Origin pays almost $300,000 in penalties for alleged debt recovery failures affecting customers experiencing family violence
27 February 2024
Origin Energy Electricity Limited and Origin Energy (Vic) Pty Ltd (together, Origin) has paid $295,872 in penalties for 8 alleged contraventions of Victoria’s energy laws. Origin allegedly referred 6 customers affected by family violence to a debt recovery agency without considering the potential impact of debt recovery on those customers.
Origin self-reported the issues affecting Victorian customers as required under the commission’s reporting requirements.
Before taking action to recover arrears from an affected customer, a Victorian energy retailer must take into account the potential impact of debt recovery action at the time on the affected customer. By failing to consider the impact to customers affected by family violence when referring them to an external debt collection agency, Origin allegedly failed to provide a safeguard afforded to customers experiencing vulnerability under the Energy Retail Code of Practice.
Commissioner Sitesh Bhojani says the commission’s enduring priority is to help all Victorians experiencing vulnerability to access essential services.
“Customers who are affected by family violence have an entitlement to safe, supportive and flexible assistance from a retailer when managing their personal and financial security.
"The commission strongly urges energy businesses to ensure they have robust processes and procedures to meet their obligations to protect consumers affected by family violence.”
