Ten suppliers have paid thousands of customers £7million in refunds and compensation after overcharging them, the energy regulator has said.
Ofgem said over 34,000 customers with more than one electricity meter at their property had overpaid their energy bills between 2019 and 2024.
Suppliers can apply multiple standing charges for homes with more than one meter, but Ofgem says some customers were ‘erroneously charged more than is allowed under the price cap when combined with unit rates.’
The regulator said it had investigated the issue and suppliers had agreed to issue £5.6 million in refunds and almost £1.4 million in goodwill payments.
Overcharged: Ofgem said thousands of customers had been charged in error
Charlotte Friel, director of retail pricing and systems at Ofgem, said: ‘We expect all suppliers to have robust processes in place so they can bill their customers accurately.
‘While it’s clear that on this occasion errors were made, thankfully, the issues were promptly resolved, and customers are being refunded.
‘Today’s outcome serves as a reminder to all energy suppliers that they must implement the price cap properly and do their due diligence.
‘It also shows that, where appropriate, Ofgem is prepared to work with suppliers that fail to comply with our rules.’
Ofgem found that Octopus had the most customers affected by the error at 20,862, paying out £2.6million in total refunds.
‘The other suppliers to give refunds were Eon Next, Ecotricity, EDF, Outfox the Market, Ovo Energy, Rebel Energy, So Energy, Tru Energy, and Utility Warehouse.
Earlier this week, the regulator ordered Good Energy to pay £150,000 to former prepayment meter customers for failing to issue final bills.
| Supplier | Number of customers affected | Total refunds | Total goodwill payments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eon Next | 160 | £45,195.82 | £9,330.33 |
| Ecotricity | 166 | £36,633.12 | £18,904.35 |
| EDF Energy | 3 | £112.29 | £30.00 |
| Octopus Energy | 20,862 | £2,636,884.00 | £546,278.00 |
| Outfox The Market | 570 | £6,106.06 | £4,590.00 |
| Ovo Energy | 2,372 | £602,066.05 | £280,068.73 |
| Rebel Energy | 15 | £2,339.49 | £575.00 |
| So Energy | 1,558 | £266,041.16 | £58,285.85 |
| Tru Energy | 70 | £7,486.54 | £11,663.00 |
| Utility Warehouse | 8,272 | £2,043,098.84 | £453,960.00 |
| Total | 34,048 | £5,645,963.37 | £1,383,685.26 |
Are you due a refund?
Affected customers will be refunded automatically if they have not already been, and do not need to contact their supplier.
If a customer has since changed supplier, they will be contacted by their previous supplier to arrange a refund.
Customers of Rebel Energy, which closed last month, leaving 90,000 homes without a supplier, will be refunded.
Ben Gallizzi, Uswitch energy expert, said: ‘Technical errors like this can occasionally happen, but providers must act quickly to spot when issues arise and make every effort to resolve problems promptly.
‘This overcharging error impacted households with multiple meters. Affected customers will be refunded automatically by their provider, so they shouldn’t need to do anything to get their money back.
‘If you have submitted a meter reading recently but think there’s an error in your bill, contact your supplier to raise the issue.’
