More energy fines could follow EDF EDF has agreed to pay a record £4.5m after Ofgem found it had breached marketing licence conditions, with salesmen at the company failing to offer customers full information on the doorstep and over the telephone and sets a precedent for future payouts. EDF are the first to be announced following Ofgem's 18-month study into the country's four largest energy suppliers, and the regulator will continue its investigation. This will focus on the practices of Scottish Power, SSE, and npower, looking at the tactics that they use when selling to customers by telephone and face to face. Ofgem said that EDF doorstep sellers did not provide adequate information for prospective customers to compare their energy deals correctly. Telesales operators also told customers about potential savings without knowing whether their claims were actually true. The regulator said that EDF did not condone the practices of their salesmen, and said it agreed it was important to compensate customers. The company has agreed to pay a record £4.5m. The money will mainly be distributed to 700,000 EDF consumers who are deemed 'vulnerable'. They will receive a discount of around £50 on their bills. A spokeswoman for Ofgem confirmed the money was a payment in lieu of a fine. The company has been fined a token £1 and will also donate £1m to Citizen's Advice. Sarah Harrison, Ofgem's senior partner in charge of enforcement, said: "In the energy market in general much more needs to be done to restore consumer confidence and all energy suppliers should now get behind Ofgem's reforms to introduce a simpler, clearer and more competitive energy market." Ofgem took enforcement action in 2008 and 2002 against npower and London Electricity when each company was fined £1.8 million and £2 million. In 2009 Ofgem introduced new tougher licence conditions on marketing following the Probe to improve the performance of suppliers. The escalation in payment announced today reflects the tougher standards and the fact that Ofgem has had to take repeated regulatory action in this area against a number of suppliers over a number of years. However, the regulator stressed that the specific package in today's case cannot be readily compared to earlier cases, which concerned more serious conduct. Richard Lloyd, executive director at consumer group Which?, said: "Our own investigations suggest that poor sales and marketing practices are rife across the sector. If people think that they have been given the wrong advice, they should complain directly to their supplier.