Rules of conduct needed to deal with "aggressive brokers"

A consumer group has renewed calls for a mandatory code of conduct to deal with the issue of rogue energy brokers. Hannah Mummery, Principal Policy Advocate for Small Business at […]

A consumer group has renewed calls for a mandatory code of conduct to deal with the issue of rogue energy brokers.

Hannah Mummery, Principal Policy Advocate for Small Business at Consumer Futures said they had a role to play: “Brokers are essential to help small suppliers in the non-domestic sector and small businesses engage.”

Speaking at the Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum yesterday, she added: “Too many people are mis-sold and subject to really poor and aggressive behaviour by brokers. It’s essential there’s a mandatory code of conduct to actually improve confidence and engagement with the market.”

Mrs Mummery also reiterated the consumer group’s demand for a ban on auto-rollover contracts but with a caveat: “With proper guidance from Ofgem about what happens in the out of contract period because… we don’t think that out of contract rates really reflect the risk of supplying the very smallest businesses.”

Continuing to list protections needed by small businesses, she said suppliers should give out more information about prices: “We’re pretty convinced that small business prices are not bespoke – that there are tariff sheets out there and we could get that information.”

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