulations, all energy brokers will be required to disclose how much commission they will earn from their services, with a 14-day cooling off period after signing any new deal.

An investigation by the regulator into poor practices in the sector found one particularly shocking example whereby 50% of a £24,000 value contract for energy was made up of broker fees, with the customer totally unaware of the hidden fee.

Anna Rossington, the regulator’s interim retail director, told the Guardian the new proposals would “crack down on poor practice.”

More than a million businesses are thought to have been ripped off by unscrupulous brokers, with around two-thirds of the annual £25bn cost of business gas and electricity deals bought through brokers highlighting the sheer scale of the problem.

Companies can employ the services of legal specialists to assess if they have been historically mis-sold and seek to claim compensation if they have. Winn Solicitors recently launched a specialist service to redress the balance in this area.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Winn Solicitors Ltd .