British Gasis suingAccenturefor £182m over problems with
a customer billing system it says has severely impacted on customer
service operations.
The energy company employed Accenture in 2001 to design and
implement the system, dubbed Juipiter, in 2006 to 2007.
British Gas said in a statement that it became apparent there
were problems with the system, which cost about £300m. An
independent analysis concluded that Accenture was responsible for
fundamental errors, it said.
British Gas said it was forced to make additional investments
and employ extra staff to help deal with the system's failures.
British Gas parent company, Centrica, has issued a high court
writ claiming that the inability to properly bill customers was
catastrophic.
Accenture said that the claims are baseless and without merit
and it will put up a vigorous defence.
The company said in a statement that the system it delivered met
all its commitments, and was delivered on time and within
budget.
Accenture said Centrica conducted extensive testing of the
system before formally accepting it and had no basis for a warranty
claim.
"At their own choice, after extensive testing, in March 2006
Centrica took over total control over all aspects of the system
about which they now complain and has operated the system
themselves for over two years," the statement said.