Energy company 'weaknesses' reviewed by Ofgem as 17 told to improve - full list
dailyrecord.co.ukOfgem has told several energy suppliers to improve how they deal with vulnerable customers after a major review.The watchdog reviewed 17 energy firms in total and identified “severe weaknesses” at five suppliers.
All 17 companies who submitted data to the regulator were told they had to improve their practices.Shortcomings include failing to provide free gas safety checks on eligible homes, identifying those on pre-payment meters who are vulnerable, and providing important information to vulnerable households.
The review had identified “severe weaknesses” at five suppliers: The report found “moderate weaknesses” at suppliers:It said that seven others had shown "minor weaknesses": The survey required firms to explain how the identify and maintain records of vulnerable customers, what issues they were facing and whether they add them to a priority register.Ofgem's director of Retail Neil Lawrence has said while some responsibility has been taken to protect these customers, more work needs to be done.He explained: “From eligible customers who are missing out on free gas safety checks through to companies not identifying vulnerable customers to be offered obvious support on the Priority Services Register, this robust review has highlighted that suppliers need to do more to support consumers.“We welcome the cooperation from suppliers and action taken so far, and, although we are seeing some very good practice in parts of the industry, we can see there is still much more to be done.”Lawrence added that “most suppliers” take their responsibility to protect vulnerable customers seriously and that they have launched many new initiatives.But despite some improvement, he said: “We’ve seen a number of failings across the board which
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