Could Ofgem’s new marketing database result in consumers being bombarded with mail shots? A view now being held by a growing number of companies upon the release of CMA’s (Competitions and Markets Authority) findings.
One such UK company Onedox, an energy and household bills comparison calculator, say’s it welcomes Ofgem’s plans to promptly address the failings of the energy market, as identified by the recent Competitions and Markets Authority energy market investigation.
That said, however, they do have serious reservations that the via the introduction of a marketing database and which if accessible by other suppliers. Will undoubtedly lead to consumers being bombarded with mail shots from suppliers, and in turn may well lead to even further confusion. Alternatively, Onedox sees the promotion of an energy price comparison services as a much better way of enabling customers to see the best deal available to them as and when they need to sort their energy bills.
David Sheridan, the founder of Onedox, commented, ‘Getting the best deal for consumers is at the heart of Onedox and to do so, consumers need to have a clear picture of the overall market so they know who to switch to and when. Comparison websites and the Onedox tariff monitoring service help them to do that, and we see this as far more attractive than distributing consumers’ energy data to competing suppliers, with the inevitable result that they will be bombarded with mail shots and offers. In reality, this may add to the confusion and we encourage Ofgem to consider carefully how this system will achieve the objective of making consumers more informed and engaged.’
In addition to Ofgem’s new marketing database
Furthermore to Ofgem, the gas and electricity markets regulator setting out plans to improve competition in the energy sector, via the creation of a database of customer details as a way to ensure consumers are in fact being offered the best energy deals. They are also ruling that as from April 2017 a price cap be placed on the amount paid by those households who are using a prepaid meter.