Comparison sites ‘should pay conned customers’

PRICE-COMPARISON websites should compensate customers who lose out after being kept in the dark about cheaper energy deals, MPs say. The Commons energy and climate change committee said MoneySuperMarket, uSwitch, Comparethemarket, Confused. com and GoCompare set up their websites so people looking for cheaper gas and electricity were directed to suppliers that pay them millions in commission instead of all available deals, some of which may be cheaper.

Chairman Tim Yeo said: ‘Some price-comparison sites have been behaving more like back-street market traders than the trustworthy consumer champions they make themselves out to be.’

The firms get £50 to £70 commission for a dual-fuel switch, but consumers may pay hundreds of pounds more than necessary. In a report today, the MPs said the firms should pay compensation to customers who missed out on the cheapest energy deal as a result.

But Comparethemarket said the report was sensationalist, while uSwitch said it already paid compensation if customers were misled and GoCompare claimed it had made improvements. MoneySuperMarket and Confused.com insisted they operated under voluntary guidelines set by the watchdog Ofgem.