British Gas must pay £5.6m for blocking firms from switching 

British Gas has been ordered to pay £5.6m in compensation and fines for blocking businesses from switching suppliers and failing to tell others their contracts were ending, Ofgem said.

The company, one of the Big Six suppliers, had already paid £1.3m to affected customers and will pay a further £3.45m into an energy efficiency fund, plus an £800,000 penalty, the energy regulator said.

The payments come after two investigations by Ofgem into British Gas Business. The first, launched in 2012, found that a computer error meant 5.6% of objections it made to customers switching suppliers between 2007 and 2012 were invalid.

The second found that around 1,200 mainly small business customers were not given notice that their tariff was about to expire.

Ofgem said British Gas had moved quickly to rectify the mistakes, something reflected in the amount it had been ordered to pay.

Sarah Harrison, Ofgem’s senior partner in charge of enforcement, said: “The ability for consumers to switch easily and fairly is key to a well-functioning energy market.

“In these cases British Gas Business failed these consumers who were wrongly blocked from switching, many of them small businesses, and denied others the chance to switch to a better deal at the end of their contract.

“British Gas Business fully accepts its failings, has stopped the practices and corrected its processes to prevent this happening again.

“The company has taken responsibility for its actions and this package strikes a balance of penalty for the company and redress for affected consumers.”

Source: theguardian

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