Protections for businesses
The arrangements for consumer representation and redress make no distinction between domestic energy customers and micro-businesses (that is a business with less than 10 employees and a turnover of less than €2 million a year or a business that uses less than 200,000 kWh of gas or less than 55,000 kWh of electricity per year).
This means that those small businesses covered by the definition of a micro-business benefit from the new ‘complaint handling standards’. This consists of:
- A duty on energy suppliers to ensure their complaints process is rigorous and fair. Companies are audited on how they handle complaints and will face fines of up to up to 10 per cent of turnover if they are found to have failed to meet the new standards
- A redress scheme run through the Energy Ombudsman
- Support from Consumer Focus’ Extra Help Unit which will accept cases referred by Consumer Direct for vulnerable small businesses, including businesses that have been disconnected or threatened with disconnection
- Access to advice from Consumer Direct. (You can contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06, or on www.consumerdirect.gov.uk for energy advice.)
For details of how to make a complaint about your energy company see our advice leaflet How to complain about your energy supplier.
If you have an energy query you can ask a question in Consumer Focus’s online knowledge base. Ask a question and a series of answers will be displayed which may cover your query, or contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.
What to do if you have an unresolved complaint
If your problem persists and after eight weeks you still have failed to receive adequate resolution from your energy supplier, you can contact the Energy Ombudsman at the following address
Energy Ombudsman
PO Box 966
Warrington
WA4 9DF
Tel.: 0845 055 0760, or 01925 530263
Fax: 0845 055 0765, or 01925 530264
Textphone: 0845 051 1513, or 01925 430886
Their telephone lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Website: www.energy-ombudsman.org.uk/
