If you are dissatisfied by your gas, electricity or dual fuel supply or the service that has been provided to you, the good news is it is easy to make a complaint about your energy supplier and most of the time, complaints are taken seriously enough to warrant a verbal or written response.
There are three main ways to make a complaint about your utility company.
Contact your energy supplier
The first thing you should do if you have a complaint is address this to your energy supplier on the phone. Energy suppliers and utility companies record all calls for training and monitoring purposes, so there will always be a record of your complaint on file with your supplier if you contact them on the telephone. This is valuable, because sometimes utility companies claim to have no record of your complaint – this way, they have no excuses.
We also recommend you send a written complaint either by email or by writing. Sending a complaint by email is the quickest way and you can find your energy supplier’s email address on their website, however writing your complaint out and sending it via Special Delivery or any other mail method that requires a signature gives you a guarantee that your complaint has been received.
Contact Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice is a charity and while they cannot process your complaint for you, what they can do is inform you of your rights as a consumer or business. So if you believe that your energy supplier is in breach of their contract with you or you feel as though your complaint is not being handled effectively, then Citizens Advice will be able to tell you where you stand legally.
Here are the details you need to contact Citizens Advice:
Citizens Advice consumer helpline: 03454 04 05 06
Textphone: 18001 03454 04 05 06
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Citizens Advice consumer service,
Post Point 24,
Town Hall,
Walliscote Grove Road,
Weston super Mare,
North Somerset,
BS23 1UJ.
Contact the Energy Ombudsman
The Energy Ombudsman can deal with all your complaints surrounding your utility company including complaints surrounding gas and electricity bills, problems arising out of switching your supplier, the way in which you have been sold a product, the supply of energy to your home or business and much more. Ombudsman Services was founded in 2002 and they investigate all complaints thoroughly if they feel that their input is required to resolve a complaint or dispute.
There are time limits to making a complaint though – you can make a complaint with the Energy Ombudsman after 8 weeks from making your complaint with your energy supplier, if your supplier is one of the big six. If your supplier is one of the growing number of independents, you can only make a complaint with the Energy Ombudsman after 12 weeks from making a complaint with your supplier.
Here are the details you need to contact the Energy Ombudsman:
Phone: 0330 440 1624
Fax: 0330 440 1625
Textphone: 0330 440 1600
Ombudsman Services,
The Brew House,
Wilderspool Park,
Greenall’s Avenue,
Warrington,
WA4 6HL.