ECCC object to CMAs recommendation to allow comparison sites to only show deals that earn them commission
Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2016 5:22 pm
Following the recommendation of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Energy Market Investigation report, published on 24 June 2016, to allow price comparison websites to only show energy deals that earn them commission from suppliers, the Energy and Climate Change Committee (ECCC) have now written to the new Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy to raise concerns over this measure.
The ECCC's letter, dated 19 July, states that "we are particularly alarmed about the remedy of rolling back Ofgem's Confidence Code requirements for energy Price Comparison Websites to show the whole of the market." and that "Consumers must be able to trust these websites to help them switch to the best energy deals available on the market. Ofgem referred the energy market to the CMA for an investigation in order to 'clear the air' after public trust in the energy market had collapsed in 2013-14. That trust is gradually returning, as Ofgem's latest survey of public attitudes to the energy market shows. This remedy risks turning that tide and eroding trust afresh."
As well as undermining trust the ECCC also point out that the remedy could have a "detrimental effect on competition" and that "it is harder for smaller suppliers to afford to pay the same rates of commission as the big six suppliers".
To read the ECCC's full letter, visit:
http://www.parliament.uk/documents/comm ... IS-SOS.pdf
In a hearing earlier this month, Roger Witcomb, chair of the CMA's energy market investigation panel, sought to justify the new rules, saying that the job of price comparison sites was to provide better deals for customers, not to provide a snapshot of the whole market. Roger Witcomb also aurgued that Citizens Advice already runs a website which compares all the energy deals available and "We only need one of those".
To read more, visit:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36848411
and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36712099
The ECCC's letter, dated 19 July, states that "we are particularly alarmed about the remedy of rolling back Ofgem's Confidence Code requirements for energy Price Comparison Websites to show the whole of the market." and that "Consumers must be able to trust these websites to help them switch to the best energy deals available on the market. Ofgem referred the energy market to the CMA for an investigation in order to 'clear the air' after public trust in the energy market had collapsed in 2013-14. That trust is gradually returning, as Ofgem's latest survey of public attitudes to the energy market shows. This remedy risks turning that tide and eroding trust afresh."
As well as undermining trust the ECCC also point out that the remedy could have a "detrimental effect on competition" and that "it is harder for smaller suppliers to afford to pay the same rates of commission as the big six suppliers".
To read the ECCC's full letter, visit:
http://www.parliament.uk/documents/comm ... IS-SOS.pdf
In a hearing earlier this month, Roger Witcomb, chair of the CMA's energy market investigation panel, sought to justify the new rules, saying that the job of price comparison sites was to provide better deals for customers, not to provide a snapshot of the whole market. Roger Witcomb also aurgued that Citizens Advice already runs a website which compares all the energy deals available and "We only need one of those".
To read more, visit:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36848411
and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36712099