OFT chair: Billing issues are ‘self-inflicted gunshot wound’ 

Enforcement action against Isle of Man Energy underway

Outdated legislation on the Isle of Man must be phased out, and new guidance introduced, in order to protect consumers.

That’s the view of the chair of the Office of Fair Trading who is pushing the chief minister for a review of the Fair Trading Act of 1996.

It’s in light of ongoing problems being experienced by Isle of Man Energy customers – over gas billing - which have led to the threat of court action.

John Wannenburgh says ‘relentless’ action will be taken against the Island’s gas provider if problems aren’t resolved in the next few weeks.

In Tynwald yesterday (18 January) disgruntled politicians aired their concerns about the provider known as Manx Gas before a rebrand last year:

Customers have taken to social media, and traditional media, to share their experiences with the company.

Problems include missing bills, incorrect bills, direct debits being taken without notice and, for some, higher than expected withdrawals from already strained bank accounts.

Some people, like Manx Radio listener Ian, claim to have had bills based on actual meter readings that weren’t actually taken:

The Office of Fair Trading has confirmed it met with Isle of Man Energy on Monday to work ‘proactively’ to resolve issues and says it’s committed ‘significant resources’ to help consumers.

However it says there is still a backlog of complaints that need to be cleared and has warned that if this isn’t done enforcement action – including a referral to the Attorney General’s Chambers - will follow.

Mr Wannenburgh has described the situation as ‘intolerable’ but admits the situation is being hindered by out-of-date legislation – he spoke to Manx Radio's political correspondent Phil Gawne:

In response Isle of Man Energy has apologised – but maintained the position that these are legacy issues.

In a statement it told Manx Radio:

"Isle of Man Energy would like to reassure customers that the vast majority of technical issues with our new billing system have now been rectified.

"However there remains a backlog of bill issues which we are working through as swiftly as we can, and we sincerely apologise for any delays in responding during this particularly busy time.

"We had a constructive meeting this week with the OFT and CURA and reiterate the advice given by the OFT, which is to contact Isle of Man Energy directly via our website.

"This generates a help desk ticket and your query will be then answered by the appropriate team; if you have already contacted us about an existing issue, your enquiry is being dealt with and our team will be in touch as soon as they can.

"Once again, we thank our customers for their patience while the backlog of queries is cleared."