British Gas has quietly reintroduced door-to-door sales, a practice it abandoned 15 years ago amid concerns over consumer pressure. Back in 2011, the company’s managing director Ian Peters called face-to-face selling “no longer a sustainable way to engage or build a relationship with customers.” Now, residents in Torquay, Devon, and Beeston, Nottinghamshire, have reported British Gas sales representatives visiting homes within the past year, raising alarms among consumer watchdogs.
The resurgence of door-to-door sales comes despite a 17-year-old Ofgem crackdown that mandated energy suppliers to provide written savings estimates to consumers, aiming to protect them from high-pressure tactics. Campaigners are especially concerned that vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, are being targeted. Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, stated, “Bullying people into signing contracts on the doorstep is no way to maintain confidence in the company and will be counterproductive in the end.” He urges British Gas to explore modern, less intrusive methods of customer engagement.
Consumer expert Lisa Webb of Which? emphasized, “No one should ever be pressured into making a snap decision there and then. You’re entitled to take your time and think it through.” Others note that visits related to meter replacements are legitimate; one Reddit user explained that supplier visits to replace old meters are standard procedure and not a scam.
Gillian Cooper, director of energy at Citizens Advice, advises consumers that they have a legal right to a 14-day cooling-off period to cancel contracts without penalty. She also encourages customers who feel mistreated to first lodge complaints with British Gas and escalate issues to the Energy Ombudsman if necessary.