Has Your Energy Contract Been Mis-sold?

Mike Smyth lifts the lid on the latest mis-selling scandal

We are all used to hearing about the PPI scandal.  Since 2013 there have been millions of successful claims made and around £40 billion repaid to the victims of mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance deals.

Similarly, pension mis-selling first hit the headlines before the millennium, since when thousands of people have been compensated after being persuaded to take out private pensions which were in fact inferior to their available company schemes.

It is more than likely that the next big mis-selling story to enter our collective consciousness will involve energy mis-selling: where a broker persuades the customer to take out a utility contract which in fact benefits the broker instead of the end-user, such as you and me.

Two key questions

To discover if you may have been affected by energy contract mis-selling, ask yourself two questions:

1. Was your energy contract arranged by an independent broker, rather than directly through the energy supplier?
2. Have your high energy bills been unexpectedly high following a switch in your energy contract?

If you answered yes to both questions then your energy contract may have been mis-sold. In which case, you may be entitled to recover part of your energy costs from the broker that arranged your deal.

How rogue brokers work

An energy broker should act as an honest, independent agent, striving to secure the right deal for your business. But in my experience, some use a range of aggressive selling techniques to win new business. These techniques include providing deliberately misleading or false information concerning letters of authority, energy meters, changes of occupation, hidden commissions and other charges.

Rather than achieving the desired outcomes, these promises of reduced energy bills often result in business customers paying significantly more; in some cases even doubling their energy costs. In the meantime, the brokers can be raking in massive profits – at the expense of the very customers they are supposedly working for.

Time to fight back

If this has happened to you, we are here to help. At ORJ Law we work with a range of specialists, experienced in the complex systems of operation common throughout the energy sector. Employing our combined expertise, we seek to recover excessive energy charges on behalf of our clients. What’s more, we operate on a no-win, no-fee basis, ensuring that, whatever the outcome, you will not end up out of pocket by fighting for what is rightfully yours.

Mike Smyth is a solicitor with ORJ Law. He specialises in litigation, construction and insolvency matters. To speak to Mike or one of his colleagues call ORJ on 01785 223440.