Energy supplier Farringdon Energy has been fined by regulator Ofgem for breaching its licence conditions.
An investigation led by Ofgem in May 2024 found that the non-domestic energy supplier was wrongfully taking direct debit payments for electricity supply from customers it was either no longer supplying or had not started supplying.
As a result, Farringdon Energy will be required to pay a financial penalty of £214,580, in addition to £9,096 of goodwill payments made to affected customers.
Ofgem said that since the provisional order was imposed on Farringdon Energy, Champion Energy’s trading name, the organisation has taken “appropriate remedial actions.”
The investigation examined whether Farringdon Energy was operating in compliance with the requirements of Standard Licence Conditions (SLC) 0A and 4A.
SLC 0A relates to treating microbusinesses fairly, which requires suppliers to act in a fair, honest, transparent, appropriate and professional manner.
SLC 4A requires suppliers to maintain operational capability, particularly to meet regulatory requirements and mitigate risk to customers.
It is worth noting that Ofgem expanded the investigation in November to explore breaches to SLC 4C, 5 and 21B. This is currently ongoing.
Cathryn Scott, director for market oversight and enforcement at Ofgem, said: “All energy consumers, including businesses, deserve the highest standards of service from their supplier and it’s right that they are compensated when things go wrong.
“The package of goodwill and penalty payments, which accounts for 10% of Farringdon Energy’s annual turnover, is an indication that we can and will take decisive action if we identify that a supplier is failing to act in the best interests of its customers.”
