MA backs energy redress plan
Campaign groups and the Morning Advertiser have made an impassioned plea to the Government to force energy suppliers to treat small businesses better.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and Energywatch are calling for small businesses to be included in a proposal to make suppliers legally bound to take part in a redress scheme to resolve customer complaints.
The calls came this week in submissions to the consultation on the Consumers, Estate Agents & Redress Bill.
Smaller businesses tend to need more direct protection and intervention than larger business consumersEnergywatch
This proposes a range of ideas, including the creation of a more powerful consumer body - the National Consumer Council - to replace Energywatch.
It also suggests including businesses that employ fewer than 10 staff, and with an annual turnover of no more than E2m, in the redress scheme.
The MA believes the redress scheme should apply to small businesses such as pubs as well as domestic users, and has contributed comments from licensees and energy consultant Mike Higham in the FSB's submission.
In recent months dozens of hosts have complained about getting a raw deal from energy companies.
Licensees also say they have been mis-sold contracts by rogue agents and that forcing suppliers to join a redress scheme would encourage them to flush out the dodgy salesmen.
The FSB's submission says: "Small businesses behave in a similar way to domestic energy users, in terms of lack of expertise and levels of energy consumption, but do not enjoy the regulatory safeguards of domestic users."
Energywatch's submission says: "Smaller businesses tend to need more direct protection and intervention than larger business consumers."
Energywatch says small businesses account for 95% of complaints to them from non-domestic users.
* The MA is hosting a meeting to discuss the problems of energy supply to pubs, particularly the problem of rogue energy agents, with experts from the pub trade and the energy sector next month.
