Consumer rights expert Martyn James explains everything you need to know about how to make a complaint to your energy supplier
Help is available through charities, energy suppliers and the government(Image: GETTY)
Does your energy bill seem unrealistically high? Is your smart meter speaking to you in a foreign language? Or are you struggling to get your energy supplier to listen to your complaint?
Complaint levels for energy firms have dropped significantly. Call me Mr Cynical, but I’m pretty confident that this isn’t because you’re all happy with your energy suppliers.
A cursory glance at my inbox suggests that many readers are deeply frustrated over energy complaints that simply never get resolved. Lots of people tell me that they’ve just given up on getting their problem sorted out.
I’m here to say don’t give up! It’s actually straightforward to get an energy problem sorted out. You only need to register your complaint once – and if it isn’t sorted out in full within eight weeks, then you can take the same complaint and send it to the free Energy Ombudsman. All you need to do is explain what’s gone wrong. Here’s how to do it.
What are the main gas and electricity complaints?
There are lots of things that can go wrong with energy bills and meters. Here are the main complaints that people make if you aren’t sure how to categorise the problem you have:
- Billing errors
- Smart meter faults / other meter faults
- Credit balance refunds
- Financial difficulties and vulnerable customers
- Customer service issues
- Back billing
- Not my bill
- Debt collection
Real life is messy, so it’s likely that you won’t just have one of these complaint categories. You may have started with a disputed bill, only to find out there’s a smart meter problem, followed by issues with customer service.
Pick the main issue when you make your complaint, but make sure your complaint includes all other problems that you’ve encountered while trying to sort it out.
How to get an energy problem or complaint sorted out
All energy businesses have ‘contact us’ options on their websites. These should include Q&A pages, live chat, phone numbers and social media links. You may be able to do some things online, like submit meter readings. But for complaints, you’ll need to contact someone direct.
If you need help making a complaint, organisations like Citizens Advice may be able to help you. Alternatively ask a friend or neighbour to help you get in touch with an energy firm. Charities like Age UK have support and advice for people too.
If you want to make a complaint, you may find it easier to put it in writing first. Even if you’d rather speak to someone on the phone, writing down some bullet points covering what’s gone wrong can help you stay focused when you make the complaint.
Keep things simple and focused on the problems you’d like the business to address. Ask the business if you can email or send them the written complaint if it’s complicated. Don’t forget to tell the business what you want to sort the problem out.
It makes sense to gather up as much evidence as you can find. If you have old bills, letters, photographs of meter readings or other information, save it in one file if you can. I tend to photograph key documents so I have a record in case they get lost.
If you make a complaint to the Energy Ombudsman, you’ll be able to upload this information or send it to them.
Above all else, it’s really important that you tell the business or organisation what it is that you want to resolve the problem.
- How you want to problem sorting out.
- Compensation for financial loss (explain how you reached that figure).
- Compensation for distress/inconvenience (this is known as a ‘gesture of goodwill’ payment. Keep it realistic and explain why the money reflects your experience).
- Consequential loss (these are losses you’ve experienced as a consequence of the problem – but can be harder to prove).
We tend to be terribly British when it comes to asking for compensation. Most people avoid spelling out what they want to settle a complaint. But if you don’t give an idea of how much money you are looking for, you won’t be offered anything, or you’ll get an offer so derisory you’ll be even more furious.
The energy business has a maximum of eight weeks from the moment you say ‘complaint’ to sort out the problem in full – no matter how complex it is.
They must write to you with their findings. Failing that, they must give you a ‘final decision’ – a letter that sets out their conclusions and why they’ve reached their decision. This must also tell you about your right to go to the Energy Ombudsman.
How the Energy Ombudsman can help
If you’ve received a ‘final decision’ from the energy firm but you’re still not happy with the resolution, the Energy Ombudsman can look at your complaint. The same goes for complaints that have not been sorted out despite eight weeks passing.
*Good news alert* The Energy Ombudsman may be getting some new powers soon. The proposals are halving the timescale that businesses have to sort out your complaint to four weeks! Other proposals include strengthening the ombudsman’s powers and making energy suppliers automatically refer complaints that aren’t resolved to the ombudsman.
It’s really easy to make a complaint online. Just click on this link and follow the step-by-step instructions. The Ombudsman will ask you to explain the problem in your own words and will ask what you would like to sort things out. You’ll also be able to upload supporting documents and photographs too. You can also ask the Ombudsman to consider the time and trouble it has taken to make the complaint.
If you’d rather have a chat with the Energy Ombudsman, their phone lines are open Monday to Friday 8am until 8pm and Saturday 9am until 1pm. 0330 440 1624.
So don’t think making an energy complaint is hopeless – make your voice heard today!
- Martyn James is a leading consumer rights campaigner, TV and radio broadcaster and journalist.