Changes Underway to Force Compensation for Energy Product Mis-selling

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Energy Product Mis-Selling to be the New PPI Explosion? [9th Apr 2012]

The government is to launch a consultation this week aimed at giving Ofgem new powers to allow them to force energy companies into giving compensation to any customers who are overcharged or mis-sold on energy products. Currently energy companies can be fined for making mistakes, but this money goes to the government rather than directly to the customer. The proposed new rules would mean that Ofgem will be able to ensure that in addition to fines, targeted compensation will be offered to any consumers affected by any mistakes. This may also be extended to include public apologies, goodwill payments and pound for pound compensation payments. Giving these powers to Ofgem will bring them in line with other regulatory bodies such as Ofcom which already has the right to ask for compensation payments. Sarah Harrison from Ofgem has commented that these new powers will be good news for the consumer. Other commentators have pointed out that energy company fines should not benefit the government but should be targeted at the consumer.

It has emerged that there has been a record £25 million in compensation paid out to teachers in the last year. Compensation payments for unfair dismissal and injuries increased by 20%, leaving councils, schools and their insurance companies with huge legal bills. Payments which have been made include £200,000 for a teacher who slipped on a grape and more than £20,000 for a teacher who tripped over playground equipment. A large number of payments were also made for teachers who were attacked by their pupils with 76 cases in 2011, however these cases generally pay much less than injury or unfair dismissal claims. The most money was paid out to teachers who were wrongly dismissed or discriminated against by their bosses. Many of these were settled out of court rather than via a tribunal. The largest payout made during 2011 was to a teacher who suffered serious brain trauma after a bus door was closed on her by a pupil who suffered with behavioural problems. She received £222,000.

The customers of a financial services company based in Yorkshire may be in line for a compensation payment after it was declared to be in default by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). It is thought that customers may be entitled to as much as £50,000 if they lost money due to their dealings with Periwood Financial Services based in Sheffield. The FSCS is asking for any customers of the company to come forward as the company will be unable to pay compensation itself. In the last ten years more than 2,500 financial services companies have collapsed and many customers would have lost their money if it wasn't for the FSCS which is able to pay compensation when the company in question cannot do so.

The paint company Dulux has paid out thousands in compensation to customers who bought their 'brilliant white' paint only to find that it faded to yellow within weeks. Dulux, who were investigated by the BBC program Watchdog have said that the problem stemmed from new EU regulations which forced them to alter their paint formulation. This reduced the solvent levels in the paint. However Dulux failed to warn customers of the problem on their paint tins causing many customers hours of wasted effort and money. This is in contrast to other manufacturers who did place warnings on their product. Some customers have been offered £500 in compensation by the company, but others have decided that this is not enough as professional repainting will be required. This could cost as much as £2,000. In one case this has lead to a small claims court case. Dulux have said that the problem has now been resolved as this was their priority rather than informing their customers.

Other popular articles related to this one include: Teacher Injury Compensation, Terrorist Attack Compensation, Wrongful Arrest Compensation, PPI Claims Management Companies, Whiplash Insurance Claim, Insurance Whiplash Claims, Holiday Compensation Claim, and . Please let us know if you find any errors.

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