Energy firm Ovo to pay thousands to customers after 'failures'

The regulator, Ofgem, said it had to 'step in' after Ovo's performance fell 'below acceptable standards'

Energy firm Ovo has agreed to pay a £2.37 million penalty for failures over how it handled customer complaints, regulator Ofgem has announced. The watchdog said that 1,395 Ovo customers will receive compensation after they were affected by lengthy delays in seeing their complaints addressed - in some cases up to 18 months.

It said there were also delays in Ovo actioning the Energy Ombudsman's decision when complaints were progressed. Ovo will pay £378,512 in compensation to affected customers and has also paid an extra £2 million to the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme "in recognition of the severity of consumer detriment caused", according to Ofgem.

Jacqui Gehrmann, deputy director of retail compliance at Ofgem, said: "Energy is an essential service. When things go wrong, it can cause consumers a lot of distress.

"In this case Ovo failed to adequately protect and respond to their customers when it was needed most. This is not acceptable.

"Consumers deserve a clear and timely response when they make a complaint, and that's why we stepped in quickly when we identified that Ovo's performance was falling below acceptable standards. We are committed to driving up standards for consumers across the board, and this action serves as a reminder to all energy companies that we will not hesitate to take swift and definitive action when they fail to comply with the rules."