Between 2014 and October 2023, Ofgem says 2,284 prepay customers were left out of pocket due to a billing system error that meant they weren’t sent final bills within the required six weeks after switching or ending their contracts – a clear breach of the rules.
At a time when many households are struggling, the regulator was clear: this failure hit some of the most vulnerable.
Beth Martin, Ofgem’s director for consumer protection and competition, didn’t hold back:
“At a time when so many households are facing financial difficulty, it’s unacceptable that Good Energy failed to provide refunds of money that was owed to customers, compensation they were due and final bills they were entitled to.”
She added: “We also expect suppliers to make sure they have robust systems in place to limit the risk of issues like this happening and to proactively report problems when they arise.”
Good Energy will pay £55,281 directly in customer refunds and compensation – averaging £66 per affected customer – and a further £94,786 to the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme.
Of that fund, £64,678 relates to unclaimed customer compensation.
The error came to light after E.ON Next flagged a similar issue to the regulator last year, prompting Ofgem to launch an investigation into other suppliers.
Good Energy has since updated its systems to fix the fault.
