Energy suppliers may be made to run evening helplines in Ofgem shake-up | Energy industry

Energy suppliers could be forced to keep customer service lines open on evenings and weekends this winter under rules proposed by the regulator for Great Britain to help struggling customers.

Ofgem has set out a string of proposals to stop energy suppliers “shortchanging” households and businesses and reverse the steady decline in customer satisfaction.

It has called for suppliers to keep their helplines open for longer and offer more support to under pressure households, including temporary repayment holidays on energy bills.

Under the plans, energy suppliers will also be required to identify vulnerable customers who need immediate assistance, and offer 24/7 support to customers whose electricity or gas is cut off because of a supplier fault.

The proposals were set out alongside measures, first reported in the Guardian, that aim to protect small businesses from being exploited by rogue energy brokers who pile secret commissions on to energy contracts.

Ofgem set out its plans after the Guardian revealed that a coalition of business groups representing almost 1m small companies had come together for the first time to demand the regulator take urgent action against “rip-off” broker fees.

Energy suppliers will be forced to disclose how much commission they pay to the energy brokers who market their deals, and improve how they deal with complaints from small businesses.

Neil Lawrence, a director at Ofgem, said: “Suppliers are shortchanging too many of their customers, who deserve better. Customers need more support when they are struggling and should be able to contact their supplier without frustration or undue delay when they need help.”

Small business groups, and litigators representing small businesses, warned that the proposals would come too late to help many of the companies that have struggled with inflated energy bills and poor service.

Emma McClarkin, the chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “The failure to act sooner has cost businesses across the country millions of pounds and undue stress for months on end. Poor supplier behaviour has also led to the hospitality unfairly being seen as a risky sector.

“Now, what we need is these recommendations to urgently become policy and take effect, giving reassurance that the same behaviour won’t be allowed to happen again, and that the businesses and livelihoods of people across the country won’t be at the mercy of huge energy supplier costs again.”

Damon Parker, a senior partner at the law firm Harcus Parker, which has opened a £2bn class action to reclaim hidden commissions, added that the plan to force suppliers to disclose the secret broker commissions was “long overdue”.

He said: “In most regulated sectors it is standard practice that third-party payments must be clearly disclosed. Ofgem has known about this problem for a decade and should have acted sooner but nonetheless this is good news for business customers.”

The Federation of Small Businesses welcomed Ofgem’s plans after calling on the regulator to allow companies to renegotiate contracts that were struck when market prices reached record highs last year.

Tina McKenzie, the policy chair of the FSB, said: “We’re glad to see the energy regulator has backed our call and again urge suppliers to step up, act with fairness and adapt.”