Are you an Ovo or Good Energy customer? You could be due a nearly £200 refund as the suppliers were found to have been overcharging households by regulator Ofgem.
The news comes after Ofgem slapped an £8m fine on E,ON Next, Good Energy and Octopus Energy for failures over issuing final bills.
Now the regulator has ordered Ovo and Good Energy to pay £4m, £2.7m of which will be split among 18,000 homes as they were charging people above the rate allowed under the two energy price caps.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
The government put the Energy Price Guarantee in place last Autumn as energy prices soared.
“It is totally unacceptable that Good Energy and OVO Energy customers were overcharged, particularly at a time that is already so challenging and stressful for consumers across the UK,” said Dan Norton, deputy director of retail at Ofgem.
“Energy suppliers should hear this loud and clear: we expect suppliers to act with the utmost care and integrity. we will continue to hold them to account if they do not meet their customer protection or reporting obligations,” Norton added.
Here’s how you can find out if you’re due a refund and how to claim it.
How many people were overcharged by Ovo or Good Energy?
Ofgem found Good Energy overcharged nearly 7,000 customers by a total of £291,650 between January 2019 and October 2022 after it failed to adjust tariffs to the energy price cap and the energy price guarantee.
It also found 11,000 OVO Energy customers were overcharged a combined £1,492,917 above the Energy Price Guarantee between October 2022 and March 2023.
Good Energy will also pay a further £1.25m to vulnerable consumers who were overcharged.
Meanwhile OVO will pay the regulator £10,000 for failing to report the issues.
How to claim your refund
Good Energy customers will receive £109, while OVO customers will receive £181.
The good news is that if you’re a customer, you don’t have to do anything. You will be automatically refunded by the suppliers.
If you’re an E.ON Next, Good Energy or Octopus Energy customer you could also be due a refund.
The suppliers were forced to pay out over £8m in compensation due to lengthy delays in producing final bills to over 10,000 customers when they switched suppliers.
These suppliers’ customers are entitled to a £30 payment if their final bill was not produced within six weeks, and another £30 if the compensation was not given out within another 10 working days.
-
Tycoon Truong My Lan on death row over world’s biggest bank fraudProperty tycoon Truong My Lan has been found guilty of a corruption scandal that dwarfs Malaysia’s 1MDB fraud and Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto scam
-
Why undersea cables are under threat – and how to protect themUndersea cables power the internet and are vital to modern economies. They are now vulnerable
-
Halifax: House price slump continues as prices slide for the sixth consecutive monthUK house prices fell again in September as buyers returned, but the slowdown was not as fast as anticipated, latest Halifax data shows. Where are house prices falling the most?
-
Rents hit a record high - but is the opportunity for buy-to-let investors still strong?UK rent prices have hit a record high with the average hitting over £1,200 a month says Rightmove. Are there still opportunities in buy-to-let?
-
Pension savers turn to gold investmentsInvestors are racing to buy gold to protect their pensions from a stock market correction and high inflation, experts say
-
Where to find the best returns from student accommodationStudent accommodation can be a lucrative investment if you know where to look.
-
Best investing appsLooking for an easy-to-use app to help you start investing, keep track of your portfolio or make trades on the go? We round up the best investing apps
-
The world’s best bargain stocksSearching for bargain stocks with Alec Cutler of the Orbis Global Balanced Fund, who tells Andrew Van Sickle which sectors are being overlooked.
-
Revealed: the cheapest cities to own a home in BritainNew research reveals the cheapest cities to own a home, taking account of mortgage payments, utility bills and council tax
-
UK recession: How to protect your portfolioAs the UK recession is confirmed, we look at ways to protect your wealth.
