BOSTON (Legal Newsline) — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced March 7 that National Grid will pay $7 million to resolve allegations of improperly charging $50 service fees to 53,000 customers.
According to allegations, National Grid charged the service fee between 2010 and 2016 to consumers who were attempting to reconnect their gas service after it had previously been shut off due to non-payment. National Grid’s fee charges came after agreeing to eliminate the fee after a ruling by the Department of Public Utilities in 2010. National Grid says the fees continued to happen because of a coding error in its billing system.
“Customers already struggling to heat their homes were hit with illegal charges by their gas company,” Healey said in a statement. “This agreement with National Grid returns millions of dollars to more than 50,000 customers.”
The Energy and Telecommunications Division of the Office of the Attorney General exists to ensure Massachusetts businesses and residents can access energy that is reliable, safe and affordable. Handling the case for Massachusetts were division chief Rebecca Tepper, deputy division chief Nate Forster and assistant attorney general Matthew Saunders.