Dealing with energy suppliers Your rights

For nearly ten years, we've been able to shop around for gas and electricity. Competition means you can switch to a utility company offering better energy prices or better service. But things can still go wrong, from inaccurate bills to power cuts - and even being switched to another utility supplier without your consent.

Switching to a new energy company

In the rush to sign up new customers, some energy companies use high-pressure sales tactics to persuade people to switch utility suppliers. There have even been cases of more underhand tactics, such as sales staff forging customers' signatures on energy contracts.

But there are rules that energy salespeople must follow. If they don't, in some cases you could be entitled to compensation from your energy supplier.

Association of Energy Suppliers' code of practice

This covers how energy companies and salespeople must behave when selling gas and electricity 'face-to-face' (for example, in your home or in a shopping centre). The guidelines say, among other things, that energy salespeople:

• can call at your home only between 9am and 8pm (unless you ask for a visit outside these times)
• must say who they are and show you a valid identity card
• must do their best to make sure you understand any contract you've signed, and your right to cancel
• must not exploit consumers, give them false information or use high-pressure sales tactics
• must leave your home if you ask them to.

Also, if an energy salesperson has forged a signature on your contract, you are entitled to £250 compensation.

A full copy of the code is available from the Energy Retail Association website. All energy sales agents must be accredited by this code and can be dismissed or even ‘struck off’ as a member if they breach it. If you think that a sales agent has broken the code of practice, contact the energy supplier and tell them why.

Doorstep Selling Regulations

If you sign up to a new energy supplier when a salesperson calls at your home, the Cancellation of Contracts made in a Consumers Home or Place of Work regulations 2008 (commonly known as the Doorstep Selling Regulations) apply. 

These regulations give you a seven-day cooling-off period during which you can cancel your contract - this applies whether the visit was unsolicited or pre-arranged.

The Which? guide to doorstep selling can help you find out more about your rights in these circumstances.

The energy salesperson must tell you about the cooling-off period. It's a criminal offence to breach these regulations, and doing so can result in a fine of up to £2,500.

If a doorstep energy salesperson won't allow you to cancel within the seven days, or you think they've broken the regulations in another way, contact your local trading standards department.

If you're switched to a new energy supplier by mistake

If you have been switched by mistake, the Erroneous Transfer Customer Charter sets out what the suppliers should do to put things right. It says:

• you can contact either the original or the new energy supplier - they share equal responsibility for resolving the problem
• the energy supplier you contact should explain clearly what action they're going to take and keep you updated with progress
• you should receive written confirmation of the details provided above within five working days of first contacting the energy supplier
• within 20 working days you should receive confirmation that you are being returned to your original supplier
• you shouldn't have to pay any bills from the ‘new’ energy supplier – you'll just get a bill at the end from your original energy supplier.

If you think that an energy supplier has breached this code, contact your energy supplier in the first instance and follow its complaints process. If the problem is not resolved satisfactorily, contact Consumer Direct for further advice on how to proceed. You can also have your problem referred to the Ombudsman Services - Energy if the case isn't resolved after eight weeks or you reach a 'deadlock' situation (see our  How to complain section). Vulnerable consumers can also enlist the help of energy industry watchdog Consumer Focus. There is a time limit of referral to the Ombudsman Services of 9 months from the date the complaint was first raised.

Inaccurate energy bills and meter readings

Most complaints about energy companies are about inaccurate, late or unclear bills. In 2005, new standards for bills were introduced to make things easier for consumers after watchdog Energywatch (now part of Consumer Focus) complained to Ofgem, the energy companies’ regulator.

Code of Practice for Accurate Bills

The Code of Practice for Accurate Bills says, among other things, that:

• your energy supplier should try to read your meter at least every two years. If it can't access your meter, the energy company will ask you to take a reading
• if you do not receive a bill for more than a year and it is the energy supplier’s fault, you do not have to pay any outstanding debt for energy you used more than a year ago. 

If you have a dispute about a bill you can complain to your energy supplier or the Ombudsman Services - Energy, an independent body set up to resolve disputes about energy bills. The service is free to consumers and the Ombudsman can award compensation to people who have received particularly poor service from an energy supplier.

Dealing with poor service from energy companies

When you sign up with an energy supplier, you will have to sign a contract. This will include the standards of service your energy supplier promises, for example, how often it will read your gas and electricity meters and how it will respond to queries and complaints. Where service standards are part of your contract, the energy supplier is legally bound to stick to them.

All gas and electricity companies must also follow Guaranteed Standards of Performance set by Ofgem. These say energy suppliers must pay fixed compensation for things such as power cuts, missed appointments and not responding to queries.