Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) have been found guilty of the most widespread case of mis-selling in the history of the UK utilities market.

The energy giant was found guilty of cultivating an internal culture of lying and misleading customers over the phone and on the doorstep.

Ofgem, the energy regulator has called it the most “prolonged and extensive” case of mis-selling it has ever seen, hence it has handed down the largest ever fine of its kind.

Ofgem, which is currently conducting its Retail Market Review of the business energy sector, highlighted the seriousness of the situation with this statement:

“In particular, SSE consistently failed, over a prolonged period of time, to conduct its sales activities in a way that would provide clear and accurate information on prices and potential savings to enable customers to make an informed decision about whether to switch suppliers”.

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The breaches found included:

• Being put on a more expensive tariff than before
• Direct debit payment being set too low
• Misleading statements during telesales call
• Failures in management arrangements

These and other breaches were found to last between 1 and 3 years.

Investigations into ScottishPower and Npower are still ongoing.

Read the Ofgem press release here.