£24 million Cadent fine “welcome news” for affected customers, says Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice, in its role as the official consumer champion for energy, has responded to Ofgem’s announcement of a £24 million fine for gas distribution network company Cadent.

Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:

“Today’s announcement will be welcome news for those who were left without supply because of Cadent’s failures. When energy network companies fail to deliver good levels of service, customers should be compensated.

“Our research shows that in the last three years, households have missed out on £5.1 million of compensation for customer service failures by network companies. We believe that when these companies don’t deliver the right levels of service, compensation should be automatic.

“The setting up of a community fund to support consumers in vulnerable circumstances is another positive step. It’s critical that both Ofgem and energy networks make sure that support for these groups is central to to what they do.”

Notes to editors

  1. £5.1 million figure taken from recent Citizens Advice report Standard Issue

  2. Citizens Advice and other consumer organisations set forward a series of proposals on how Ofgem can support vulnerable customers as part of the RIIO-2 price controls in a collection of essays (December 2018)

  3. Citizens Advice includes the national charity; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.

  4. Citizens Advice is the statutory consumer advocate for energy and post. We provide supplier performance information to consumers and policy analysis to decision makers.

  5. The Citizens Advice Witness Service provides free, independent support for prosecution and defence witnesses in every criminal court in England and Wales.

  6. Citizens Advice offers Pension Wise services at 500 locations in England and Wales.

  7. Citizens Advice’s services are free, independent, confidential and impartial, and available to all regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.

  8. To get advice online or find your local Citizens Advice, visit citizensadvice.org.uk

  9. For consumer advice, call the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 or 03454 04 05 05 to talk in Welsh.

  10. We helped 2.6 million people face to face, by phone, email and webchat in 2017-18. For service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.

  11. Citizens Advice staff are supported by over 23,000 trained volunteers, working at over 2,500 locations in England and Wales.