Price comparison website only quoted prices from own company, OFT says

The consumer protection regulator said that it had received undertakings from two website operators, and had issued a letter of concerns to another, after finding "evidence of commercial practices which it believed constituted misleading statements or omissions about the operation of the websites".

One site appeared to be a price comparison site while only offering its own fuel for sale while another did not make it clear that it was owned by a company that also owns heating oil distribution companies. The companies have promised to be more transparent about how the websites work and who owns them.

The OFT had conducted an investigation into the websites as part of a wider study into off-grid energy supply which it is due to report on separately in October.

WCF Limited and Boiler Juice Limited signed undertakings under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (Regulations), the OFT said. The regulator said it had taken action to "prevent consumers being misled when searching online for heating oil supplies".

The Regulations prohibit unfair, misleading or aggressive selling practices. The OFT has the power to initiate legal proceedings against companies in breach of the Regulations.

"The OFT found that some websites offering to find consumers the best price for heating oil were not clear about whether they were price comparison sites or sites for ordering heating oil directly from a single supplier," the OFT said in a statement.

WCF operates the fuelfighter.co.uk website. The website purported to be a price comparison site for heating oil, but only quoted prices from WCF the OFT said.

"[WCF's] website claimed that it was an independent price comparison site and provided a list of customer testimonials that supported this claim. The OFT was concerned that these claims could not be substantiated," the OFT said in a summary of its investigations.

"The company had set up the site with the intention of operating it as a price comparison site but had yet to introduce other suppliers, so the only business supplying quotations through the site was WCF Limited. The customer testimonials could not be substantiated. The company and its directors signed undertakings not to mislead consumers by claiming its website was an independent price comparison site when it was not, omitting information about the ownership of the website and the businesses providing quotations via the website," the summary said.

The OFT said that Boiler Juice had omitted details about the true ownership of its boilerjuice.co.uk website. Boiler Juice is ultimately owned by DCC plc, which owns some oil distribution companies that quoted prices on the website, the OFT said.

"The OFT was concerned that the website omitted information about the ultimate ownership of Boiler Juice Limited and its connection to some of the oil distributers providing quotations via the website was not clear," the OFT's summary said.

"The OFT was also concerned that the quotations omitted to tell consumers the number of businesses being compared when a quotation is provided," it said.

Boiler Juice has altered its website and signed undertakings that include commitments not to omit "material information" about the website's ownership and to be transparent about the connections between the companies that quote on the site.

The OFT also sent a letter to Johnston Oils Limited that expressed the OFT's "general concerns" about the way its website, cheapheatingoil.co.uk.

"Although it did not claim to be a price comparison site, from its style and from some statements it contained, the OFT was concerned that consumers could be misled into thinking that the website was comparing prices," the OFT said.

The website home page was changed to include the fact that Johnston Oils owned it, whilst the company also "enhanced the site to be clear that it is not a price comparison website," the OFT said.

"Our investigation has aimed to ensure that any relationships between businesses supplying heating oil and websites are transparent and that the number of prices that have been compared by the website is stated prominently," Clive Maxwell, executive director at the OFT said.

"It is important that people can genuinely shop around and make informed decisions about which suppliers to use. The changes that we have secured mean that people buying domestic heating oil will be better able to compare deals on offer," Maxwell said.