Ovo Energy, Shell Energy Retail and Scottish Power are among 18 suppliers which failed to correctly protect customers’ tariff prices when they decided to switch, Ofgem has announced.
After several suppliers self-reported the issue every provider on the market was requested to self-assess their practices, revealing that 18 suppliers were not compliant between 2013-2020.
Ovo was the supplier with the most customers affected (240,563) followed by Shell with 225,823 and Scottish Power with 157,236.
The customers affected included:
- Those on a standard variable tariff who switched to another supplier but did not have their variable tariff price protected during the switch,
- Customers on a fixed-term tariff who switched to another supplier but did not have their fixed term tariff protected during the switch, and
- Customers on a fixed-term tariff who moved to another tariff with their supplier but did not have their fixed-term tariff protected during the switch.
Most of the failures were down to suppliers not having adequate arrangements in place to make sure the protections were applied in full when customers decided to switch.
In total, more than 1 million customers were overcharged in excess of £7.2 million. The suppliers have since agreed to refund all affected customers, and in some cases make goodwill payments, to the tune of £10.4 million.
Where it has not been possible to process refunds, the suppliers have agreed to make payments to the energy redress fund.
Suppliers involved included:
| Supplier | Number of customers affected | Total Detriment (£) | Total Redress Package |
| Bristol Energy | 12,617 | £55,982.64 | £56,552.64 |
| British Gas/ Centrica | 141,415 | £391,176.79 | £1,269,095.47 |
| E (Gas and Electricity) | 20,870 | £68,777.23 | £ 72,772.93 |
| E.On | 28,126 | £181,668.29 | £238,884.29 |
| EDF | 79,083 | £465,441.36 | £ 516,191.55 |
| Engie | 9,061 | £12,803.98 | £21,218.74 |
| ESB Energy | 1,961 | £35,102.00 | £49,787.00 |
| Green Star Energy | 79,083 | £664,661.00 | £808,351.00 |
| npower | 2,030 | £24,207.69 | £25,602.69 |
| Octopus Energy | 19,712 | £59,902.15 | £121,444.52 |
| Orbit | 723 | £5,539.25 | £7,081.12 |
| OVO Energy | 240,563 | £2,001,196.45 | £2,801,231.51 |
| PFP Energy | 5,347 | £35,204.31 | £50,929.31 |
| Scottish Power | 157,236 | £1,449,835.28 | £1,967,465.28 |
| Shell | 225,823 | £1,001,203.40 | £1,217,203.40 |
| So Energy | 10,514 | £59,723.56 | £ 78,480.89 |
| SSE | 132,620 | £713,973.86 | £983,334.45 |
| Utility Warehouse | 2,723 | £62,783.92 | £95,512.15 |
In response to the announcement, an Ovo Energy spokesperson said: “We are very disappointed to have fallen short of our regulatory responsibilities. We have apologised and returned money to our members and worked with the regulator to identify and fix the historical issues.
“Ofgem has recognised the steps we have taken to refund and contact all members due compensation as well as ensure that we are compliant going forward. We have also made an additional voluntary contribution to the redress fund to help support customers in vulnerable situations.”
A Shell Energy spokesperson said: “We apologise to those customers who have been affected and have provided refunds and compensation payments to them.”
Meanwhile a Scottish Power spokesperson said: “We regret that some of our customers did not have their price protected during a switch or move as they should have done and we would like to apologise to any former or current customers of Scottish Power affected by this, all of whom have now been refunded.
“Our affected customers were overcharged by an average of £9.22 and we have now returned any overcharge to those customers and have also provided over half a million pounds of goodwill, the majority of which has been paid to Ofgem’s Voluntary Redress Fund which helps support energy consumers in vulnerable situations.
“It is clear that there have been some issues implementing this process across the industry, with just under half of energy suppliers failing to fully protect customers’ prices during a switch or move. We have worked hard to put further measures in place to avoid this happening again.”
Anna Rossington, interim director of retail at Ofgem, said the case sent a “strong message” to all suppliers that Ofgem will intervene where customers are overcharged and ensure that no supplier benefits from non-compliance.
“It also shows that, where appropriate, Ofgem is prepared to work with suppliers who have failed to comply with the rules, but who are willing to self-report issues and put things right for their customers,” she added.
As the suppliers involved cooperated with Ofgem and took steps to address their failings, the regulator has now closed the compliance engagement without taking formal enforcement action.