Case studies

These stories are drawn from EWON's actual case work during 2004-2005 (the names of customers have been changed). The full stories follow the excerpts:

John's story :: John's wife passed away and he moved back into the family home, only to find the gas was disconnected... more >

Tanya's story :: Tanya's partner left her and their children with a huge energy debt ... more >

Emma's story :: Emma moved into a new rental property, set up a gas account and received her first bill for $122. A few months later, she was shocked to receive a bill for $2,400 ... more >

Fae's story :: After purchasing a home, Fae rang her energy retailer to establish a contract for both electricity and gas at her new property ... more >

Dan's story :: Dan runs an entertainment venue which was due to stage a special one-off event. During the afternoon of the scheduled event, there was an outage which affected a number of customers in the area ... more >

Tom's story :: Tom lived alone in a bedsit rented through the Department of Housing (DOH). As he was on a limited income, he was very mindful of his consumption. When Tom received a high bill ... more >

Michael's story :: Michael is on a disability pension and supports three children. He received a disconnection notice for unpaid bills of $1,110. Michael thought one bill was very high so he rang the company ... more >

Elaine's story :: Elaine had been receiving a pensioner rebate on her energy accounts for over 15 years, but noticed that it was not appearing on her most recent bills ... more >

Joyce's story :: Joyce was contacted by a company about signing an energy contract with them. She was interested in their offer and asked them to send her some information. A few months later ... more >

David's story :: A marketer knocked on David's door one day trying to sell him an energy contract. As David has an intellectual disability, he didn't understand the marketer so he called for his carer. She intervened and asked the marketer to leave ... more >

Morrie's story :: Morrie's ex-wife rang EWON for help when she found that Morrie had been living without power for five weeks. Her three teenage children were living with him (one doing the HSC) and they lived in a remote area ... more >

Carl's story :: Carl is an elderly Indigenous man, who is on a pension and has debilitating health problems and other difficulties. EWON was contacted by Carl's advocate... more >

John's story :: John and his wife had been living separately for some time but after his wife died, John decided to move back into the family home to look after his children. When he moved back in he found they couldn't cook or wash as the gas had been disconnected, so he rang the gas company about reconnection. He was told he would not be reconnected until he paid his wife's outstanding account. John was on Centrelink benefits and couldn't afford to pay the bill, but the company would not budge, so he approached a community worker for help. The community worker called EWON and we contacted the gas company. The result was that his wife's account was finalised in the name of her estate and a new account was established in John's name. John was only responsible for the account from the date he moved in.

Tanya's story :: Tanya and her partner separated, and he moved out leaving her with their 12 week old baby and two children aged 2 and 4 years. Tanya was unaware there was any problem with the electricity account until her supply was disconnected. The account was in her partner's name and when she rang about reconnection, she was shocked to find there was a $2,000 debt. Tanya wanted to open a new account in her name, but the company required the debt to be cleared first. Tanya had no income and could not pay the debt owing, so she rang EWON for help. As EWON went through the details of her situation Tanya became very upset and indicated that there was more than just the issue of debt. While Tanya really wanted the power back on, it became clear she was not comfortable about any contact with her ex-partner. We reassured Tanya that she would not need to have any contact with her expartner in relation to the account which was in his name. Tanya gave permission for EWON to discuss her situation with the energy company. Following EWON's discussion with senior staff at the energy company, we were able to confirm that the debt was not Tanya's responsibility. The company opened a new account in Tanya's name and ensured she was reconnected that day.

Emma's story :: Emma moved into a new rental property and rang the gas company to set up an account. She received her first bill one month later for $122, which included a security deposit and set up fee. The next month, a field officer came to do a meter reading but Emma did not receive any further bills that year. At the start of the new year, she was shocked to receive a bill for $2,400 and rang the company immediately. The call centre staff asked her take a meter reading that day and then again a week later. Emma phoned the readings through and the company said they would adjust her account. She then received a bill of $1,400 for eight months consumption, with an offer of an extension of two months to pay. Emma rang EWON for clarification. She was happy to pay for what she had used, but wanted to make sure she was being charged correctly. Our investigation revealed that the previous tenant's accounts had been grossly underestimated and the final reading was incorrect. The company accepted they had made an error and only charged Emma for her consumption from the actual meter read, which turned out to be $370.

Fae's story :: After purchasing a home, Fae rang her energy retailer (the company that bills her) to establish a contract for both electricity and gas at her new property. She received the contract which had the correct details for her new property, so she signed and returned the documents to the retailer. Nine months later, she received a disconnection notice from the distributor for the area (the company that supplies the energy). Confused, Fae rang the distributor to let them know her account was with someone else. They said they would fix the problem. A few weeks later, Fae's power was disconnected without notice. She rang the distributor again, but they had no record of having disconnected the property. The distributor sent a field officer to inspect the meter who confirmed their company had disconnected Fae. Recognising their error, the distributor reconnected Fae that evening. Fae rang her retailer to confirm her billing details only to find they had given the distributor the wrong meter number when transferring the contract. The retailer said they would fix her billing, account and meter details. Not long afterwards, Fae received another disconnection notice from the distributor. She rang them and was told they had set up a new account when they reconnected her however the wrong meter number was attached to her file and in order to be reconnected, Fae would need to pay the bill. Fae was not happy about this, so the distributor suggested she contact EWON. EWON's investigation found that Fae's property was on a corner-block, which had added to the confusion of matching the meter number and address. Both companies, the retailer and distributor, agreed they had made errors, so Fae was compensated for the inconvenience caused and she was released from her contract without penalty.

Dan's story :: Dan runs an entertainment venue which was due to stage a special one-off event. He had invested considerable money in sponsorship and promotions, as well as having booked extra staff for the night. During the afternoon of the scheduled event, there was an outage which affected a number of customers in the area. Dan was very concerned about the success of the event that evening, and rang the energy company a few times to enquire about the likelihood of further outages. He explained his situation and his need for accurate information to guide his decision about whether to go ahead or cancel the event. Around 6pm, Dan contacted the call centre and was advised there was an outage planned for 10.30pm to allow urgent repair work to be done. Dan left his contact details in case the situation changed, but decided to cancel the event in view of the company's advice that the outage would occur during the peak time for his venue. However, the planned outage did not occur at the time he was advised. Instead, it happened in the early hours of the following day, which meant Dan could have opened for business after all and held the complete event. Dan was very upset, mostly because he had been in contact with the call centre a number of times throughout the day and had specifically asked the company to contact him if the supply situation changed. He lodged a claim seeking compensation for losses associated with cancelling the event. The company refused his claim and so Dan contacted EWON. EWON tried to negotiate a settlement without success. After careful consideration, the Ombudsman made a determination that the company should make a payment of $9,500 to compensate Dan for part of his losses and for the significant failure in customer service on their part.

Tom's story :: Tom lived alone in a bedsit rented through the Department of Housing (DOH). As he was on a limited income, he paid a regular amount towards his energy account through Centrepay and was very mindful of his consumption. When Tom received a high bill for $527 he contacted his energy company. He wasn't satisfied with the company's response, so he called EWON. Tom explained that his hot water system had burst one night and when a DOH tradesperson came out to fix it, he found that it could have been leaking for more than six months. EWON investigated Tom's high bill complaint and found that the company's billing was correct, however meter readings confirmed that the hot water system leak was the likely cause of the high bill. We referred Tom to DOH and provided him with a written report of our findings. Tom approached DOH about his problem, and they agreed to consider a contribution towards his high bill.

Michael's story :: Michael is on a disability pension and supports three children. He received a disconnection notice for unpaid bills of $1,110. Part of the arrears included charges of $770 for one bill, which Michael thought was very high. He rang his energy company and arranged for someone to come and inspect his meter. An inspector visited his house, but found nothing wrong with the meter. The date was nearing for Michael to be disconnected and he rang the company to see if he could have more time to pay. He was told that unless he paid $440 towards the bill he would be disconnected. Michael was distressed and called EWON for help. Michael said to EWON that when he explained to the call centre that he was supporting three children and was in financial hardship, they spoke rudely to him, and said "I'll give you the number of some welfare agencies, because we're not one". While our investigation revealed he had been charged correctly, we negotiated a realistic payment plan and the company organised an energy audit for Michael and his family.

Elaine's story :: Elaine had been receiving a pensioner rebate on her energy accounts for over 15 years, but noticed that it was not appearing on her most recent bills. She contacted the company who told her that a cross-check by Centrelink had shown her pension number did not match the name on the account and so the rebate had been removed. At that point Elaine realised that when her husband died, her solicitor had not transferred the account from his name to hers, and this had caused the discrepancy. She tried to explain this to the call centre staff but they refused to give her a refund. Elaine was confused and upset by their response, so she rang EWON for help. EWON discussed the issues with a senior officer at the energy company, who organised for the rebate to be backdated. Elaine finalised her husband's account and opened an account in her own name, and was very pleased to receive a credit for the pensioner rebate.

Joyce's story :: Joyce was contacted by a company about signing an energy contract with them. She was interested in their offer and asked them to send her some information. Joyce did not receive anything from the company and she decided not to follow it up. A few months later, Joyce received a bill from the company. She was confused because she had not signed a contract and the bill was much higher than usual, so she rang the company. The company told her they had sent out two information packs and that she had made a verbal agreement over the phone. Joyce was not happy that her call had been recorded and they had transferred her account, so she called EWON. EWON listened to the recording and while Joyce had agreed to receive information, it was not clear that she knowingly accepted a contract offer. We raised this with the company and told them that Joyce wanted to be transferred back to her former provider. Joyce was not charged a termination fee for cancelling the contract, her bill was waived and she was returned to her original provider.

David's story :: A marketer knocked on David's door one day trying to sell him an energy contract. As David has an intellectual disability, he didn't understand the marketer so he called for his carer. She intervened and asked the marketer to leave, saying they were not interested in the offer. The carer later discovered that the marketer had returned and signed David to a three-year contract. When she contacted the energy company they released David from the contract and apologised for the marketer's actions, but explained they were unable to investigate the matter further as the marketing company was not longer operating.The carer was outraged with their inability to do any more, and so she rang EWON to lodge a complaint. EWON identified the marketing misconduct as a systemic issue and took up the matter with the energy company and regulator.

Morrie's story :: Morrie's ex-wife rang EWON for help when she found that Morrie had been living without power for five weeks. Her three teenage children were living with him (one doing the HSC) and they lived in a remote area - the phone was out and they couldn't charge their mobiles. They also relied on electricity to pump their water. When EWON spoke to Morrie, he said he wanted to pay his debts however his cash flow was limited due to ill health and not being able to work. He said his energy debt of about $1000 was only part of his financial problem, but he was hoping to sell some assets to settle what he owed. Morrie explained that his children were showering and washing clothes at a neighbour's house, and they had a small generator which he could run for about an hour each night, so they were getting by. EWON was concerned about the time it might take for Morrie to pay off his debt and be reconnected, so we suggested he apply for EAPA vouchers to help him pay his bill. Morrie was very reluctant to ask for 'charity'. When we discussed the family's disconnection with the energy company, the officer acknowledged their geographic isolation and circumstances. The company offered to waive part of the debt and put Morrie on their hardship program. EWON spoke to Morrie again about the EAPA program. He agreed that it might help him out of a crisis so he arranged an appointment with a community welfare agency. The company reconnected his power the next day and gave Morrie 'a fresh start'.

Carl's story :: Carl is an elderly Indigenous man, who is on a pension and has debilitating health problems and other difficulties. EWON was contacted by Carl's advocate who said Carl had a problem with an energy company and the issue had been going on for a few months. EWON learned that one of his relatives had moved into a property and persuaded Carl to open an electricity account in his name (even though Carl wasn't actually living there). Carl had also signed an authority for Centrepay, allowing regular deductions to be made from his pension towards the electricity account. This continued for a few months until an advocate intervened and cancelled the account. There was still $118 owing on the account and Carl's advocate could not come to an agreement with the company, so he rang EWON. He explained that while he understood it was not the energy company's problem, Carl's financial and personal situation was dire. EWON brought the issue to the attention of a senior member at the energy company, who assessed the situation and given the circumstances, cancelled Carl's debt in full.