Ovo ordered to pay £2.4m for customer complaint failings

(Sharecast News) - UK energy supplier Ovo has been ordered to pay £2.4m in compensation to customers and a government redress fund due to failures customer complaints handling. Industry regulator Ofgem said 1,395 Ovo customers would get £378,512 between them - an average of £271 each - after the company took too long to address their complaints, with some waiting for 18 months.

Ofgem said Ovo also dragged its heels even when the Energy Ombudsman made rulings after consumer complaints were progressed.

Ovo will pay £2m to the energy industry voluntary redress scheme "in recognition of the severity of consumer detriment caused", 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," said Ofgem deputy director of retail compliance Jacqui Gehrmann.

"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."

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com