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WDP payable — disconnected without noticeC/2007/10208
Ms Y’s electricity supply was disconnected without notice. When she rang EWOV, she’d been without power for almost four days. When she moved into the property five months earlier, Ms Y had arranged electricity connection through an electricity retailer of her choice. She wasn’t aware that, due to a transfer delay, a different electricity retailer was responsible for the property until the supply for the previous occupant was disconnected.
Contacted by EWOV, the second retailer initially said the previous occupant of the property had arranged for the electricity to be disconnected that day — and this was why Ms Y’s property was disconnected. Contrary to this, when we reviewed the
retailer’s customer contact screens, we found the retailer had meant to request disconnection for a different address and had disconnected Ms Y’s address in error.
The retailer voluntarily agreed to a wrongful disconnection payment of $1,000 for Ms Y’s loss of power for almost four days. It also offered her compensation for loss of food and reimbursed fees for reconnection of supply — a total of almost $1,800.
This case highlights that a sequence of events may lead to a disconnection of supply in error and without any notice. In these circumstances, as well as receiving the wrongful disconnection payment, customers may receive compensation for loss of food and other related costs.
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