Compensation for mis-selling
Compensation may be payable in some cases of mis-selling; however, there is no statutory requirement within the current SLCs for suppliers to award compensation for mis-selling and Ofgem does not currently have the same statutory powers as other regulators (eg, the Financial Conduct Authority) to seek redress on your behalf. However, Ofgem does protect consumers by monitoring the energy market and acting where there is evidence that companies have breached their obligations to consumers. Large penalties have been issued and, where possible, redress has been achieved for consumers.
The Energy Act 2013 makes provision for consumer redress orders which may be used in the future to provide an alternative to lengthy and expensive litigation.1s144 and Sch 14 EA 2013 The government has agreed to consider the possibility of giving Ofgem stronger and more clearly defined powers of redress in mis-selling cases in the future. The safest way to switch without the risk of mis-selling is to use an Ofgem-accredited switching service (see here). See Chapter 14 for the remedies available if any of your rights have been breached. If you want to complain about a possible breach of a licence condition or a code of practice, complain first to the supplier, preferably in writing. There is a letter template on the Citizen’s Advice website to help you make a complaint.2 If you need to, you can then take it further with Citizens Advice consumer service or your local authority trading standards department.