Virgin Energy sacks sales agents for forging contracts

Virgin Energy has sacked 14 sales agents after they were discovered in a north London public library forging the signatures of dead constituents on to energy supply contracts.

The consumer watchdog Energywatch, which highlighted the incident, said it was just the latest example of Virgin Energy employing disreputable tactics in an effort to win more customers.

Other complaints include Virgin Energy conning consumers into signing up for supplies by pretending to offer discounts and vouchers for other Virgin products such as CDs and airline and train tickets, said Energywatch.

The forging episode took place in Enfield where sales agents were caught copying out names from the electoral roll and entering them on supply contracts.

A spokesman for London Electricity, which owns 75 per cent of Virgin Energy, said the behaviour of the agents had been "totally unacceptable" and had resulted in a number being dismissed.

But a Virgin spokesman said it was now considering taking the brand away from London Electricity if the behaviour continued. Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin chairman, is understood to be furious at the way the brand name has been tarnished.

Ann Robinson, the chairwoman of Energywatch, said: "These are some of the worst cases that I have come across and they demand action not just from the company but from the regulator."

Andy Love, the Edmonton MP who has led a local campaign against Virgin Energy's sales tactics in his constituency, said: "I want to see safeguards so that every new contract is followed up with a phone call to make sure that it is genuine. I also want the industry to ensure that these sales agents are not re-employed elsewhere."

London Electricity is part of the state-owned French group Electricité de France. London Electricity is one of only two regional supply companies to have been formally censured by the regulator Ofgem.