Half a dozen farmers have joined a £2 billion legal claim aimed at getting compensation from energy giants that are alleged to have paid secret commissions to third-party brokers.
Law firm Harcus Parker, which is representing the farms, believes there are thousands more who would be eligible to join.
The firm has launched the group litigation to reclaim these alleged commissions which are said to have falsely inflated energy prices for up to two million businesses and organisations in the UK.
The undisclosed broker commissions were added onto the unit cost of gas and electricity, Harcus Parker said.
Harcus Parker said its research found that one energy supplier offered brokers as much as 10p/kWh in commissions that were then added to customers’ bills, frequently without their knowledge.
It has alleged that large number of suppliers offered brokers secret commissions of between 1p – 3p/kWh, it added.
Damon Parker, senior partner and founder of Harcus Parker, said:
“We hope that by helping to return some of these secret energy commissions to businesses it will help ease some of the financial uncertainty faced by farmers.
“I would urge any farmer who has not yet joined the legal action to contact us to see how we can help.”
The firm has set up a dedicated website for those wishing to make a claim.
