The UK’s biggest energy suppliers including British Gas and SSE are facing a £500 million legal claim due to mis-sold energy. Energy suppliers have been unfairly increasing businesses’ energy bills by paying secret commissions to brokers.
The scale of the issue is huge. 7 out of 10 businesses use brokers to negotiate energy contracts, unaware they’re not dealing directly with energy suppliers. This has meant that many businesses have been mis-sold energy. In some instances, the commission paid by the business amounted to as much as 50% of the entire energy contract.
According to legal experts, these commissions were similar to bribes and undermined the integrity of brokers, who had a duty to provide fair recommendations to businesses. Because of this, Ofgem has planned to conduct a call for evidence in the next few months to determine the extent of the mis-selling problem in the energy market.
A law firm has also launched a group claim against the big energy suppliers. They estimated that the average claim could be around £60,000 per company. Therefore, if you believe your business has been mis-sold energy it is best to start your claim as soon as possible.
How to know if your business has been mis-sold energy
- Review your energy contract to see if there are any hidden fees, such as commissions, that you were not aware of when you signed the agreement.
- Consider if the energy broker misrepresented their relationship with the energy supplier or provided you with false information.
- Check if the energy broker followed the proper procedures to ensure that they provided you with the best deal.
- Look for any discrepancies between the terms of your energy contract and the energy bills that you received.
- Consider if the energy broker misrepresented their relationship with the energy supplier or provided you with false information
How to claim
Companies such as Assured Claims are working with experts to help businesses claim back their mis-sold energy. Businesses that contracted gas and electricity through brokers since 2012 up to 2021 maybe eligible to join the claim with the help of Assured Claims.
