Come clean over fear tactics, MPs tell power giant exposed by MoS
THE energy company exposed by The Mail on Sunday for using fear tactics to stop customers switching to cheaper rivals must now disclose the full truth about its selling practices, MPs have demanded.
The Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee wrote to SSE and said it was ‘alarmed’ by undercover MoS audio and video recordings that show a sales instructor telling staff to ‘exaggerate the fear’ about changing suppliers.
The Government has repeatedly stressed the importance of making it easy for customers to find new providers. Perth-based SSE replied to the committee and said it had sacked Pareto Law, one of Britain’s biggest sales training firms, whose instructor was recorded telling staff to induce fear in customers wanting to leave the company.
The committee’s chairman, SNP MP Angus Brendan MacNeil, said that following the MoS report the committee was also contacting other energy suppliers to ask about their sales practices.
During a four-week investigation published earlier this month, a Mail on Sunday reporter joined the new SSE sales team and recorded Chris Simms, a senior consultant at Pareto Law, telling recruits: ‘You’ve got to create that desire and you’ve also got to maybe exaggerate a little bit of fear. Fear of what?’ The trainees replied: ‘The switch.’ Simms reiterated: ‘The switch.’ Mr MacNeil has now demanded answers following this newspaper’s revelations that staff were also told to encourage hard-up customers to install pre-payment meters – potentially cutting them off from cheaper prices.
He wrote to SSE: ‘The Energy and Climate Change Committee is alarmed by allegations of misleading sales and tactics at SSE.
‘A competitive electricity market facilitated by switching is a key tenet of Government policy to improve customer service and control bills. Large suppliers, like yours, are of course free to compete vigorously for customers, but for that competition to rely on misinformation would be anathema to the goal of engaging consumers in a healthy energy market.’
The committee sought answers to questions about the company’s sales practices, including how it ensures its sales targets do not encourage staff to mis-sell energy.
SSE’s group managing director Will Morris wrote back to the committee: ‘Some of the things published by The Mail on Sunday within SSE were clearly inappropriate and not at all reflective of our culture and values. In this instance it is clear that the third-party trainer departed from our agreed, compliant and customer-focused materials and this is unacceptable. I can confirm that we will therefore not be engaging Pareto Law.’
Pareto Law was brought in by SSE in June last year to lead its sales training after the company ceased selling activities in 2013 following a £10.5million fine for mis-selling.
Pareto Law CEO Jonathan Fitchew told the MoS: ‘I’ve apologised to SSE verbally. Some of the advice given during that training session was unacceptable, not in line with our agreed course content. There’s clearly lessons to be learnt from this incident. We’re undertaking a thorough review with all our trainers.’
Regulator Ofgem said it is investigating the video and audio tapes.