Inquiry into alleged mis-selling by npower

An investigation has been launched into claims that salesmen working for the energy company npower tricked householders into taking its supply.

Ofgem, the gas and electricity regulator, will check if the company breached condition 25 of its licence, which covers the recruitment and training of salespeople and their dealings with the public.

The inquiry was prompted by a report claiming npower's door-to-door sales staff were using "dirty tricks" to bamboozle customers, such as pretending to be from the "electricity board" and lying about standing charges.

An undercover journalist who infiltrated the company's direct sales operation alleged dozens of people were told they could save by switching to npower, even though many would be worse off.

In February, Npower announced a 41 per cent rise in profits to £544m. It said the accused sales team had been "taken off the road"and disciplinary hearings were scheduled.