Add your feedback on energy supplier Powershop

Hengus wrote: »

Ofgem's only response has been to re-state their policy re the appointment of a Supplier of Last Resort. I responded by telling them for the third time that PS Energy Ltd does not hold any Supply Licences. Ofgem really doesn't like dealing with consumers so I am not expecting to hear anymore from them.

Since I didn't get a response straight away from you I began to worry that you'd been given bad news so I sent this email to Ofgem yesterday:

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am a customer of Powershop (a subsidiary of NPower). Because of the way the account is operated, customers gain best
value/discount by buying power well in advance of the actual consumption date.

This means customers operating their account to achieve maximum savings will have substantial amounts of money in credit with Powershop.

Because they are a limited company and a subsidiary of Npower, can you confirm if customers' credit will still be protected under Ofgem's consumer protection guarantee or not?

I know you have already been asked this question by at least one other Powershop customer some time ago so can you provide me with a definitive answer quickly please?

Regards .....

Today - one day later, I received this reply:

Dear *****

Thank you for your email.

We can confirm that, for regulatory purposes, in a white label arrangement such as Powershop, the supply licence holder (npower) is fully responsible for all dealings with the customer including matters relating to credit balances. Therefore, if a white label supplier became insolvent, that would not affect the supply licence holders responsibility regarding customer credit balances.

We can also confirm that, in the event that a supply licence holder became insolvent, and no arrangements were in place to sell that company as a going concern or otherwise secure continuity of supply for customers supplied under that supply licence, Ofgem would have the ability to issue a Supplier of Last Resort Direction requiring another suitable licensed supplier to take over responsibility for those customers.

Further, we can also confirm that it is Ofgem’s policy position that, in selecting a supplier in these circumstances, we seek to ensure that that new supplier would honour existing credit balances.

The references to regulatory purposes here include:

(a) Ofgem’s ability to impose financial penalties and other enforcement measures against a licence holder. However, we recognise that the position of an individual consumer in relation to their credit balance may be different; and

(b) The ability of a customer to seek a determination from the energy ombudsman in respect of consumer matters including issues relating to credit balances.

I trust that this addresses your query.

Regards

*****

So, one day after my email they got back to me.

Hengus, does this give you reassurance or do you still have concerns given the Limited Company status of Powershop?