npower to pay £3.5m penalty to 'vulnerable' customers Npower has agreed to pay £3.5m to help vulnerable customers - its second penalty this month. The company, one of Britain's big six energy firms, had already pledged £1m to vulnerable customers for failing to issue correct bills for a year. The Telegraph this week disclosed how staff complained of a "toxic" culture in call centres, which contributed to a billing nightmare that is still being resolved. Sarah Harrison, a senior partner at Ofgem, said: "Whilst [npower] was making changes to improve its sales processes, weaknesses remained which affected consumers" ability to compare supplier offers fairly. These issues have been fully addressed by npower and Ofgem welcomes the company's actions and its agreement to pay £3.5m to directly benefit vulnerable consumers. Npower said warm home discount customers will receive credit on their account or a top up to their prepayment meter account. Any money remaining in the £3.5m fund for any reason, such as uncashed cheques, will be paid into the Health Through Warmth Crisis Fund, which provides financial help and support for vulnerable homeowners of all energy firms who have long term cold-related illnesses who need heating repairs and installations that they cannot afford themselves. Paul Massara, chief executive of npower, said, "We've worked very closely with Ofgem as they've investigated these previous issues. It's good to draw a line under this, so we can focus on our goal of becoming number one for customer experience by the end of 2015. Npower is not the only firm to face penalties for mis-selling. In March 2012, EDF paid £4.5m to vulnerable customers for breaching marketing rules. SSE was found guilty of "prolonged and extensive" mis-selling in April, receiving a £10.5m penalty, while Scottish Power paid £8.5m in October.