Competition Markets Authority
Timetable
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 31 May 2023 | Findings report, consumer guide and principles for standards bodies published |
| 27 September to 1 November 2022 | Call for information questionnaires |
| 27 September 2022 | Project launched |
Contact
Call for information: findings and next steps
The CMA has published a report setting out the findings from its call for information on consumer protection in the green heating and insulation sector. We looked at three key themes - peoples experience of buying green heating and insulation products; business practices and the landscape of standards bodies which provide quality assurance and consumer protection standards for member businesses. We have identified concerns in these areas and the report sets out actions to help address these.
We have also published a consumer guide to assist people when buying green heating and insulation products, which sets out a summary of their key rights and protections under the law; and a set of good practice principles for standards bodies, to help raise the level of protections in the sector.
The CMA will continue to engage closely with stakeholders to share our findings and to take forward actions to help tackle the issues we have identified.
We will also be carrying out further work in this sector, focusing on business practices - in particular we will be looking at misleading and greenwashing claims made by businesses about their products. At this stage, the CMA has not reached a view as to whether consumer protection law may have been broken.
- (31.5.23)
- (31.5.23)
- Guide for people buying green heating and insulation products (31.5.23)
- Press notice: Advice for shoppers after report highlights difficulties buying green home heating (31.5.23)
About the project
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a call for information looking at consumer protection in the UK green heating and insulation sector, focusing on the sale of the following products for the home: heat pumps; home solar; insulation; biomass boilers and hydrogen-ready boilers.
The call for information will look at consumer experiences and business practices, including those relating to the marketing and sale of the above products. It will explore whether further steps or action is needed to help ensure consumers are treated fairly and businesses are supported to meet their obligations under consumer protection law. Through doing so, this work will contribute to the CMAs Annual Plan commitment to support the UKs transition to low carbon growth.
We will examine several issues, including:
- how consumers select products and business suppliers
- how businesses in the sector promote their products/services to consumers
- the provision of key information to consumers by businesses before, during and after the products installation
- the complaints and redress process if things go wrong for consumers
- the role of certification schemes and codes of practice in increasing consumer confidence in the sector
We plan to publish a short report summarising our key findings in Spring 2023.
Further information on the project, including our areas of focus, and the potential outcomes of the call for information, is set out in the Overview document below.
At this early stage, the CMA has not reached a view as to whether consumer protection law may have been broken.
- (27.9.22)
- Press notice: Green heating consumer protection to come under scrutiny (27.9.22)
Call for information: closed
We asked consumers, businesses and other interested parties to share their views and experiences of buying or selling green heating or insulation products within the focus of our project by responding to questionnaires. The responses will help to inform our understanding of potential consumer protection issues in this sector and how businesses could be better supported to meet their responsibilities under consumer protection law.
We will analyse the questionnaire responses alongside other information we are gathering to help inform our findings.
We are carrying out this work under section 5 of the Enterprise Act 2002, which gives the CMA the power to obtain, compile and keep under review information about matters relating to its functions.
Data Protection
Any personal data you provide us will be handled in accordance with our obligations under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. Our personal information charter sets out the standards you can expect from us when we collect, use or share personal data and provides details of your rights in relation to that data and how to contact us.
How we use your information
We may only publish or disclose with others (outside the CMA) the information that you provide us in specific circumstances as set out in legislation (principally Part 9 of the Enterprise Act 2002). For further information visit the Annex to the Overview document.