Richard Simpson, an ice cream maker from Buckie, Scotland, had a bitter experience with the energy market that almost froze his business plans. On his first day in charge of his new ice cream business, he received a phone call from an energy broker who claimed to have a fantastic deal for him. However, when the paperwork arrived, the terms were far from what he expected, with the deal being 70% more expensive than the current price. The broker insisted he had already agreed to the contract on the phone, leaving Richard locked into a deal that threatened his business. After months of anxiety, he contacted the Energy Ombudsman, who ruled the contract unfair and allowed him to switch to another provider. This experience left Richard frustrated that small businesses lack the protections available to domestic customers. Research by Consumer Scotland suggests cases like this are not unusual, with one in five Scottish firms facing problems with their energy contracts. The UK government is promising a clampdown on unregulated brokers, with plans to regulate all energy brokers in the UK by Ofgem. However, some argue that more needs to be done to protect small businesses, as they are often treated differently from individual consumers.
