Businesses could be owed thousands of pounds for mis-sold energy deals
Thousands of businesses could be owed compensation because of the way in which they were sold energy contracts.
Most businesses in the UK are required to have a business energy supply, as opposed to a typical domestic one, and most firms will secure these deals through an energy broker.
The role of the energy consultant is to negotiate with business energy suppliers on the firm’s behalf, potentially securing a better contract than if they had gone to the provider directly.
However, unlike energy suppliers, brokers in the commercial energy sector are not regulated and investigations have shown businesses have been mis-sold in recent years because of hidden commission deals.
This includes energy brokers hiding commission structures from customers - a structure that could have prevented them from recommending certain suppliers and others failing to carry out
full-market comparisons.
Law firm Peter Maughan Law says firms who used an energy broker to secure an energy deal between 1989 and 2023 could be owed tens of thousands of pounds as a result.
In some cases, even though the broker’s service might have been “free”, the broker will have received a commission from the energy supplier which it recommended to the business.
Business owners making a claim for mis-sold business energy can seek compensation in these situations.
If you feel that this may be the case, Peter Maughan Law has an expert legal team to claim damages on your behalf on a no-win, no-fee basis.
You can get started on your claim here.
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Business energy claims – what went wrong?
In 2020, energy regulator Ofgem, launched an investigation into business energy contracts.
It concluded that micro businesses – firms with fewer than 10 employees - were particularly at risk of being mis-sold business energy contracts. But it’s not just small businesses that are
affected.
Ofgem pointed to a number of scenarios where brokers and other third-party intermediaries were only offering their client one business energy deal, despite stating they would conduct a
full-market comparison and hiding commission fees of up to 50%.
You can get started on your claim here.
Have I been mis-sold business energy?
It can be hard to know whether or not you have mis-sold business energy because of the lack of transparency from the energy broker in the first place.
However, an initial red flag is if your energy broker or consultant failed to give you a full written disclosure of how much they earned from your contract when you signed it.
This would be any commission or fees they received from the supplier for recommending you as a customer, whether that is a one-off charge or an ongoing cost.
If your energy broker wasn’t upfront about these charges, there is a chance they have hidden these fees in your business energy contract.
You may qualify for compensation if you used an energy broker to source energy for your business between 1989 and 2023. If you did not use a broker, there is unlikely to be a claim.
A business energy claim doesn’t just have to be for an old contract. You also can bring a claim against your current business energy deal.
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Legal experts at Peter Maughan Law estimate that the average claim in cases where the broker received an undisclosed commission is £47,000. You can get started on your claim here.
It's important to be aware that if your claim is successful, legal fees will be deducted from your compensation. Meanwhile, you would not pay any legal fees if you're unsuccessful.