Andrew, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on ScottishPower’s Cashback Mis-selling, joined members of the APPG this morning for the official launch of their report into this scandal.
The Group was formed to investigate a mis-selling scandal on warranty goods involving ScottishPower. The Group have been taking evidence over the past few months on how 625,000 UK customers, around 1% of the population, lost out collectively on more than £75 million!
The APPG held an evidence session in early February and have raised the issue three times in Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs).
The group has made recommendations that the issue be re-examined by a Parliamentary Select Committee and suggested that the Serious Fraud Office and the National Crime Agency investigate the serious allegations made by those involved during the investigation as a matter of urgency. Members of the APPG are due to be meeting the Consumer Affairs Minister, Nick Boles MP, next week to discuss their findings.
Launching the report Andrew commented, “Over the past year this group has been compiling evidence from many sources, including liquidators, regulators, former customers and employees on how this came to pass; much of that evidence made detailed allegations of potential fraud, criminality and more.
“Thousands of residents in Brigg and Goole have been ripped off by this scheme and we have been shocked by the complete lack of uptake by regulators and authorities to date. A number of serious allegations have been made to us during the investigation and any allegations should obviously be properly investigated by the relevant authorities.
We hope that following this process, ScottishPower will now accept their responsibilities to the thousands of customers affected.”
Richard Arkless, member of the APPG and MP for Dumfries and Galloway, said, “Having considered all the available evidence, and as a former consumer litigator, I am utterly convinced that ScottishPower are liable for these cashback warranties. These were ScottishPower customers, in ScottishPower stores, buying ScottishPower goods from ScottishPower sales people. Even the documents make clear that this was a ScottishPower product called PowerPlan, I have also spoken to many customers who confirm this is what they were told when this cashback was sold to them.
“It is simply not good enough for ScottishPower to try and avoid paying out when the contractual liability clearly rests with them.
“We are now hoping to use the weight of the APPG and Parliament to persuade a range of authorities to investigate this matter. As parliamentarians we have this unique opportunity to use our influence to turn a wrong into a right.”
You can find more information about the campaign here: http://www.scottishpowerbrokenpromises.co.uk/
You can read the report here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7vITwPD63kTMjBDQ0tTV3Vzd2c/view?usp=sharing
You can read about the recent APPG’s investigations here:
http://www.andrewpercy.org/news/1140-mps-keep-up-the-pressure-on-scottishpower-cashback-scandal
Photo – Andrew with APPG members Richard Arkless and Steve Rotheram.
