Woman gets $18k after appalling power company privacy breach

TENS of thousands of Victorians — including a family violence victim who had to move house after an electricity retailer divulged her address to her former partner — have lodged complaints with the state’s energy and water ombudsman.

A FAMILY violence victim had to move house after an electricity retailer divulged her address to her former partner in an appalling privacy breach.

The mother was compensated almost $18,290 to cover relocation and other costs after an investigation by Victoria’s energy ombudsman.

The payment included $7000 for “poor service”, up from an initial $500 offer.

ENERGY COSTS BITING DEEPER

COMPO FOR UNFAIR GAS DISCONNECTION

AUSTRALIAN POWER PRICES AMONG WORLD’S HIGHEST

The woman was among consumers who registered 32,843 complaints — an average 90 a day — with the state’s Energy and Water Ombudsman last financial year.

High bills, disconnections, debt collection, credit default listings and connection problems were among the main grievances.

Electricity complaints hit 19,938, up 11 per cent on the previous year, the dispute resolution service’s latest annual report shows.

Gas complaints rose 7 per cent, to 11,075. There were also 25 “dual fuel” gripes.

Water complaints dropped 10 per cent, to 1805.

High bill, disconnection and debt collection disputes were among the most common registered with the Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria. Generic picture: iStock

In the privacy bungle, even though the woman had a family violence order against her ex-partner, he was text messaged about her new account and address after she applied online for electricity connection. Her information had been matched to an old customer profile.

The annual report shows:

ONE in three customers contacting the service were worried about being able to pay.

SOME residents had unpaid bills as high as $10,000.

ALPINE, Murrindindi, Hepburn, Bass Coast and Northern Grampians shires were the state’s high bill “hot spots”, based on cases by population.

DISCONNECTION and water restriction case rates were highest in the Latrobe, Wodonga, Mitchell, Warrnambool and Benalla areas.

CUSTOMERS received almost $2.2 million after highlighting billing errors and other shoddy service.

Victorian Energy and Water Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert. Picture: Supplied

Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert said affordability was a “continuing concern”.

“A significant number of customers presented with limited capacity to reduce their consumption or increase their capacity to pay … we often learnt that they were carrying debts across multiple utilities,” Ms Gebert said.

For the first time in five years, high bills were the top overall billing issue.

Many in bill shock mistakenly thought their meter was faulty.

“Often, the customer needed help to manage and/or time to pay the extra expense,” the report notes.

New Essential Services Commission rules entitling struggling customers to a wider range of help take effect from January 1 next year.

[e-mail]

@KarenCollierHS