Energy Supplier Scams, Doorstep Selling and Mis-Selling

Energy supplier scams work by borrowing the authority of a body a household already trusts: a supplier, the Energy Ombudsman, a rebate scheme or a broker. The Energy Ombudsman reported a recent increase in fraudulent emails targeting energy consumers that falsely claim to be from it, and has published warnings on its website and social media channels¹. The pattern is consistent: a name and logo used without permission, a complaint or review the recipient never raised, links to fake forms, and pressure to act quickly¹.

The genuine Ombudsman is an independent service, separate to Ofgem, for problems with an energy supplier, an energy broker, a network operator or a heat network supplier². It is free to consumers, funded by the suppliers signed up to its scheme, which pay a fee for each case reviewed regardless of the outcome³. It can require a supplier to put things right, but it does not issue fines and does not dictate how companies operate³.

For a household, the practical question is not only how to spot a fake approach but what happens when a real contract was sold badly. The rules on doorstep and phone selling, the right to unwind a mis-sold contract, and the Ombudsman's eight week escalation path together form the route from a bad sales call to a remedy.

Common energy supplier scams and how they present

The scams that reach households cluster around the points where money or account access changes hands. The Energy Ombudsman's own list of the most common dispute types shows where the pressure lands: gas and electricity bills, smart meters and Feed-in Tariffs, customer service, problems arising from switching supplier, the way an energy product or service has been sold including doorstep sales, and the supply of energy to a home². A scam will imitate one of these.

The Ombudsman's scam-email guidance sets out the tells. Fraudulent emails use the Energy Ombudsman or a broker name and logo without permission, reference a complaint or review the consumer has not raised, contain links to fake forms or websites, pressure the recipient to act quickly, come from a free email service such as Gmail, or use a misspelling of a company name¹. The forms often request sensitive personal information such as full name, address, date of birth, or bank details¹.

The Ombudsman's own rule is the cleanest test available: it states that it will never ask consumers to open a new energy account, nor will it request sensitive personal information via online forms or links¹. Anything that does either is not from the Ombudsman.

Doorstep selling and mis-selling: what it looks like

Doorstep selling of energy products has a documented history in the UK, and the official record is blunt about it. The Scottish Government's work on energy efficiency standards identified mis-selling and high-pressure doorstep sales tactics, particularly involving consumers in vulnerable circumstances, as among the most prominent consumer issues in relation to energy efficiency improvements⁷. That finding is about energy efficiency work rather than supply contracts, but the sales method is the same one that reaches households on the doorstep.

The Ombudsman treats the way a product was sold as a dispute category in its own right, listing "the way an energy product or service has been sold, including door step sales" among the most common types of energy dispute it sees². That matters because it confirms the Ombudsman will look at the sale, not only at the bill that followed.

Mis-selling in practice takes a few recognisable shapes. A claim about savings that the contract does not deliver. A switch made without the household's informed agreement. A tariff or product described in terms that do not match the terms actually applied. A broker presenting itself as acting for the consumer when it is paid by the supplier. The Ombudsman's remit covers energy brokers as well as suppliers, so a complaint about how a broker sold a contract falls within the scheme².

The market context is worth holding in view. Ofgem's retail market reporting counts 23 domestic energy suppliers and 72 business energy suppliers currently active⁶. A large, fragmented market with many small suppliers and a layer of brokers is a market in which an unfamiliar name on the doorstep is normal, which is exactly what a scam relies on.

The legal protections: unfair trading rules and cancellation rights

The statutory backdrop to mis-selling has changed recently, and the change matters for anyone relying on older guidance. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 were revoked on 6 April 2025 by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024⁸. The revocation is recorded against the 2008 Regulations, and the legislation page notes there are currently no known outstanding effects for section 15⁸. Consumer protection and competition law enforcement in the off-grid market continues as a regulatory function⁹.

What that means in practice is that the protections a household relies on when a sale was misleading or aggressive now sit in the newer consumer law framework rather than the 2008 Regulations. The substance of the protection, that a trader must not mislead or use aggressive practices, is not something a household needs to litigate itself; the practical route is a complaint to the supplier and then, if unresolved, to the Ombudsman.

Cancellation rights around a switch are a separate layer. The Ombudsman's eligibility checklist for a dispute requires that the complainant has already complained to the company, has sufficient evidence including the date the complaint was raised, and has checked that the named company is the correct one¹⁰. Those requirements are procedural rather than about the merits, but they decide whether a case can be opened at all.

Your rights of redress: unwinding the contract, discount or damages

Where a supplier misled a household or used an aggressive commercial practice, the redress available has three named forms: the right to unwind the contract, the right to a discount and the right to damages¹¹. Those are the outcomes a household can ask for, and they map onto what the Ombudsman can order in practice.

The Ombudsman frames the underlying right more simply: a consumer has a right to complain to their supplier and a right to a resolution, and if unhappy with the response, the right to ask the Energy Ombudsman to investigate³. Where a mistake has been made or a consumer has been treated unfairly, the Ombudsman can require the supplier to put things right³.

The outcomes a supplier can be directed to provide include financial compensation, an apology, agreeing to fix the problem, a refund, or providing an affordable payment plan¹². The Ombudsman's own list of what it can tell suppliers to do adds practical action such as crediting or cancelling an account or changing a tariff, and it may make recommendations to prevent the issue happening again⁵.

For households in payment difficulty, the supplier's own obligations run alongside the complaint. Ofgem's guidance states that suppliers should review current payments and debt repayments, and can agree a payment plan, payment break or reduction¹⁴. A mis-selling complaint and a payment difficulty are often the same case seen from two angles.

What to do first if you have been targeted or misled

The first step is fixed across every source: the supplier must be given the chance to resolve the issue before the Ombudsman is involved. The Ombudsman states that before contacting it, a consumer should notify the supplier and work with them to try and resolve the issue². Its rights guidance puts it as logging a dispute with the supplier³. Ofgem's bill guidance says that if there is a problem with an energy bill, the consumer should contact the energy supplier¹³.

The subjects that belong in that first complaint are broad. Suppliers are the contact point for late, incorrect or missing bills, back billing, being overcharged, a faulty meter, poor customer service, and refusing to refund credit from an account¹². A mis-selling complaint about how a contract was sold sits alongside these.

Heat network customers follow the same shape with a different first contact: they should contact their heat network supplier and ask them to fix the situation before raising a complaint with the Energy Ombudsman¹⁵. Where a heat network supplier cannot be found, the Ombudsman can be reached on 0330 440 1624, pressing option 3 for Heat Networks when prompted¹⁶.

The evidence to keep is specific. The Ombudsman lists the energy supplier's name, the name of the account holder, the account number and the date the complaint was first raised to the supplier as the details that help a case⁵. For email and post cases the same details apply⁵.

Escalating to the Energy Ombudsman: when you qualify

The gate to the Ombudsman is time. The supplier has eight weeks to investigate and resolve the problem¹⁷. Ofgem states the same deadline: the supplier must try to fix any problems reported within eight weeks and resolve the complaint¹². The Ombudsman's own eligibility rule is that the consumer has allowed the supplier eight weeks to resolve the dispute, or has received a deadlock letter allowing earlier escalation⁵.

A deadlock letter is the supplier's statement that the problem cannot be fixed or that it believes there is no more it can do¹². Receiving one shortens the wait but starts a clock of its own: the dispute must be escalated within 12 months of receiving the letter⁴. The Ombudsman's checklist confirms the two alternative conditions, a deadlock letter or eight weeks without resolution¹⁸.

Once the case is open, the process is defined. The Ombudsman will ask for information and evidence, review evidence from both the consumer and the energy company, inform the consumer of its decision, and give the energy company a set of actions to resolve the problem¹². Registration begins by searching for the name of the energy supplier on the Ombudsman's site¹⁰.

The service is free to consumers looking to resolve energy disputes³. It is approved by Ofgem, which ensures it has the requirements to operate its schemes while remaining fully independent and impartial¹⁹.

What the Energy Ombudsman can and cannot do

The Ombudsman's powers are corrective, not punitive. It can require the supplier to put things right where a mistake has been made or a consumer has been treated unfairly³. It can tell suppliers to take practical action such as crediting or cancelling an account or changing a tariff, to make an apology, or to offer a financial award, or a combination of these, and it may recommend changes to prevent the issue recurring⁵.

What it cannot do is equally clearly stated. It cannot punish companies, dictate how companies operate, or issue fines⁵. The Ombudsman describes fining and dictating company operation as the responsibility of the companies' trade body or regulator³. That distinction matters to a household expecting a penalty: the outcome is a remedy for the individual case, not a sanction on the company.

The remit has boundaries that decide whether a case can be heard at all. The Ombudsman handles disputes involving suppliers trading in Britain³. It can consider complaints about electric vehicle charging at a consumer's home but is unable to consider complaints about charging away from the home¹⁹. It cannot consider disputes from business consumers who do not meet the microbusiness definition²⁰. Where a broker is not signed up to the scheme, the dispute cannot be reviewed at all, as the Ombudsman's own case pages for individual brokers show²¹. The only recourse with brokers not adhering to scheme rules is to eject them from the scheme¹⁹.

Awards, outcomes and how long a dispute takes

The maximum financial award depends on who the dispute is against. For energy suppliers it is up to £10,000 for domestic energy disputes or up to £20,000 for small business disputes⁵. Energy broker cases are capped at up to £10,000⁵. Flexibility service provider cases are capped at up to £10,000 for domestic energy disputes or up to £20,000 for micro business consumers⁵. The level of maximum award may vary depending on the type of energy company and the Terms of Reference covering that scheme⁵.

The average award is far below the cap: around £50⁴. That figure is explained by how awards are calculated. The Ombudsman states that financial awards are based on the cost of putting things right, such as ensuring a consumer has been charged accurately, clearing unfair charges or fixing faults⁵. A case about a billing error therefore produces a modest sum, while a case involving a large unjustified charge can produce more.

On timing, the Ombudsman states that on average most disputes are resolved within six weeks of it receiving evidence from both parties⁵. That clock starts after the eight week supplier window and after evidence has been gathered from both sides, so the total elapsed time from first complaint is longer than six weeks.

The outcomes a supplier can be directed to provide are financial compensation, an apology, agreeing to fix the problem, a refund, or an affordable payment plan¹². For a household, the practical value is often in the non-financial outcomes: a corrected account, a cancelled erroneous charge, or a tariff put back where it belongs.

When the Ombudsman route does not apply

Several situations fall outside the scheme, and knowing them early saves a household time. The most consequential is supplier failure. The Energy Ombudsman will not consider disputes against a supplier that has ceased trading, because the supplier is not able to respond, and it is not able to progress any cases currently open on its systems²². Where a supplier has failed, the household's relationship moves to the new supplier appointed under the supplier of last resort process, and a complaint about that new supplier follows the normal eight week path before the Ombudsman can take it²².

Excluded dispute types are listed directly. The Ombudsman does not deal with disputes about commercial decisions made by companies about whether to provide a product or service, or about liquid petroleum gas². Business consumers who do not meet the microbusiness definition cannot have their dispute considered²⁰. Brokers outside the scheme cannot be reviewed²¹.

The small business boundary is defined by thresholds. A company qualifies if it has fewer than 50 employees or their full-time equivalent and an annual turnover of at most £6.5 million or a balance sheet total of £5.0 million, or if it has an annual electricity consumption of not more than 200,000 kWh or an annual gas consumption of not more than 500,000 kWh⁴. The Ombudsman also cites a microbusiness threshold of not more than 100,000 kWh of electricity or a corresponding gas figure³.

The remit has been widening. From 1 April 2025 the Ombudsman can help consumers and small businesses resolve heat network disputes¹⁶. From 8 January 2026 it can handle disputes for a number of flexibility service providers, and from that date only a number of flexibility service providers become members of the scheme¹⁶. Network operator disputes are covered where there is a loss of service or a problem with a connection or repair²³. Green Deal disputes are covered where the provider is unable or unwilling to help if something goes wrong with a plan¹⁶.

For a household thinking about energy independence, the Ombudsman is a backstop on conduct, not on supply. It cannot restore a failed supplier, cannot force a company to keep trading, and cannot order a tariff a household would prefer. What it can do is correct the record and the money when a sale or a bill went wrong, which is the limit of what consumer redress can deliver in a market a household does not control.