By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . British Gas is to pay £1million in compensation after being caught exaggerating savings customers could make if they switched. Energy watchdog Ofgem found that for two years staff mis-sold deals in Sainsbury’s stores and at Westfield shopping centre, Shepherds Bush. In some cases customers were told that they would save money by switching, but ended up paying more than if they had stayed with their existing supplier. British Gas insisted it had acted to tackle the problems as soon as they came to light . Ofgem’s Sarah Harrison said: ‘Ofgem expects all suppliers to put this poor behaviour behind them and really start acting in a way that will help consumers trust energy suppliers. Where they don’t, Ofgem will act.’ Sales staff did not compare tariffs on a like-for-like basis, . Instead they compared monthly direct debit with quarterly payment methods to produce inaccurate savings estimates. And in some cases, customers were told that they would save money by switching, but they paid more with Sainsbury’s Energy or British Gas than they would have paid if they had remained with their current supplier. Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: ‘One of the reasons consumer trust in the energy industry is so low has been because of the repeated mis-selling scandals. This kind of poor practice is completely unacceptable. ‘We want to see all energy companies raising their game now, rather than waiting for the outcome of the competition inquiry. At the very least that means big improvements to basic practices and customer service.’ The firm was also criticised for failing to make clear it was the supplier of Sainsbury's Energy . British Gas said it discovered the mistakes through its own internal checks and added that it informed Ofgem of what had happened before taking steps to compensate customers. Ian Peters, managing director of British Gas Residential, said: “We are very sorry and have ensured no customer will be out of pocket as a result. “We pride ourselves on our high standards and it is extremely disappointing when even a relatively small number of customers don’t receive the service they expect from us.” He said all customers due a compensation payment have already received it as a credit on their account. Since 2010, Ofgem has imposed £100 million in fines and redress on energy companies for various rule breaches, including around £40 million for misselling. In May, E.ON said it would pay £12 million to vulnerable customers due to poor sales practices, which lasted between June 2010 and December 2013. Energy tariff prices are in a constant merry-go-round with suppliers battling to pinch customers - you - from each other. Shrewd . consumers can take advantage of this by doing exactly that - moving . deals every six months to a year to ensure they are on THE cheapest . deal. Even moving every other year will save you significant amounts. Suppliers offer their cheapest rates via online tariffs so if you're ready to switch, it will certainly pay to do so. If . you are one of the millions of people who have NEVER switched (i.e. stuck with your original supplier), then you will DEFINITELY save a big . chunk of cash, possibly as much as £300 a year. Prices . are different all over the country and the cheapest supplier for you . will depend where you live. You only need to be interested in the tariff . that is going to be cheapest where you live, so do your own comparison . to find the best price. By Amy Andrew .
Energy firm admits mis-selling deals for two years from 2011-13 .
Customers affected in Sainsbury’s stores and at Westfield shopping centre .
Staff did not compare prices properly to exaggerate potential savings .
Also failed to make clear it was behind Sainsbury's Energy brand .
By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . British Gas is to pay £1million in compensation after being caught exaggerating savings customers could make if they switched. Energy watchdog Ofgem found that for two years staff mis-sold deals in Sainsbury’s stores and at Westfield shopping centre, Shepherds Bush. In some cases customers were told that they would save money by switching, but ended up paying more than if they had stayed with their existing supplier. British Gas insisted it had acted to tackle the problems as soon as they came to light . Ofgem’s Sarah Harrison said: ‘Ofgem expects all suppliers to put this poor behaviour behind them and really start acting in a way that will help consumers trust energy suppliers. Where they don’t, Ofgem will act.’ Sales staff did not compare tariffs on a like-for-like basis, . Instead they compared monthly direct debit with quarterly payment methods to produce inaccurate savings estimates. And in some cases, customers were told that they would save money by switching, but they paid more with Sainsbury’s Energy or British Gas than they would have paid if they had remained with their current supplier. Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: ‘One of the reasons consumer trust in the energy industry is so low has been because of the repeated mis-selling scandals. This kind of poor practice is completely unacceptable. ‘We want to see all energy companies raising their game now, rather than waiting for the outcome of the competition inquiry. At the very least that means big improvements to basic practices and customer service.’ The firm was also criticised for failing to make clear it was the supplier of Sainsbury's Energy . British Gas said it discovered the mistakes through its own internal checks and added that it informed Ofgem of what had happened before taking steps to compensate customers. Ian Peters, managing director of British Gas Residential, said: “We are very sorry and have ensured no customer will be out of pocket as a result. “We pride ourselves on our high standards and it is extremely disappointing when even a relatively small number of customers don’t receive the service they expect from us.” He said all customers due a compensation payment have already received it as a credit on their account. Since 2010, Ofgem has imposed £100 million in fines and redress on energy companies for various rule breaches, including around £40 million for misselling. In May, E.ON said it would pay £12 million to vulnerable customers due to poor sales practices, which lasted between June 2010 and December 2013. Energy tariff prices are in a constant merry-go-round with suppliers battling to pinch customers - you - from each other. Shrewd . consumers can take advantage of this by doing exactly that - moving . deals every six months to a year to ensure they are on THE cheapest . deal. Even moving every other year will save you significant amounts. Suppliers offer their cheapest rates via online tariffs so if you're ready to switch, it will certainly pay to do so. If . you are one of the millions of people who have NEVER switched (i.e. stuck with your original supplier), then you will DEFINITELY save a big . chunk of cash, possibly as much as £300 a year. Prices . are different all over the country and the cheapest supplier for you . will depend where you live. You only need to be interested in the tariff . that is going to be cheapest where you live, so do your own comparison . to find the best price. By Amy Andrew .
Ofgem found that for two years staff mis-sold deals in Sainsbury’s stores and at Westfield shopping centre, Shepherds Bush. In some cases will act.’ Sales staff did not compare tariffs on failing to make clear it was the supplier of