Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Abuse of dominance definition

What does Abuse of dominance mean? Abuse of dominance describes anti-competitive conduct by an undertaking with substantial market power that harms competition or consumers by excluding rivals or exploiting customers. It is prohibited in the UK by the Competition Act 1998, s.18 (the Chapter II prohibition), which catches abuse that may affect trade within the United Kingdom; in Ireland by the Competition Act 2002, s.5, and by Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) where trade between Member States is affected. In competition law, the scope of “dominance” and “abuse” is mainly developed in case law. Assessment turns on market...

Ofgem (Great Britain): PayPoint prepayment energy over-the-counter exclusivity—abuse of dominance investigation closed via commitments; £12.5m redress (Article 102/Chapter II)

Published by a LexisNexis Competition expert

Practice notes

CASE HUB ARCHIVED

This archived case hub sets out the position as at the decision dated 23 November 2021; it is no longer maintained. For more, see the timeline and commentary.

Case facts

Outline

Ofgem Article 102 TFEU/Chapter II investigation into PayPoint concerning an Abuse of dominance through the inclusion of particular contractual provisions with certain energy suppliers and retailers which granted PayPoint exclusivity for OTC payment services for prepayment energy customers.

Latest developments

On 23 November 2021, Ofgem stated it had decided to accept commitments from PayPoint, alongside a £12.5m donation to Ofgem’s Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme, and had brought the case to a close.

Parties

PayPoint plc
PayPoint Network Limited
PayPoint Collections Limited
PayPoint Retail Solutions Limited

(together, PayPoint): PayPoint provides OTC payment services to prepayment energy customers in the UK. For the collection of OTC payments, PayPoint operates a network of around 28,000 outlets in Great Britain, typically newsagents or local supermarket chains.

Background

On 17 August 2017, Ofgem opened its investigation and chose in December 2017 to continue with the case, without giving any details of the party involved or the nature of the alleged breach...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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