At the end of the day it is the consumers who will pay the £41.6m., the very people whom Ofgem seek to protect!!

PG, Liverpool,

Jennifer Hynes asks, "How much had this fine cost consumers?"

The answer is £41.6 million, Jennifer.

When are we going to see anyone take responsibility for this mess, and lose their (very lucrative) jobs for their incompetence? I shall not be holding my breath.

Anil Chatterjee, Manchester,

Strange that the regulator does nothing to punish the Big Six energy suppliers, EdF, RWE, Eon, Iberdrola, SSE and Centrica, from operating as a cartel. National Grid, whose transportation costs are marginal to the energy cost we punters pay, is now getting fined, for what exactly?

OFGEM just wants to look tough with the gas transporter (Transco as was) because it took no action against the largest gas supplier, Centrica (aka British Gas) for its recent price hikes. Pathetic really.

Paul, Coventry,

What a complete waste of time.

There is no point in fining a monopolistic company for breaches of competitive trading. The fine is simply passed on to the consumer in higher bills, whilst those directors who authorise such activity just say sorry and carry on regardless, without any personal penalty.

If Ofgem, or any other regulator, is to carry any consumer confidence it needs to target and punsh those company officials responsible.

Pw, Banstead, Surrey

Rather than a fine, it should be ordered to give a rebate to customers.

CA, Manchester, UK

All these 'fines' being imposed on the utilities are nothing more than a stealth tax being imposed on those least able to pay, rather these companies should be ordered to reduce their prices in order to return the money to the people they first fraudulently obtained it from, instead of using it to support Mesa's Brown/Darlings failing monetary polices.

I Johnson, Ramsgate, UK

About time, something was done, to regulate these money grabbing Companies.

Mark, dartford, uk

We bought a little flat and wanted to have gas because in the flat is gas. We phoned several providers, we phoned National Grid, we lost many precious hours on the time to receive gas in that little flat.

Nobody helpt us. They all said, if you don't know the account number and/or the number of the meter we can't help you.

This is crazy, because there is a meter installed in the flat but without a number and there is also gas. Ho can something like this happen.

I think that the maladministration and mismanagement is so disastrous that they do not know what the right hand does if the left hand has done something.

Ingrid, London, UK

Is it not time that serious anti competitive behaviour was criminalised as in the USA.? The 'fine' will be paid for of course indirectly by consumers and those organisations who have been the victims of the behaviour will not be compensated. The Government will collect £41M.
The directors of an organisation found guilty 'without reasonable doubt ' of such should at least be disbarred, if not fined personally or sent to goal

Peter Copping, Manchester, England

The 5 Suppliers entered into those contracts with full knowledge of the alternatives - which only British Gas chose to pursue. The other 5 didnt have the ability or common sense to take advantage of the competitive opportunity on offer - little surprise there then, since we know they dont really like competition!

Graeme, Harrogate,