AGL overcharging slammed
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AGL has been found to have overcharged vulnerable customers and failed to issue refunds.
The Federal Court of Australia has ruled that AGL Retail Energy Limited, along with three other subsidiaries of AGL Energy Limited, violated the National Energy Retail Rules by overcharging 483 customers who used Centrepay to pay their energy bills.
The ruling follows legal action brought by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) against AGL for failing to notify and refund affected customers in a timely manner.
Centrepay, administered by Services Australia, allows individuals to make regular deductions from their Centrelink payments for essential services, including energy bills.
The court found AGL continued to collect payments from customers after they had ceased receiving services from the company, in breaches that occurred between December 2016 and November 2021.
The Court found AGL guilty of 16,156 breaches of the National Energy Retail Rules.
This includes 3,531 instances of failing to notify customers about overcharges and the same number of failures to refund the amounts within the required timeframe.
Additionally, AGL was found guilty of 9,094 further breaches for not refunding overcharged amounts as required by law.
The Court determined that AGL’s payment system was deliberately designed to treat each Centrepay deduction as a payment for a future bill, even after the final bill had been settled and no further payments were due.
“We expect retailers to have the policies, systems, and procedures in place to give consumers their money back if they have been overcharged,” said AER Chair Clare Savage.
The AER is pursuing penalties against AGL, as well as an order requiring the implementation of a compliance program.
The Court is expected to issue further orders following additional submissions from both parties.
The case has broader implications, as the AER has also received referrals from Services Australia concerning three additional energy retailers allegedly involved in similar conduct. The AER says it is reviewing the Federal Court’s judgement and considering appropriate actions regarding these other cases.
The National Energy Retail Rules require retailers to notify customers within ten business days if they have been overcharged and to refund any overpayments.