Customers at major energy firm to get £270 compensation over complaint failures – are you owed cash?
CUSTOMERS with a major energy firm will receive compensation worth £270 each following complaint failures.
OVO Energy has been told by the regulator Ofgem to pay out £378,512 to 1,395 customers over the historic failings.
That means each affected customer will receive around £271 each on average.
Ofgem found OVO took too long in addressing the almost 1,400 customer complaints, in some cases by up to 18 months.
It also delayed actioning the Energy Ombudsman's decisions when complaints were upheld.
On top of the compensation to customers, OVO has already paid £2million to the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme over the issues.
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The 1,395 customers set for compensation don't have to do anything and will be contacted directly by OVO.
OVO has also improved its complaint handling process so that senior colleagues have oversight of any issues flagged by customers.
Jacqui Gehrmann, deputy director of retail compliance at Ofgem, said: “In this case OVO failed to adequately protect and respond to their customers when it was needed most. This is not acceptable.
“Consumers deserve a clear and timely response when they make a complaint, and that’s why we stepped in quickly when we identified that OVO’s performance was falling below acceptable standards.
"We are committed to driving up standards for consumers across the board, and this action serves as a reminder to all energy companies that we will not hesitate to take swift and definitive action when they fail to comply with the rules."
Ofgem first contacted OVO last June after reported concerns over the time taken to address complaints by Citizens Advice Scotland’s Extra Help Unit.
The energy firm was also found to have not been actioning decisions from the Energy Ombudsman - a free and independent body which handles energy customer complaints.
Ofgem identified key areas of improvement for the energy firm, including upgrading its complaint handling system and "resourcing issues".
The regulator then asked OVO to provide a plan on how it would address and resolve these issues.