Spark, the energy firm which specialises in the private rented sector and which was last year referred to the regulator, has come up with a new offering.

Agents will be able to earn extra commission by signing up tenants to a broadband and telephone package.

Spark says that for a letting agent managing 1,000 properties, this could come to as much as £24,000 pure profit annually.

Last year, Consumer Futures referred Spark Energy to the regulator Ofgem after a flood of complaints and a BBC Watchdog programme.

A spokesperson for Ofgem told Eye yesterday that the investigation into Spark remains ongoing and is dealing with “complex issues”.

Watchdog, which received 200 complaints from Spark customers, revealed that some tenants were automatically signed up to Spark via their tenancy agreements – meaning that letting agents were preventing them from switching energy suppliers.

The programme named Your Move, Foxtons and Reeds Rains as having automatically signed tenants up to Spark.

Spark itself subsequently confirmed that it pays a commission of £10-£15 per property when tenants are signed up for its energy.

In more recent developments, the Which? Switch energy satisfaction survey this year ranked Spark tenth out of 17 energy suppliers, rating it poorly on customer service but giving it full marks for value for money.

Separately, new guidance from the Competition and Markets Authority specifically says that tenants must be given information about how they can change energy suppliers, and that agents should not stand in their way.

The guidance is, however, silent on whether agents have any duty to disclose that they are receiving commission in return for signing tenants up to particular services.

Yesterday, Spark announced its broadband and calls package, saying that the move will see it become the first utilities one-stop-shop in the rental sector.

It said tenants will be able to opt to have all essential services bundled up with one single provider.

The unique package allows letting agents to get tenants online within 48 hours of moving in. Contract length will be flexible and related to tenancy duration of six and 12 months with no cancellation fees.

Spark, which has partnered with HomeTelecom, said it will work with agents to offer their tenants a no-obligation broadband and telephone package at a highly competitive rate which Spark said is considerably cheaper than Virgin and BT.

Chris Gauld, CEO at Spark, said: “The vast majority of tenants are young people whose expectations of broadband are very high.

“Our new offering, working directly with letting agents, will get them online within 48 hours of moving in. Letting agents will also benefit from having the tenant’s essential services bundled with one supplier as well as earning valuable additional revenue.

“This is an opportunity for agents to lead the way and generate additional revenues. The major broadband providers can take a couple of weeks to get tenants online which is not good enough.”

The rates offered by Spark are line rental at £14.50 a month with an £8.50 monthly subscription.

In response to a request from Eye for further comment – given the earlier controversy –  Scott MacKay, Director of Brand Experience at Spark, said yesterday evening: “Our new broadband offering for tenants is an opt-in service which is an affordable alternative package exclusively for the rental market – with short contracts and no penalty charges if you decide to move.

“We do make contact when a tenant moves in to tell them about our service, but if they prefer another supplier, there is no obligation. The big advantage for our broadband customers is that, if the landlord gives us access to the line, then new tenants can be online within 24 hours.

“However if the tenant chooses another provider we will relinquish the line immediately at zero cost.

“Liaising with multiple utility companies is a huge drain on resources within the lettings industry, so by providing a service where energy and communications are under one roof, we are helping to ease the burden for lettings agents and landlords. We are the only company who specialises in this growing market and challenger companies, like us, are integral for keeping the market competitive as well as innovative.

“We have invested heavily in our customer service and our offering, to ensure that we provide a service which is not only better that the big six energy companies, but which will now challenge the big communications companies.”