Systemic issues case studies 2020-21

When a retailer took over the billing rights for another retailer, customers contacted us to say they had not yet received their first bill. EWOQ issued a systemic issue notice requesting the retailer investigate the delayed billing and to advise if there was a systemic issue behind the delay.

The retailer looked into both its billing and invoicing systems and found there was a price structure mismatch between the two systems. This resulted in the customers not being issued their first bill.

Given the nature of the billing delay, the retailer implemented steps to fix the issue and its impact on other customers. This included aligning the price structure in both systems, introducing an exception report to identify customers with potential delayed billing and working to continue refining the process when new data becomes available.

A customer contacted us after they were told by their electricity retailer that they couldn’t refund the credit on their electricity account because the customer’s bank details had changed. The customer had closed the bank account which the retailer had on record and this caused a significant delay in processing the refund.

We issued a systemic issue notice requesting the retailer investigate if the refund delay was due to a systemic issue with the change of bank account details.

The retailer’s investigation found the issue was caused by an error with the daily supply charge in the customer’s welcome pack. This error had a flow-on effect and resulted in bills being placed on hold and reissued, which then delayed the refund to the customer.

The retailer identified another two customers affected by this issue. They corrected the error by checking all affected accounts and re-issuing the correct amounts.

When a customer reported difficulty with having their Queensland Seniors card accepted as eligible for the Queensland Electricity Rebate, EWOQ issued a systemic issue notice requesting the retailer investigate whether this was a systemic customer service issue.

The retailer’s investigation revealed that a gap in a team member’s knowledge led to the Queensland Seniors Card not being accepted for the Queensland Electricity Rebate and the incorrect information being provided to the customer.

While the retailer’s review of its incoming complaints found this was an isolated incident, feedback was provided and coaching with the team member undertaken.

Complaints revealed that a retailer’s meter provider was sending generic planned interruption notices to customers when they were completing meter testing. Instead of saying that the meters would be tested, the notices read an electricity meter replacement will occur. This resulted in confusion for the customers about what work would actually be carried out.

EWOQ issued a systemic issue notice requesting the retailer investigate the planned interruption notices being issued by its meter provider and to advise if notices could reflect the actual reason for the planned interruption.

The retailer’s investigation noted that there were no planned interruption notice letters specifically made for meter tests. The retailer is in the process of creating letters for meter tests to ensure customers receive letters which reflect the activity being performed.

A customer advised they were approached by a retailer’s marketing agent at a shopping centre. The customer said they felt pressured into signing up with the retailer and felt they were not going to be able to pass the marketing booth until they signed up.

EWOQ issued a systemic issue notice requesting the retailer investigate the salesperson’s conduct and advise if there were any potential systemic issue related to this complaint.

The retailer’s investigation involved seeking feedback for the person involved, as well as another team member who was present at the shopping centre. These investigations determined that this was a one-off incident and that there were no potential systemic issues identified.

The retailer advised it undertakes continuous monitoring of sales activity by sending a post-sales SMS to every customer seeking feedback. For the salesperson involved, the data showed a high feedback rating of 4.7 (from a total 5).

Despite finding no systemic issues in relation to marketing conduct, the retailer advised it had proactively worked with its sales partner to run refresher training for all sales agents in South East Queensland. This is to ensure that all sales agents understand the expectations and regulations they need to abide by.