Energy firm guilty over sales tactics

One of the UK's big six energy companies has been found guilty of using misleading sales tactics when doorstep sales representatives convinced potential customers to change suppliers.

Scottish and Southern Energy reps used a script and a print-out to make customers believe they were paying too much with their current supplier.

Steve Playle, of Surrey County Council trading standards, which led the investigation, said: "When we first became aware of the sales script being used by Scottish and Southern Energy, we were convinced that it overstepped the mark and was misleading to potential customers.

"A doorstep seller had a printout which he claimed showed consumers were paying too much with their current energy supplier, but the print-out did not show this.

"The seller didn't actually have a clue, but the sales script was cleverly designed to put potential customers on the back foot and to open the door to a sale.

"Energy supply by the big six firms is obviously highly competitive, but it is a complex market with hundreds of different tariffs that make meaningful price comparisons quite difficult."

Scottish and Southern Energy was convicted at Guildford Crown Court of two counts of taking part in misleading selling practices relating to the sales script, between September 2008 and July 2009. The company was found not guilty on five other similar matters.

The firm will be sentenced on 27 May.