Britain’s watchdogs have agreed to a suite of measures aimed at protecting consumers from being ripped off by companies during the cost of living crisis, after a meeting with the chancellor.
Jeremy Hunt said the “action plan” agreed to support consumers would “ensure they are treated fairly” amid concerns over greedflation – companies using rampant inflation as a cover to hike prices and boost profit margins.
However, the measures are unlikely to deliver much financial support to Britons who have faced sharp jumps in their household bills at the same time as soaring mortgage costs due to higher interest rates.
The chancellor met the heads of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Ofcom, Ofgem and Ofwat in Downing Street. Each regulator committed to speeding up or deepening existing work in their field.
The CMA is to publish a planned study into the profit margins of supermarkets and fuel retailers on Monday, and will release a study into grocery pricing in the next few weeks. Retailers have been accused of using misleading price tags.
The competition watchdog will also update its inquiry into the rental and housebuilding sector in August.
Ofcom, the communications regulator, agreed to push broadband and mobile suppliers who do not offer discount deals to vulnerable customers, known as social tariffs, to offer them and also waive fees for customers who want to switch to such a tariff.
It will also publish a review into “in-contract prices to ensure consumers are sufficiently aware of what they are signing up to by the end of the year”.
The UK’s largest mobile and broadband companies were accused of fuelling “greedflation” this week after pushing through the biggest round of price hikes for more than 30 years.
Ofwat said it would crack down on water companies not going far enough to support customers to pay their bills and repay debts. The regulator, which is locked in discussions with government and Thames Water over the state of the company’s finances, will next month lay out what it expects companies to improve on if they their current approach to customer support is seen as insufficient.
Energy suppliers will be monitored to ensure they are passing on falling wholesale prices to consumers, Ofgem said.
The energy regulator also committed to publishing a review of the business energy market over the summer, and take action against suppliers who have overcharged business customers.
The FCA has vowed to examine how banks and building societies passed through interest rate changes. Last week, Hunt met with lenders, who agreed that struggling mortgage holders would be given a 12-month grace period before their repossession proceedings begin.
Hunt said: “I am pleased we’ve secured agreement with the regulators to act urgently in areas where consumers need most support to ensure they are treated fairly.”
The meeting was attended by Melanie Dawes of Ofcom, Ofgem’s Jonathan Brearley, David Black of Ofwat, Sarah Cardell from the CMA, and the FCA’s Nikhil Rathi.
