LONDON: A number of British companies offering energy efficiency measures such as insulation or double glazing may be breaching consumer law, the fair trade watchdog said, a verdict that may hurt a government drive to make housing more efficient.
The findings by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in a report yesterday come a few weeks ahead of the launch of a government scheme to encourage people to make their homes more energy efficient.
The so-called Green Deal, expected later this month, will allow them to pay for loft insulation, modern boilers, draught proofing and other materials in instalments that never exceed the amount of money they save on energy bills after installation. Many efficiency assessors, providers and installers have been chosen by the government to carry out the work.
But the OFT said it had found evidence that some businesses were giving potentially misleading information or pressuring customers at home to make sales.
“The OFT’s review found that the behaviour of some businesses in the energy efficiency sector — including instances of poor practice, some of which might breach consumer law — risk undermining consumer confidence and limiting expansion of the market,” the watchdog said.
It said it was continuing to investigate whether the law had been infringed in the energy efficiency sector.
Reuters
