British Gas fined £2.5m by Ofgem

27 July 2011 Last updated at 02:04 ET

Ofgem said it was investigating other power companies for the way they handled complaints

British Gas has been fined £2.5m by the regulator Ofgem for the way in which it deals with customer complaints.

Ofgem ruled that the company had failed to re-open complaints when customers said they had not been resolved.

It added that British Gas had not provided customers with key details about help they could get from the energy ombudsman.

It also said the energy provider had failed to put in place proper complaint procedures for small business.

“Today’s finding highlights basic failures in British Gas’ customer service, particularly in dealing with some of its small business customers,” said Sarah Harrison at Ofgem.

“We warned the industry in March that we would be backing up our plans to reform the retail market with a tough approach to enforcement.”

Ofgem said it was also investigating Npower and EDF Energy for they way they handle customer complaints, and Scottish Power, Scottish and Southern Energy, EDF Energy and Npower for mis-selling.

It added it was looking into potentially misleading marketing at Scottish Power, and the difference between the company’s standard credit and direct debit tariffs.

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