Power and gas giant Origin Energy has been dealt a record $17 million fine after its automated processes breached legal obligations owed to tens of thousands of customers facing financial hardship across Australia.
Origin Energy, one of Australia’s largest power and gas suppliers, has been dealt a record $17 million fine for its treatment of customers facing financial hardship.Over nearly four years from 2018 to 2021, automated processes Origin had put in place for customers experiencing hardship and payment difficulties resulted in it breaching hardship obligations on more than 100,000 occasions, the company acknowledged.
Australian Energy Regulator chair Clare Savage said the court’s decision was a reminder that automated processes could be a “dangerous substitute” for human interaction with customers facing financial hardship.
The Federal Court also ordered Origin to pay $200,000 in legal costs and establish a compliance and training program to improve the way it deals with hardship customers and those experiencing financial difficulties.John Briskin, Origin’s head of retail, said the company was committed to supporting customers in hardship and regretted that some customers had not received important protections to which they were entitled.
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