Money alert: Impartial energy comparison site

The Government has been called on to set up an independent energy comparison service. The call has come from Co-operative Energy, which has accused switching sites of misleading customers.

Why? "Because they position themselves as a service when in reality they are profit-maximising sales organisations, charging the energy companies a disproportionately high commission which they in turn pass on to customers through energy bills," said Co-op Energy boss Ramsay Dunning. Creating an official, impartial and free-to-use service would not only help consumers make an informed decision which energy supplier to use, it will also help bring down energy bills, he said.

Four out of five consumers think that commission charges passed on via energy bills are unfair, according to the Co-op's research. They are, which is why the government should heed this proposal. "Comparison sites must be impartial rather than designed to generate maximum profits," Mr Dunning said.