CHOICE welcomes ACCC action on Origin Energy plans following designated complaint
Following CHOICE’s first designated complaint on confusing energy pricing tactics, the ACCC has today announced that Origin will refund over $270,000 to more than 4,500 “Origin Ongoing Saver” plan customers.
Origin allegedly claimed that charges would be lower than on Origin’s “Basic” plan for the life of the plan, but some customers were charged more than if they had been on the Basic plan.
Quotes attributable to Andy Kelly, Director of Campaigns and Communications at CHOICE:
“CHOICE welcomes the outcome of the ACCC’s investigation following our designated complaint about confusing energy plans. We’re pleased that consumers affected by Origin’s claims about savings will receive compensation. With so many households struggling to get by, consumers should be able to trust promises about savings or value made by energy companies.”
“Our complaint highlighted four bills from Origin customers on its ‘Ongoing Saver’ plan who could have saved by switching to a different plan. The use of the term ‘saver’, in combination with the description that the plan was an ‘ongoing lower rate that you don’t need to renew’, may have led consumers to believe they’d be getting a better deal than other plans and didn’t need to worry about switching.”
“The plans degraded in value for customers over time – yet another example of the energy ‘loyalty penalty’, which was at the core of our complaint.”
“While CHOICE welcomes recent actions to address the accuracy and reliability of information consumers receive on their energy bill, there is more to be done. The unfairness of the loyalty penalty rife in the energy market cannot be ignored. CHOICE is calling on the government to introduce a new energy consumer duty, which would require energy retailers to deliver fair outcomes for consumers.”
Editor’s notes:
An example of an Origin representation highlighted in CHOICE’s complaint
