Ofgem has announced new compensation rules for customers who have to wait to switch energy suppliers in a positive move for consumers today.
Switchers will get £30 compensation if the process doesn’t go through within five working days, effective April 1, 2024.
Previously, domestic energy customers wanting to switch energy suppliers had to wait up to 21 working days for the switch, but Ofgem slashed this to just five working days in 2022.
Currently, suppliers must pay customers £30 compensation if they don’t complete the switch within 15 working days.
Ofgem has announced suppliers must pay customers £30 compensation if the switch doesn't complete in five days, from April
GETTY | PA
The proposed changes in the regulator’s Supplier Guaranteed Standards of Performance mean suppliers will need to pay up if it takes longer than five days.
It will only affect households or people who run their business from home and are on a domestic energy tariff.
Melissa Giordano, Deputy Director for Retail Systems and Processes at Ofgem, said: “Customers who see better energy deals on the market or experience poor service must be able to vote with their feet and move energy supplier - quickly.
“As regulator, we have already slashed the amount of time within which suppliers must switch a customer by two-thirds to just five working days.
“We are now going further by requiring any supplier who misses that deadline to pay the affected customer £30.
“We are already seeing switching levels up from last year, and now, this new move - welcomed by leading charities - will further empower customers to take control of their energy bills this winter and beyond.”
Data shows switching rates continue to increase month on month, the watchdog said.
Ofgem’s latest figures from the end of 2023 show a 9.3 per cent increase relative to October 2023, and are nearly three times as high as the level observed in November 2022.a
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Ofgem's new energy price cap came into effect in January, rising by five per cent compared to the previous quarter.
The regulator said that a typical household using gas and electricity and paying by Direct Debit will now be on a price cap of £1,928 a year, up from £1,834.
However, people who use more energy than average will pay more than this.