A $270,000 remediation by Origin Energy will be shared among more than 4,500 customers, but the average payout is only about $60 per household. The refunds follow an ACCC review that began after a complaint from consumer group CHOICE and examined claims the Ongoing Saver electricity plan overstated ongoing savings, the regulator and Origin said on July 14, 2026. Origin described the affected cohort as roughly 0.5 percent of customers on that plan and said impacted households paid an average of $28 more than they should have. Origin has removed the product and begun contacting customers with credits or refund options.
Origin agreed to pay $270,000 in remediation, but the total amount translates to modest cashbacks for most customers. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Origin confirmed the figure on July 14, 2026 after the regulator probed representations made under Origin's Ongoing Saver plan.
The refunds cover more than 4,500 households that had been on the Ongoing Saver plan, a group Origin says amounts to about 0.5 percent of customers on that product. CHOICE complained that some customers were charged more under Ongoing Saver than they would have been on Origin's Basic plan, prompting the ACCC review. Origin said the impacted customers paid an average total of $28 more than they should have, and that the average remediation works out to roughly $60 per affected customer.
According to Origin, current customers will be offered an automatic credit to their account or the option to request a refund, while former customers will be contacted directly to arrange compensation. The company apologised to impacted customers, said it will discontinue the Ongoing Saver product, and pledged not to use plan names to imply savings unless those savings are built into the plan structure.
Regulatory posture and concurrent enforcement
The ACCC framed the case as a test of how retailers name and advertise energy plans. "Electricity retailers that claim or suggest savings for consumers on their plans, including in the name of the plan, must ensure that the savings are actually delivered to customers for the life of the plan," ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said. The regulator said it would take no further enforcement action after Origin offered the refunds and cooperated with the investigation. Origin hasn't admitted breaching Australian Consumer Law.
The remediation sits alongside wider scrutiny of energy retailer conduct. Consumer groups have pushed for clearer disclosure of how usage charges and supply fees combine to produce final bills, and how plan names and marketing affect customer expectations.
Separately, the Australian Energy Regulator has taken Origin to court over unrelated allegations involving Centrepay arrangements.
The AER alleges that between December 2019 and March 2025 there were 77,000 breaches of the kind it's pursuing, and says one customer was overcharged by about $11,000 over two years. That court action is a separate legal process and isn't connected to the ACCC's Ongoing Saver review.
Origin said it has made improvements intended to prevent a repeat of the issue that led to the ACCC review. The company is contacting affected customers and processing credits and refunds now, while the Ongoing Saver product has been removed from sale.
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The ACCC accepted Origin's remediation and closed its probe on July 14, 2026, while the Australian Energy Regulator's court action over alleged Centrepay overcharges continues as a separate process. Originally reported by nine.com.au.
This article was created with AI assistance.
