How we are fixing the issues with our direct debit discounts
Today the energy regulator Ofgem has announced that Good Energy will be paying a total of £2m for mistakes we made applying discounts for customers paying by Direct Debit. This includes refunding a total of £391,650 to 6,966 customers, an average of £56. We are also paying a total of £368,404 in goodwill to affected customers, and £1.25m to Ofgem’s redress fund.
The issue, which we reported to Ofgem as soon as it was apparent, was an accidental flaw in our processes that originated in 2019 when the price cap was introduced. Customers paying by Direct Debit are meant to receive a discount, but affected customers were not automatically switched to a discounted tariff when they changed payment method, and some customers were on the discounted tariff despite not paying by Direct Debit.
We are very sorry that we let some of our customers down. We pride ourselves on being fair to our customers and have a good track record of being so over nearly 25 years, but we have not lived up to that value here. So, we promise to put things right. We moved quickly to start contacting those affected to apologise and issue their refunds and goodwill payments and have fixed the issue so it does not happen again.
We have now put the right processes in place to ensure that every customers’ tariff is switched when they change payment method to ensure they are receiving the discount. The improvement plan we submitted to Ofgem is now in action, and includes new automated processes, standards and governance to prevent any similar mistake in future.
If you are an affected customer you may have already heard from us and received a refund and goodwill payment. We will be making further contact with relevant customers, including those no longer supplied by Good Energy by the end of June, now that the issue has been resolved with Ofgem.
