Ovo Energy has been fined £8.9 million for giving customers inaccurate information and overcharging them due to IT issues.
The industry regulator Ofgem said on Wednesday that these breaches happened because the energy supplier did not ensure its processes and governance were capable of complying with Ofgem’s rules.
Over 500,000 customers received inaccurate annual statements between July 2015 to February 2018, Ofgem’s investigation revealed, and many customers didn’t even receive an annual statement in the first place.
Customers were under or overcharged because Ovo Energy underestimated consumption over one winter.
Additionally, roughly 10,000 customers were not given statements of renewal terms when their tariffs were coming to an end or were not moved to new tariffs when their existing tariff ended, Ofgem said.
Ofgem said that Ovo Energy has now put in place measures to make sure something like this does not happen again. It has invested in technology and implemented the correct compliance procedures.
“Ovo Energy billed a number of its customers incorrectly and issued them with inaccurate information,” Anthony Pygram, Director of Conduct and Enforcement at Ofgem, provided a comment.
“The supplier did not prioritise putting these issues right whilst its business was expanding,” the Director of Conduct and Enforcement at Ofgem continued.
“Our enforcement action sends a strong message that suppliers must get basic services right for all their customers. Ovo Energy has accepted the breaches and put processes in place to comply with the rules in future.”
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Hurricane Energy (LON:HUR) shares jumped on strong production figures. Shares were trading over 14% during Wednesday morning trading.