EDF agrees £4.5m payout following sales investigation
The energy giant has agreed to give money to vulnerable customers and an energy awareness programme after Ofgem ruled it had broken its sales guidelines.
Energy giant EDF has agreed to pay out £4.5 million following an investigation into its sales practices.
The investigation, by energy regulator Ofgem, found that EDF had not adhered to Ofgem’s regulation on the clarity and accuracy of sales information.
Ofgem said that EDF customers were not always provided with information by sales staff on contract terms, how direct debits were calculated and how estimates of their energy consumption were worked out.
It also found that EDF telesales staff had claimed that customers could save money without checking whether a customer was on a standard tariff.
However, Ofgem says EDF has “engaged in a constructive dialogue about shortcomings in the firm’s sales processes and has taken a proactive approach to addressing those shortcomings”.
It added that that “constructive dialogue” and the fact that EDF had accepted its shortcomings prevented the penalty from being higher.
Around £1 million of the £4.5 million will go to the Energy Best Deal programme run by Citizens Advice, which helps people to get a better deal on their energy supply. The other £3 million will be paid out to customers who are at risk of fuel poverty.
Ofgem is also continuing to investigate npower, Scottish Power and SSE, although it has stressed that none of these companies has been found to have broken the rules.
Want to see if you could save on your energy bills? Compare gas and electricity suppliers in our energy comparison centre
Most Recent
Comments
-
It shouldn't just be energy companies pulled up but fuel corporations, the leading supermarkets & other 'services.' They are not content to to make a healthy profit. They have to push the limits in order to squeeze out every penny they can get away with & then squeeze some more. It really is no wonder communism swept the world so aggressively when it did. People were absolutely fed up with it then as they are getting to be now. Now of course it's the former communist leaders heading some of these corps continuing their dirty practices. They are all the same regardless of the 'uniform.' It's a form of economic oppression that appears to be getting out of control. God deliver us from these greedy men.
REPORT This comment has been reported.
Do you want to comment on this article? You need to be signed in for this feature
13 March 2012