Ofgem issues 12-day sales ban to Scottish Power

Energy regulator Ofgem has issued a 12-day sales ban to Scottish Power after the company failed to answer concerns about the way customers were being treated.

In November Ofgem gave the supplier a number of targets on dealing with a backlog of bills and customer complaints, but these were not all met. While it had reduced call waiting times and cut the number of overdue bills, it had failed to remove a backlog of rulings from the energy ombudsman. The company is now unable to engage in “proactive sales” for twelve days from today.

Ofgem enforcer Sarah Harrison said: "While Ofgem's targets have driven significant improvements in Scottish Power's performance, we remain very concerned about how customers are being treated."

The decision was welcomed by Citizen’s Advice Scotland. Spokeswoman Kate Morrison said: “We know from our own evidence that consumers have been suffering from poor customer service, late billing and failings to fix problems even after the Ombudsman has stepped in. This kind of service is clearly unacceptable and contributes to very low levels of trust in the energy industry.”

Scottish Power blamed the poor performance on its new £200m customer management system.

Neil Clitheroe, CEO ScottishPower Retail & Generation said: "We continue to correct problems, pay appropriate compensation and ensure no customer is left financially disadvantaged."