FAQs

Some customers may have accounts on both systems for a while:

Depending on the types of WINconnect accounts you currently hold, you might end up with most or all of them on Origin’s systems, and some on WINconnect’s system for now. As we work through the migration, we’ll provide more details about your specific situation. 

Your discount still applies, but your future Origin-branded bills will build the discount into your rates – it won’t be a separate line item once your account is migrated into Origin’s system. You won’t lose any existing discounts in migration.

What is Centrepay?

Centrepay is a voluntary bill-paying service that’s free for Centrelink customers. Use Centrepay to arrange regular deductions from your Centrelink payment.

You can start or change a deduction at any time. The quickest way to do it is through your Centrelink account online. Go to servicesaustralia.gov.au/centrepay for more information.

How do I set this up?

You can set up Centrepay deductions for your WINconnect account through your Centrelink account online. If you’re unsure how to do this, take a look at this step-by-step guide.

You’ll need the details below to set this up for your WINconnect account:

· WINconnect Centrelink Reference Number (CRN): 555083451B

· Name: WINconnect Pty Ltd t/a WINenergy

· Reference: Your account number (you can find this on your bill)

Can Origin cancel my Direct Debit? 

Yes, Origin has the right to cancel your Direct Debit arrangement, but we’ll contact you before the cancellation goes ahead.

How does Origin authorise my direct debit information?

Origin has the right to verify the details with your financial institution. This allows your financial institution to release information that relates to a Direct Debit to Origin. 

Can Origin disclose personal information if required by a financial institution? 

Yes, Origin has the right to disclose personal information if required by your financial institution, as it relates to your Direct Debit agreement. 

When will the Direct Debit leave my account? 

While WIN would process Direct Debits the next business day, Origin debits your account on the day your payment is due, unless it falls on a weekend or a public holiday. In this instance, it will be debited on the next business day.

How can a Direct Debit be cancelled?

A Direct Debit may be cancelled by you, by Origin, or by your financial institution. If an outstanding balance applies, this must be paid by an alternative payment method organised by you as the customer.

How will disputes be resolved with my Direct Debit?
You can call Origin’s contact centre on 13 24 61 to speak to someone and raise a Direct Debit dispute. Once a dispute has been reviewed, Origin will notify you of its determination and the amount of any adjustment that will be made to your nominated account (if any).

When would Origin cancel my Direct Debit? 

Origin will stop your Direct Debit in respect of your relevant product: 

• if you’ve paid a final bill for your product and you are no longer an Origin customer
• if we stop being your retailer for that product due to the operation of a retailer of last resort scheme. In this instance both you and your financial institution will be notified.

Are any fees or charges applicable to Direct Debit agreements? 

Under your WINconnect terms and conditions, you won’t be charged direct debit fees, until you move onto an Origin contract (for example by moving house or your product changing). You can find fees and charges for Origin on the website by clicking here.

If my payment is dishonoured, will fees apply?
Under your Origin Direct Debit agreement, Origin will notify you of the payment dishonour and attempt to deduct payment the next day. Origin may also make other attempts to take the payment or may cancel your Direct Debit agreement if a payment is dishonoured. You will also be responsible for any fees and charges applied by your financial institution.

What notice period is required by Origin for stopping or changing a Direct Debit? 

Origin has the following notice periods: 

• 10 business days’ notice is required for stopping a Direct Debit.
• 10 business days’ notice is required for changing either bank account details or a person’s details.
• 4 business days’ notice is required when ending an agreement.

For all WINconnect customers, the contract you accepted with WINconnect will remain in place – even if we migrate your account to Origin’s systems.  

To find out how WINconnect and Origin collect, hold and disclose personal and credit information, view our privacy statements at winconnect.com.au/privacy-policy and originenergy.com.au/privacy

Call WINconnect on 1300 791 970 weekdays from 8am to 6pm if you’d like to chat. We can help you with your migration questions, as well as any other topic to do with your account(s), like: 

• billing 

• moving in or out 

• disconnections 

• making payments. 

Origin is one of Australia’s leading integrated energy companies with over four million customer accounts and interests in generation and production. Its community energy services (CES) business manages over 200,000 Hot Water customers and 96,000 Embedded Electricity customers in more than 2,700 buildings and provides serviced hot water, natural gas and electricity via embedded networks and other related services.

You can find more information about Origin at www.originenergy.com.au

The WINconnect business will continue to operate as normal. Your account, if eligible, will transition to the Origin billing system over the next few months, and we’ll let you know prior to this occurring. Once your account has migrated into Origin’s system, we’ll send you a Welcome Letter with your new account number and any other details you might need.

The contract that you have accepted with WINconnect will remain in place.

Yes. We’ll continue to manage your account and bill you for your usage.

You’ll continue to receive the high level of service you’ve come to expect from us and we’ll keep you up-to-date on the key things you need to know along the way, either by letter or email, or as a message on your bill.

Once your account has migrated from WINconnect to Origin systems, you’ll still retain all your benefits under your current contract unless notified otherwise, or until you move onto an Origin product.

Once your account is migrated into Origin’s system, your bills will come from Origin’s system, and be Origin-branded. If you have more than one service with WINconnect, please note that accounts may be migrated at different times, and if that happens, you may receive both WIN and Origin-branded bills for a time. Your billing cycle will not change as a result of migration into Origin’s system.

To find out more about how WINconnect collects, uses, holds and discloses personal and credit information, read our Privacy statements at www.winconnect.com.au/privacy-policy

Yes, of course. Just call us on 1300 791 970 weekdays from 8am to 6pm (AEST) if you’d like to chat.

You can continue to call WINconnect on 1300 791 970 weekdays from 8.00am – 6.00pm (AEST). If your enquiry is regarding an account that has been migrated into Origin’s system, call Origin on 13 24 61.

If you have any questions or issues regarding your account, please refer to our WINconnect team who will be able to assist you with your enquiry.

• Direct debit
• BPAY
• Pay Online
• Pay by Phone
• Pay in Person
• Pay by Mail
• Centrepay

Visit winconnect.com.au/pay-a-bill for further information

Your electricity rate is located on the back of your bill. For any questions regarding your electricity rate, please email enquiries@winconnect.com.au or call 1300 791 970 for a copy of your rate table.

Commercial accounts may include a pay on time discount off the usage. Residential customers are placed on a special base rate. Contact our Customer Service Team on 1300 791 970 or email enquiries@winconnect.com.au for a copy of your electricity rates.

WINconnect and WINenergy issue invoices for electricity, water, gas cooktops (included on your hot water invoice) and air conditioning on a monthly basis, billed on actual meter reads. In the rare case where bills are issued on estimate reads (due to access issues or a faulty meter) WINconnect will estimate based on market rules and the consumption is flagged as estimated on the back of your bill.

We understand that from time to time, customers may have trouble paying their bills. We are here to help, please contact us to discuss our flexible payment options such as a short term payment extension or our view hardship program for further information on support that may be available to you. WINconnect Customer Service can be contacted  on 1300 791 970 (Australia Only) or +61 3 9832 0000 (Outside Australia) between 8am – 5pm (AEST), alternatively you may complete an online enquiry form.

At your request, WINconnect will review your bill without charge. While the bill is being reviewed, we require payment for either part of the bill we both agree is not in dispute or an amount equal to the average of your bills over the previous twelve months. Our experienced customer service staff can talk to you about what could be impacting your usage.  If you are not satisfied with the review, you may ask for a meter test. If your meter is inaccurate, we will adjust your bill accordingly and there will be no charge for the test. If the meter is accurate, you will be required to pay the cost of the test and the amount outstanding. Potential test costs will be discussed with you before the test is scheduled.

Click this link to see a ‘High Bill Checklist’, this list may assist in explaining why your invoice is higher than expected. The information contained within this checklist is a guide only and individual circumstances may vary.

For all information regarding to additional fees and charges that may apply from time to time visit our additional fees and charges page or contact  WINconnect  Customer Service on 1300 791 970 (Australia Only) or +61 3 9832 0000 (Outside Australia) between 8am – 5pm (AEST), alternatively you may complete an online enquiry form.

If you wish to pay your account manually you can do so provided payments are made at least 3 business days prior to the due date. This is to allow for the funds to be recorded against your account and avoid a double payment. If payment is made manually within this timeframe, due to processing times, a direct debit will still occur.

What is Centrepay?

Centrepay is a voluntary bill-paying service that’s free for Centrelink customers. Use Centrepay to arrange regular deductions from your Centrelink payment.

You can start or change a deduction at any time. The quickest way to do it is through your Centrelink account online. Go to servicesaustralia.gov.au/centrepay for more information.

How do I set this up?

You can set up Centrepay deductions for your WINconnect account through your Centrelink account online. If you’re unsure how to do this, take a look at this step-by-step guide.

You’ll need the details below to set this up for your WINconnect account:

· WINconnect Centrelink Reference Number (CRN): 555083451B

· Name: WINconnect Pty Ltd t/a WINenergy

· Reference: Your account number (you can find this on your bill)

Connection requests can be made online using the online ‘Get Connected’ form. Alternatively, you can contact us on 1300 791 970 Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm (AEST) and we can arrange this over the phone in a matter of minutes.

Simply complete our ‘Move Out’ to close your account.  Alternatively, you can contact us on 1300 791 970 Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm (AEST) and we can arrange this over the phone in a matter of minutes.

As your meter is part of a community energy network, and not part of the NEM (Nation Energy Market), a NMI is not assigned to your meter. WINconnect allocates a unique meter number to identify your usage associated with your supply address. Your WINconnect meter number is shown on the back of your bill.

We endeavour to complete Standard or Priority Connections between 8:00am and 5:30pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays). There may be times connection will occur outside this time due to circumstances outside of our control such as traffic congestion.

To check if your electricity has been turned on, ensure your main switch and any other switches on the switch board in your tenancy are in the ‘On’ position.  If there is no electricity, turn off the main switch and safety switch. WINconnect endeavour to have connections completed by 5:30pm, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays). There may be times connection will occur outside this time due to circumstances outside of our control such as traffic congestion. If connection has not been completed by this time you can contact WINconnect after-hours on 1300 448 862.

In most cases you do not need to be present for connection to occur, however you do need to ensure your main switch in your tenancy is turned off. If you wish to confirm if you need to be present call us.

Contact us and one of our Customer Experience Team will endeavour to resolve your enquiry. In some cases, we may request you notify us of your concerns in writing. We will make every effort to resolve your concerns promptly.

If concerns remain, you may request to speak to a supervisor who will review your case and advise any decisions reached. Some matters, such as supply quality problems, have to be referred to a distributor and may take longer to resolve due to their technical nature. We’ll let you know if there’s likely to be any significant delay and keep you up to date as we are notified of progress.

Whatever the problem, contacting us first is generally the quickest way to fix things, and often helps us make improvements for other customers.

If you’ve escalated the matter through our supervisor and you still don’t feel as though your complaint’s been resolved, we suggest you contact our local ombudsman. You can find these details on our ‘Help and Support‘ page under the complaints and feedback menu.

WINconnect can be contacted on 1300 791 970 (Australia Only) or +61 3 8797 2053 (Outside Australia) between 8am – 6pm (AEST), alternatively you may complete an online enquiry form.

Contact us and one of our customer service team will endeavour to resolve your enquiry. In some cases, we may request you notify us of your concerns in writing. We will make every effort to resolve your concerns promptly.

If concerns remain, you may request to speak to a supervisor who will review your case and advise any decisions reached. Some matters, such as supply quality problems, have to be referred to a distributor and may take longer to resolve due to their technical nature. We’ll let you know if there’s likely to be any significant delay and keep you up to date as we are notified of progress.

Whatever the problem, contacting us first is generally the quickest way to fix things, and often helps us make improvements for other customers. If by any chance you are not satisfied, you can refer your concerns to the relevant tribunal in your state that can act as a dispute resolution party (e.g. VCAT or NCAT).

If you have a valid concession card you may be eligible for a government concession.

For further information, speak with our customer service team on 1300 791 970.

WINconnect maintains its No Contact Register for those customers who wish not to be contacted in the following ways:

• Person to person contact (such as door to door sales) and
• Direct Mail contact (such as junk mail)

For customers who are added to the No Contact Register, you will remain on the register for two years from the date of your request. After this period, you will need to contact us to be placed back on the register.

To be added to the WINconnect No Contact Register, please email your details to customercomms@winconnect.com.au Please be aware that the No Customer Contact Register does not extend to telemarketing or electronic marketing (such as email). You can manage these preferences by contacting our Customer Experience Team on 1300 791 790 (8am – 6pm AEST, Mon- Fri) or emailing enquiries@winconnect.com.au

Generators are the companies responsible for the generation of electricity.

Electricity is generated in power stations using either fossil fuels (like coal or gas) or renewable energy sources (like wind, water or solar).

Electricity distributors own and maintain the networks that carry electricity to residences and businesses, this includes powerlines, power poles and underground cables. Distributors are your first point of contact for questions about interruptions to your electricity supply, such as fallen powerlines. Distributors operate within specific geographical areas.

The distribution companies in the National Electricity Market are:

NSW: AusGrid, Endeavour Energy, Essential Energy

ACT: ActewAGL

VIC: CitiPower, Powercor, AusNet Services, United Energy, Jemena

TAS: Aurora Energy

SA: SA Power Networks

QLD: Energex, Ergon

An energy retailer is a licensed business responsible for invoicing electricity consumption. Authorised electricity retailers buy electricity from generators through wholesale markets and sell to the end consumer.

Exempt sellers buy energy from an energy retailer and resell the energy within a private network.  They are usually Owners Corporations, Body Corporates or Shopping Centre Owners.  WINconnect, under our WINenergy brand, acts as an agent on behalf of the exempt seller, providing them with billing services, expertise and compliance with the exempt seller guidelines. WINconnect also holds energy retail authorisations (National and Victoria) and conforms to relevant consumer protection regimes.