ScottishPower agrees compensation after probe
Energy giant ScottishPower will pay £8.5.m to customers after an investigation found that it provided misleading information through doorstep and telesales agents.
Energy Regulator Ofgem has said that between October 2009 and January 2012 ScottishPower gave customers inaccurate estimations of annual charges and comparisons with their current supplier, as well as failing to adequately monitor sales staff.
ScottishPower has set up a £1m compensation fund for those affected, and the remaining £7.5m will be paid 140,000 vulnerable customers.
Customers will automatically receive payments of around £50 each by December, and ScottishPower will write to 336,000 households that may have been affected.
Ofgem said that it found no evidence that ScottishPower deliberately set out to mis-sell, and the company has apologised “unreservedly”.
The group ended doorstep selling in June 2011 and says it has overhauled training and monitoring procedures for all of its telesales staff.
Company apology
Neil Clitheroe, ScottishPower’s chief executive of energy retail and generation, said: “We accept Ofgem’s findings and we apologise unreservedly to those customers affected.
“This arose as a result of new regulations which were introduced in 2009. I am sorry to say that we didn’t implement these properly at that time.”
The probe was part of a broader inquiry into mis-selling across the energy industry, in which three investigations have already concluded.
SSE was fined £10.5m for “prolonged and extensive” sales practice failures, and Ofgem is conducting two mis-selling investigations into npower and E.ON.
We are writing to customers affected to apologise and explain what happened, making sure no one is left out of pocket.
— ScottishPower (@ScottishPower) October 22, 2013