ENERGY firms were yesterday cleared of price fixing - but millions of customers can't get the best deals.

Energy industry watchdogs Ofgem said they had found no evidence of a cartel being run.

But their seven-month investigation concluded millions of homes are unfairly paying over the odds for their energy supply.

The huge rip-off includes 4.3million people - many of them in northern Scotland - who can't get the best dual-fuel deals as they don't have a gas supply, which means they each pay around pounds 55 a year more.

Another six million prepayment customers are penalised by pounds 1.4billion a year compared to those who pay by direct debit.

And nearly 11million customers who pay quarterly also lose out by paying around pounds 80 a year more than those on direct debit.

Ofgem bosses are now looking at a possible ban on the price differences.

Ofgem chief executive Alistair Buchanan said: "There are some players who are charging above a reasonable level and we have told the companies that they have to sort this out."

Trisha McAuley, the head of services and advocacy at Consumer Focus Scotland, called for the price differences to be scrapped.

She added: "The market in Scotland remains highly concentrated in the hands of a few big suppliers. We need a clear regulatory focus on what this means for consumers in Scotland."

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