Energy firm misled potential clients

12/05/2011

A major energy company misled potential customers, using doorstep salesmen, in a case believed to be the first of its kind to carry a conviction.

Scottish and Southern Energy, one of the UK's six energy giants, used the salesmen to mislead by using a sales script and a print-out to convince customers to switch suppliers.

At Guildford Crown Court, the company was convicted of two counts of taking part in misleading selling practices in relation to the script between September 2008 and July 2009, but was cleared on five similar matters. SSE will be sentenced on May 27.

A consumer group said the conviction, thought to be the first of its kind, should serve as a "wake-up call" to the industry.

Surrey County Council Trading Standards investigating officer Steve Playle said: "A doorstep seller had a print-out 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."