Ten suppliers have paid more than 34,000 customers a total of £7
million in compensation and refunds after overcharging some
customers in error, following a compliance review by Ofgem.
This issue specifically impacted customers with ‘Restricted Meter
Infrastructure' between January 2019 and September 2024, which
means they have more than one electricity meter point at their
property recording energy usage.
Energy suppliers are allowed to apply multiple standing charges
for homes with multiple electricity meters. However, this meant
that some customers were erroneously charged more than is allowed
under the price cap when combined with unit rates.
The regulator expects suppliers to be vigilant and ensure
customers are not charged more than the price cap, which sets a
limit on how much suppliers can charge for energy. This includes
ensuring the application of multiple standing charges does not
lead to price cap overcharging.
After identifying the issue and investigating, the suppliers
swiftly rectified the issue and agreed to pay a total of
£7million in refunds and compensation to those affected. This
includes £5.6million in refunds and almost £1.4million in
goodwill payments.
Charlotte Friel, director of retail pricing and systems
at Ofgem, said:
“Our duty is to protect energy consumers, and we set the price
cap for that very reason so customers don't pay a higher amount
for their energy than they should.
“We expect all suppliers to have robust processes in place so
they can bill their customers accurately. While it's clear that
on this occasion errors were made, thankfully, the issues were
promptly resolved, and customers are being refunded.
“Today's outcome serves as a reminder to all energy suppliers
that they must implement the price cap properly and do their due
diligence. It also shows that, where appropriate, Ofgem is
prepared to work with suppliers that fail to comply with our
rules.”
All ten suppliers have updated their systems and processes to
prevent the error occurring in future. Ofgem will continue to
engage with suppliers to ensure that the payment packages are
progressed in full, and will continue to closely monitor all
suppliers to ensure they implement the price cap properly, and
protect their consumers from paying too much for their
energy.
ENDS
Notes to editor
- The supplier payment breakdown can be found here:
|
Supplier
|
No. of customers
|
Total Refunds
|
Total Goodwill
|
|
E.ON Next
|
160
|
£45,195.82
|
£9,330.33
|
|
Ecotricity
|
166
|
£36,633.12
|
£18,904.35
|
|
EDF Energy
|
3
|
£112.29
|
£30.00
|
|
Octopus Energy
|
20,862
|
£2,636,884.00
|
£546,278.00
|
|
Outfox The Market
|
570
|
£6,106.06
|
£4,590.00
|
|
OVO Energy
|
2,372
|
£602,066.05
|
£280,068.73
|
|
Rebel Energy
|
15
|
£2,339.49
|
£575.00
|
|
So Energy
|
1,558
|
£266,041.16
|
£58,285.85
|
|
Tru Energy
|
70
|
£7,486.54
|
£11,663.00
|
|
Utility Warehouse
|
8,272
|
£2,043,098.84
|
£453,960.00
|
|
Total
|
34,048
|
£5,645,963.37
|
£1,383,685.26
|
