Synergy apologises after overcharging customers $40 million

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Synergy has apologised amid revelations the energy retailer has collected more than $40 million from accounts that were meant to be closed. Close to 174,000 customers have been affected, with the issue dating back to 2009.

Transcript

00:00Customers pay to use energy for convenience and necessity, but it's been revealed WA's

00:11largest energy retailer, Synergy, has taken $40 million from its customers for nothing.

00:18On behalf of Synergy, I'd like to say I'm sincerely sorry.

00:21Almost 175,000 customers with automatic payments set up have been paying non-existent bills

00:28to closed accounts since 2009.

00:30Synergy says it has refunded some of these customers in the past, but refused to say if

00:35any red flags were raised internally.

00:37My focus is to work with our...

00:39We've been focusing on...

00:40Our focus is to refund that money to customers.

00:43Synergy says it could take several months to contact all affected customers and issue refunds.

00:49There are some accounts which have accrued a credit balance of in excess of $5,000.

00:54To be frank, it's a very, very serious lapse in Synergy governance.

01:00This $40 million bungle comes after the state's economic watchdog caught Synergy overcharging

01:06vulnerable customers since 2009.

01:09In its report in July, the Economic Regulation Authority said Synergy had automatically deducted

01:14$2.9 million from Centrelink payments of customers who had already closed their Synergy accounts.

01:21It sparked a review of the entire sector, and the regulator has raised there are similar

01:26issues with some other energy providers as well.

01:29And if that problem is not fixed, then we have the ability to issue a penalty of over

01:34$100,000.

01:36Now, a penalty of that size is in nowhere near proportion to the damage that's done here.

01:41Mr. Edwell says it's up to the government to decide what companies like Synergy can get

01:46away with.

01:46All right.

02:03All right.

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