Three energy suppliers will be paying compensation to more than 100,000 customers after not paying fees that were due under new rules three years ago. The regulator Ofgem has ordered E.On Next, Good Energy and Octopus Energy to pay a total of £8m after accusing them of "dragging their heels" by not paying fees.
The firms have paid around £60 per customer affected by the missed payments, which are due if a supplier does not provide a final bill within six weeks of someone switching from that service. These rules are designed to compensate households when switches are delayed or if errors are made when switching, and it is the first time they have been used since being implemented three years ago.
Customers are each entitled to £30 if a final bill is not produced in six weeks, with a further £30 payment if the compensation is not provided within another 10 working days. This means the households recieving the compensation did not receive a final bill within six weeks after they had switched to another provider reports Chronicle Live.
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In addition to the companies paying compensation, a further £1.7 million will be paid into Ofgem's 'voluntary redress fund' by the suppliers, which supports charities in delivering energy-related projects. Ofgem said the firms either missed or delayed compensation payments worth £6.3million, and some of the households affected were waiting over a year.
E.On Next paid out £5.5million to almost 95,000 customers, while Octopus paid £750,000 to around 19,000 customers and almost 350 Good Energy customers received £18,000. Neil Kenward, director for strategy at Ofgem, said: "Ofgem introduced these standards to make sure customers get the service they deserve when switching energy supplier.
"Our rules mean that where energy companies drag their heels, customers are automatically compensated. We won't hesitate to hold energy companies to account, as we have done today.
"As the energy market starts to recover, we'll likely see a return to more switching, and this action is a reminder to suppliers that they need to make switching as easy and convenient as possible for their customers, and where they cause undue delay, pay compensation swiftly." Ofgem said the three suppliers have since updated their processes and systems to ensure final bills are produced within six weeks.
Customers who may have been affected include those who switched away from one of these firms in 2020 or 2021, and their final bill was sent after the six-week deadline. All affected customers should have been paid by now, but if you don’t think you’ve received compensation and believe you are eligible, you should contact the firm you were with to double check.
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