ENERGY supplier Utility Warehouse has reportedly been fined £1.5million after failing to support struggling customers.
The company didn’t consistently offer help, such as debt repayment plans, to customers who were behind on their bills.
1
This left some customers disadvantaged, energy regulator Ofgem said.
The watchdog launched a formal investigation in 2018, concluding that the failings took place between 2013 and 2019.
Ofgem said the supplier did not consistently offer to put domestic customers struggling to pay their energy bills on debt repayment plans.
It would also not consistently allow payments to be taken direct from customers’ benefits.
The company also didn’t always take into account customers’ ability to pay when calculating regular instalments as required.
They were not consistently offered the option of paying back charges via the voluntary installation of a pre-payment meter or offered energy efficiency advice on how to reduce their bills.
In some cases, this led to the unnecessary installation of pre-payment meters under warrant, the investigation found.
Cathryn Scott, director of enforcement and emerging Issues at Ofgem, said: “Energy suppliers are required to look after their customers, especially those in vulnerable situations.
“Between 2013-2019, Utility Warehouse failed to take the necessary steps to treat some customers in payment difficulty fairly, depriving them of the opportunity to manage their energy debt and ongoing energy costs.”
Utility Warehouse will have to pay £1.5million to Ofgem’s redress fund for charities, but customers won’t be offered compensation.
More to follow…
For the latest news on this story keep checking back at Sun Online.
Thesun.co.uk is your go to destination for the best celebrity news, football news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.
Download our fantastic, new and improved free App for the best ever Sun Online experience. For iPhone click here, for Android click here.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thesun and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.
