Gas Company Apologises for Email Error

Isle of Man Energy has apologised after some customers’ bills were emailed to the wrong people.

This is the latest payment issue for the company, which has had several problems with payment issues in recent months, that has resulted in over 300 complaints being made to the OFT.

The issue, which the company said happened on March 30, was highlighted on the Facebook group Moneywatch IOM where several members reported receiving an email from the company apologising for a data breach.

A spokesperson for Isle of Man Energy said: ‘On March 30 an error occurred where a number of customer’s bills were sent out to a small number of e-bill recipients. The information disclosed were name, address and customer reference. Immediate action was taken to rectify this, and a notification made to the Information Commissioner.

‘We apologised for this error and want to reassure our customers that no sensitive or financial information has been disclosed. We take these incidents extremely seriously, and a thorough investigation is taking place. Affected customers have been given a dedicated contact if they have any concerns.’

While this issue related to information, the company has had continued issues with its payment system in recent months.

Last week chairman of the OFT John Wannenburgh (Douglas North) said the watchdog has received more than 300 complaints from Isle of Man Energy customers since September 2022, about a wide range of issues, including bills not being issued, inaccurate meter readings and problems with direct debits.

Gef also contacted the island’s Information Commissioner, with an officer saying they were only able to confirm that Isle of Man Energy has previously reported personal data breaches, but that they are not in a position to confirm if those breaches included this event.

Any customer affected is able to report the issue to the Info Commissioner.