MSE News: Energy giants face mis-selling investigation

Former_MSE_Guy

This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:

"Regulator Ofgem is probing the practices of EDF Energy, Npower, Scottish and Southern Energy and Scottish Power ..."

Read the full story:
Energy giants face mis-selling investigation

Cardew

Employ people on a commission based salary structure, and where targets have to be met to retain employment, and it is inevitable that mis-seling will occur.

Even if these salesmen obey the letter of the law and leave written quotations, they will still be able to fool their victims. Look how many people on MSE - who you might think have an interest in costs to visit the site - are lured by the prospect of a low initial DD payment.

Doorstep selling belongs to a bygone age and should be banned.

davidgmmafan

Of course they are mis-selling, I predict any kind of telephone line setup to record examples of mis-selling will be overrun very quickly. You could have a salesperson (not that most will give that title) from each company and they will ALL tell you they are cheaper than the rest.

The sad fact is the best deals are online and the people least likely to have those deals are (in general) the elderly and vulnerable. Bravo well done! I don't know how these people sleep at night.

pompeyfaith

I was not surprised to read this news on Sky News this morning. My son has just left collage and keen to start earning took up a place Tuesday just gone for 8 days training with a marketing company that supplies salespersons to the energy suppliers.

He lasted just the one day and did not go back because he said " Dad I have morals and could never live with myself knowing the B*** S*** I have been told to say.

This was an 8 day training course ( if you call it that) from 9 am to 7 pm for which you are paid just £75.

He was told to ignore NO COLD CALLER SIGNS because they have no merit in law

He was also told if he knocked on a door and a disabled and/or vulnerable person answered who was not interested to ask when the carer will be here so he could call back.

My son said he also took a lot of abuse from the trainer.

So it is very clear from what I have been told its not just the energy companies that need investigating but also the marketing companies they use to train there staff

It would appear they are using these companies to around the regulation.

I have not stated which marketing company I am talking about here, but if any of the moderators want to know which company this is they know how to contact me.

PF

Gerrard_8_lfc

Cardew wrote: »

Employ people on a commission based salary structure, and where targets have to be met to retain employment, and it is inevitable that mis-seling will occur.

Totally Correct.

As working for retention for BG. What gets up my nose is these people that are coming in 5 - 8 at night on a part time basis don't have a clue what a Kwh actually is ( I doubt some full time outbound staff do either.) How can it be professional if there is limited training.

or how can it be benefical if call centre agents aren't allowed to offer the "cheapest" energy. None of the big 6 will allow agents to offer e.g. Websaver, Save Online , or SOL.

It is a classic dream of ... " If I Was the Managing Director"

But spot on again by Cardew.

davidgmmafan

Retentions and sales people are not training in billing which, as you suggest, is a complete joke. I've seen accounts where customers where put onto a more expensive tariff (SOL14 could be more expensive for large users of gas) because of this inept system.

If I had a penny for everytime I heard, well the sales men looked at the bills and worked it out I'd be a rich man. I've managed to resist the urge, so far, to say he may as well have been looking at something in chinese.

slammingvictim

[FONT=Comic Sans MS, sans-serif]Npower Agent scam signs pensioner to a 36 month commercial contract on premises with 3 month TAW[/FONT]
Manchester licensee re opens city center pub on a temporary 3 monthTAW, in doing so he passes the necessary information to his broker for the Utilities contracts, meanwhile an unrelated agent from commercial power telephones for information asking other staff and family members, the agent is given the details of the broker as they are the only ones given authority, The commercial power agent then telephones another licensed premises unconnected to the Crown and speaks to the daughter in law informing her that he has spoken to both her father inlaw and his broker who informed him that they have given him permission to talk to her and she has authority to which is a false decleration, the broker was never contacted and neither was he given permission to contact her, the conversation lasts over 45 minutes resulting in a phone slamming operation to get a non blood related family member to agree in principle to a contract that she was informed had previously been agreed to by the business owner.
When this came to light the owner was mortified that he had been signed up to a 36 month contract without his knowledge or permission, the commercial power agent lied and conned the daughter in law and to back up his version an edited version of the telephone call has been accepted by npower who have now sent a letter from Mr Nigel Whittington of the customer relations department that the contract is legally binding and has been accepted in good faith on the evidence of an edited telephone recording.

• [FONT=Comic Sans MS, sans-serif]How can a non blood relative have the autthority to sign up someone else to a contract which they had already refused to deal with[/FONT]
• No permission or authority was ever given by the business owner for anyone other than his broker to act on his behalf
• The broker was never contacted
• The daughter in law was contacted at another business several miles away and has no connection to the npower business contract
• The daughter in law was blatantly lied to in order to gain her confidence and attention
• The daughter in law mentions on the edited version she is unsure that an agreement to go with npower was in place and if so why
• The business is only a temporary set up on a 3 month TAW and the broker already had another supplier in place when it was kidnapped by npower
• A criminal investigation is an absolute must in this case of blatant telephone slamming
• A full investigation is required and the original telephone conversations between the commercial power agent, the business owner, the energy supply broker and the daughter in law should be subpoenaed and used as evidence in any subsequent criminal investigation
• The practice of energy supply telephone slamming requires full investigation and the laws allowing anyone to sign a contract in other individuals names should be thoroughly investigated
• A non blood relative should not be asked to provide personal details of age address and bank details of other individuals

slammingvictim

can anyone assist in bringing criminal charges against npower for using an edited version of a telephone slamming call to sign up a new customer without their knowledge ?

bilibala

I was approached by a npower rep in a shopping center a few days ago, they were trying to get me to sign up on to their tariff and saying I will get £200 back at the end of the year. Sounds very tempting but I like doing the research before signing anything.

jmcdyre

I was in the process of switching from EDF, when they ended my current tariff, to Eon, when I had a visit from a Scottish Power Rep.
The price per Kwh she pointed out to me as being far cheaper than my Eon tariff was excluding VAT, while Eon's prices were including VAT. Ok, not a massive amount involved there but she also failed to point out the daily standing charge. Stupidly I signed up, but soon realised the BS I had been told and managed to get them to cancel it within a day. Don't why I even let her in, I never deal with companies that cold call. I even let the silly mare keep my pen.

maka_2

i work for BG and miss selling is an everyday thing yet they are not being investigated?? bit odd