British Gas Pays Consumers, Ofgem £1.73M After Switchover Failures

The U.K.’s biggest energy supplier, British Gas, has doled out a hefty £1.73 million after substantial switchover failures for the company’s prepayment customers. 

Customers affected by the handling of switchover were paid £1.48 million, according to a Reuters report.

The compensation was given to prepayment customers, who purchase energy in advance. The company paid an additional £250,000 to energy regulator Ofgem for the indiscretion.

According to Ofgem, the failures included negligence on the energy company’s part because it did not tell vulnerable customers about the transition of top-up providers, with Payzone stepping in for Paypoint, and did not inform customers about the difference in top-up minimums from £1 to £5. Some prepayment customers may have overpaid. 

In December 2019, British Gas notified most of its customers about the changes that were set to begin on 1 January, The Guardian reported. However, about 270,000 customers were not informed. 

As a result of the miscommunication, Ofgem said, some uninformed customers lost energy supplies in midwinter.

Some customers unknowingly wasted their time going to shops to top up their British Gas accounts, but they were not able to do so after the changes were made. 

Furthermore, prepayment customers were not able to telephone the energy company’s inquiries line the day the changes went into effect. 

A few weeks after the transitions were made, Ofgem said, British Gas finally informed the remaining 270,000 prepayment customers of the changes; they were not notified until the end of January. 

Ofgem’s findings show that customers who were given advance notice still had inadequate time to transition to another energy supplier if they no longer wanted to accept the changes and remain a customer of British Gas. 

Ofgem speculates that the notice of changes was not sufficient enough.

Customers were only given a notice that included internet links to the energy company’s upcoming changes. According to Ofgem, the notice did not contain a telephone number. This kind of notice could have excluded prepayment customers who do not have internet access. 

After British Gas compensated its customers, Ofgem chose not to initiate legal enforcement against the company. 

Ofgem director of retail Philippa Pickford said energy suppliers need to effectively communicate with customers when significant changes are being made.

She says British Gas should have told their prepayment customers about the change during the winter, especially because some of them are in vulnerable circumstances.

“Some customers were unaware of the change before it happened and may have struggled to contact British Gas as they opted not to open their general enquiries line on the go-live date,” she added. “Others were given insufficient time to make alternative arrangements if they were unhappy with the change of top-up provider. Ofgem will continue to closely monitor the market to ensure that all customers are protected and treated fairly by their supplier.” 

You could hold the right to a refund from British Gas if you have not already received one, the Mirror reported.

If you were using British Gas as your energy supplier and were affected by the changes, you can contact the company if you have not received money back. Visit the British Gas’ online support page or by call 0330 100 0303 to see if you are owed any money. 

Before going online or calling, be sure to have your latest British Gas bill and customer in hand. Only registered account owners should contact the company. 

Ofgem has been clear that British Gas’s misstep was not taken lightly.

Is British Gas your energy supplier? Do you think this situation was properly handled? Tell us your story in the comments.

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