Origin Energy will appear in court for allegedly overcharging more than 3,400 former customers on Centrelink by $2.5 million. The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) says the company breached laws over 77,000 times. Between December 2019 and March 2025, Origin took payments from customers through Centrepay even after their accounts were closed. One customer reportedly paid $11,000 in overcharges. The company did not notify customers or refund them on time, the AER said Monday. Guardian Australia revealed in May 2024 that Origin had been making these payments. The regulator claims Origin knew of the system’s flaws as early as 2017. Clare Savage, chair of the AER, said, “Many customers affected by this alleged conduct were likely experiencing economic vulnerability and could have otherwise used the money they were overcharged to spend on essentials.” Centrepay allows approved businesses to directly debit welfare payments to cover essentials like rent and energy. However, misuse has led to investigations into major energy retailers, including AGL and Alinta Energy, both previously fined. Origin said it self-reported the overpayments to Services Australia in 2021 and has worked on customer refunds. “We regret that we did not manage Centrepay deductions for our former customers as we should have and apologise to all those affected,” an Origin spokesperson said. The AER will seek fines, customer compensation, and legal costs in court, along with demands for compliance improvements at Origin. Despite this, Origin’s market value rose to $19.2 billion Monday morning. The scandal dwarfs previous cases; it involves seven times more customers than AGL’s 483 welfare recipients who were overcharged. The Australian government has recently reformed Centrepay to protect vulnerable consumers from such predators. – with additional reporting by Christopher Knaus