Enerygy Ombudsman

naedanger

footyguy wrote: »

I think what the nPower rep is trying to say is that nPower will need to liaise with the ombudsman to explain why they have not complied with the earlier agreed ruling of the ombudsman.

Why should npower need to speak to the Ombudsman to find out why npower has not done what they were asked to do?

It should not affect nPower doing what has been agreed

agreed

(unless there is some kind of dispute over what has been agreed to be done, such as the OP not having accepted in writing within 28 days the resolution offered by the ombudsman)

but if that was the case npower should have said

I don't quite understand the ombudsman's ruling myself as the way I read it, the dispute was about the fact nPower claimed not to supply gas to the OP (when presumably they did). Therefore no gas bills would have been produced by nPower for the OP for the last year. The OP will still have to pay for the gas supply (which it seems the ombudsman ruled was supplied by nPower) so any compensation would be used to offset the gas bill the OP should now have received.

Have we seen the ruling? Normally the Ombudsman speaks to both parties to explain the ruling before finalising it. In any event if it was confusing to npower they should have said so 3 months ago.

Perhaps there are ongoing disputes about the opening and closing reads of the meter which is causing the delay, and which the supplier would need to inform the ombudsman about
(unless those were also settled by the ombudsman as part of the overall complaint)

Again if this was the case npower should have said so months ago. And the Ombudsman should also have said. The OP's complaint seems to be that, at the very least, the Ombudsman is not communicating the actions they have taken to get their decision implemented. (Of course the lack of communication may hide a lack of action.)

hanspans

footyguy wrote: »

Did you call the person who was investigating your complaint and came up with the resolution?
Their direct contact info would have been given to you.

Presumably you haven't spoken with him/her, so I suggest you make that call without delay.
If the individual is claimed not to be available, ask to speak to their manager.

That is essentially the first step of complaining about the ombudsman anyway
(There are some more steps if necessary, but once you have done this, then your complaint about the ombudsman service will hopefully no longer exist )

Hi, I have struggled to get through but will keep trying.
Thanks

hanspans

Terry98 wrote: »

From The Guardian a few days ago...

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/oct/11/scottish-power-ombudsman-bills-compensation

Really intersting article. It is a nightmaare, I know how these people feel

hanspans

nPower_company_representative wrote: »

Hi hanspans

Thanks for your post.

Whilst I can't comment on the Ombudsman's complaint process, I'm disappointed to learn the actions required from npower haven't been completed. If you can contact me using the details on our profile with your account details and query info, I'll be more than happy to take a look at this for you. I can also ask one of npower's designated Ombudsman Team to liaise with the Ombudsman to find out why there's a delay in responding to you. When you email, please mark it for my attention and quite MSE so I can make sure this is picked up correctly rather than forwarded on.

Regards

Jess

Hi Jess,

I have just sent details of complaint over.

Thanks

cing0

Interesting that they have not given you the independent assessors contact details (it is [email]ia___@AT@___ombudsman-services.org[/email] which give you back an acknowledgement for a response in 5 days).
The complaints process is now:
manger
director
IA.

The ombudsman won't enforce the final decision as it never has it the past to my knowledge so you can probably only go for casing unnecessary delays.
I have followed the complaints process in the past and got to the independent assessor stage in a week.

naedanger

cing0 wrote: »

Interesting that they have not given you the independent assessors contact details (it is [email]ia___@AT@___ombudsman-services.org[/email] which give you back an acknowledgement for a response in 5 days).
The complaints process is now:
manger
director
IA.

The ombudsman won't enforce the final decision as it never has it the past to my knowledge so you can probably only go for casing unnecessary delays.
I have followed the complaints process in the past and got to the independent assessor stage in a week.

Thanks for the information.

Do you know who is responsible then for ensuring the ombudsman's decisions are implemented?

footyguy

hanspans wrote: »

Hi, I have struggled to get through but will keep trying.
Thanks

How can you be struggling to get through? :huh:

You should have the adjudicator's direct telephone number.

If it's contantly engaged (meaning the advisor is probably talking to another person, in which case try again after a few minutes) or it just carries on ringing (meaning the adjudicator is not at their desk) then phone the main number and ask to speak to the specific individual, or their manager.

footyguy

naedanger wrote: »

Thanks for the information.

Do you know who is responsible then for ensuring the ombudsman's decisions are implemented?

The ombudsman service

cing0

footyguy wrote: »

How can you be struggling to get through? :huh:

You should have the adjudicator's direct telephone number.

If it's contantly engaged (meaning the advisor is probably talking to another person, in which case try again after a few minutes) or it just carries on ringing (meaning the adjudicator is not at their desk) then phone the main number and ask to speak to the specific individual, or their manager.

The energy ombudsman does not use adjudicators.

naedanger wrote: »

Thanks for the information.

Do you know who is responsible then for ensuring the ombudsman's decisions are implemented?

The official line ?
Ombudsman say its ofgem.
Ofgem say its the ombudsman.
In practice ? If its money, https://www.gov.uk/make-money-claim-online

naedanger

cing0 wrote: »

The energy ombudsman does not use adjudicators.



The official line ?
Ombudsman say its ofgem.
Ofgem say its the ombudsman.
In practice ? If its money, https://www.gov.uk/make-money-claim-online

Thanks.

I suspect the Ombudsman has very few powers. I asked them months ago what enforcement powers they had, but they have never answered despite repeated reminders. However even if they have no formal powers I think their actions have been pathetic. If they had any backbone they would be creating a fuss when suppliers basically ignore them e.g. first to senior people within the offending companies, then Ofgem, and then the politicians.

My case involves more than just money - I want npower to stop billing me for someone else's electricity, so not sure how to proceed via legal action. I have also spent so long going through the formal complaint process I am loathed to switch now. However I could see myself using the online claim approach in future.