2015 Atlantic Journalism Awards Finalists
Attachments
| Slug/Label | Overbilled |
|---|---|
| Date Aired or Published | Various: March 5 - July 8 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | CBC NB |
| Name of Program: | Radio News and Shift |
| If co-produced, list partner: | |
| Location: | Saint John |
| List awards, grants: | |
| Running time (TV/Radio): | |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: In May 2015 Irving Oil refunded 3,450 heating oil and propane customers in New Brunswick over $200,000 and apologized for billing the group more than the province's legal maximum price tens of thousands of times over the previous 9 years. The overbillings were uncovered by CBC reporter Robert Jones who noticed while chasing a different story entirely in early March, that Fredericton librarian Joanne Smyth had been overcharged nearly $200 on a single furnace oil delivery that month. That discovery led Jones to help Smyth find more than a dozen other overcharges on her account. Jones asked publicly for other Irving Oil customers to contact him with their bills and from the several who did two other consumers were found to have had similar experiences. The reports triggered an investigation by NB's Energy and Utilities Board into Irving Oil's billing practices but before that was complete in July, CBC NB detailed how Irving Oil was attempting to avoid making full refunds to affected customers. That news caused a strong public reaction and eventually led to Irving Oil agreeing to repay affected customers in full in May, a decision that cost the company more than $200,000. In total, a series of about a dozen news stories and current affairs reports told the story of Overbilled from its beginning in March to its conclusion in July when 3,450 affected customers were formally identified by the EUB. |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: Overbilled began as a normal daily news story on a different subject and grew in size as days and weeks passed. Jones reviewed more than 100 Irving Oil bills from various customers and cross referenced them with legal prices over a 9 year period to identify problems. The stories were reported as new information became available in the course of regular daily news gathering and did not consume extra resources. |
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