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.
Try 6 free issues of MoneyWeek today
Get unparalleled financial insight, analysis and expert opinion you can profit from.
Start your trial
Sign up for MoneyWeek’s free twice-daily newsletter.
Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
The government put the Energy Price Guarantee in place last Autumn as energy prices soared.
Latest Videos FromMoneyWeek
“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.
