Sse / ombudsman complaint

mkeane16

Hi, i have had an ingoing complaint with SSE for past 18months. Their customer service was shockingly bad, they had lied, credited account numerous times (when i specifically told them not to). It all started when i lost my job and called them to tell them i was struggling with paying my bills, over time, they have sent 3 collection agents (i feel unlawfully), i had a court date in Feb, i went and case had been with drawn by SSE a week earlier without notifying me, my bills are all over the place and i currently are behind with payments. Had a bill in March which had another 'agents charge' on it, when i called SSE, they said he 'hadnt called yet as the date for call had not been decided'. Its been 18months of total stress and an utter shambles from SSE. I had recieved a deadlock letter and had a final ruling from the ombudsman today, stating that yes, sse had made MANY errors on my account but could not offer compensation more of a goodwill gesture, the amount is £150 but they will not remove the call out charges (which would be around £150) and they wud credit this amount against my overdue account (not physically in the form of a cheque). I am not happy as i dont feel this amount warrants what they have put me thru, but dont know what to do? I need advice from a solicitor who can advise if i have a strong case to take to court? any help and advice appreciated. thanks.

mkeane16

so, technically, the £150 offered is basically the 3 charges wiped off account, but nothing extra for all the errors and stress they had caused!

footyguy

mkeane16 wrote: »

Hi, i have had an ingoing complaint with SSE for past 18months. Their customer service was shockingly bad, they had lied, credited account numerous times (when i specifically told them not to). It all started when i lost my job and called them to tell them i was struggling with paying my bills, over time, they have sent 3 collection agents (i feel unlawfully), i had a court date in Feb, i went and case had been with drawn by SSE a week earlier without notifying me, my bills are all over the place and i currently are behind with payments. Had a bill in March which had another 'agents charge' on it, when i called SSE, they said he 'hadnt called yet as the date for call had not been decided'. Its been 18months of total stress and an utter shambles from SSE. I had recieved a deadlock letter and had a final ruling from the ombudsman today, stating that yes, sse had made MANY errors on my account but could not offer compensation more of a goodwill gesture, the amount is £150 but they will not remove the call out charges (which would be around £150) and they wud credit this amount against my overdue account (not physically in the form of a cheque). I am not happy as i dont feel this amount warrants what they have put me thru, but dont know what to do? I need advice from a solicitor who can advise if i have a strong case to take to court? any help and advice appreciated. thanks.

I'm surprised the ombudsman got involved since the complaint had already been the subject of court action.

When you say the case was withdrawn from court, how? What exactly do the court papers say on this?

But ultimately, if the ombudman has now given a final proposed resolution, and you are still not happy with it, you are under no obligation to accept it. If you don't accept, the ombudsman will effectively wash their hands of the matter (and not expect the supplier to do anything they have proposed in resolution)

mkeane16

Hi, it was a court hearing for non-payment of the full amount of the bill. I went, armed with all my ombudsman stuff - when i got there, my name wasnt on the courts list. i spoke to an advisor from sse (onsite) and he said that case was with drawn by sse the week prior, as i had made a payment on my account which took me under the 'court case threashold'.

footyguy

mkeane16 wrote: »

Hi, it was a court hearing for non-payment of the full amount of the bill. I went, armed with all my ombudsman stuff - when i got there, my name wasnt on the courts list. i spoke to an advisor from sse (onsite) and he said that case was with drawn by sse the week prior, as i had made a payment on my account which took me under the 'court case threashold'.

If a previously agreed court hearing gets cancelled, postponed, etc, it is for the court to inform you of that and the reasons why. There will be documentation about all that. Go and get it.

You have the summons to attend court, so they can't deny that was ever issued. Now go & get the rest of the case history (as you claim to have not received it) and tell us what it is.

There is no 'court case threshold' in a county court that I am aware of.
If you have made part payment towards the claim, you presumably accept that part of the claim as valid.

mkeane16

Its an ongoing complaint with sse about call out charges, i desputed this amount, had always paid what gas i had used, the court hearing was for them to gain access to put in a prepaid meter. i have always disputed the bills for call out charges only, not my gas account and this is the only part of the claim i query. there are no court records. the letter i had with the court date on (dec 2014) for the hearing in feb 2015. when i got to court, there was no case recorded for that date. i had made my regular monthly payment to sse and this took off / cleared a little bit off the bill for the charges, which is why they cancelled the hearing. the court did not cancel the hearing, but sse.

footyguy

mkeane16 wrote: »

Its an ongoing complaint with sse about call out charges, i desputed this amount, had always paid what gas i had used, the court hearing was for them to gain access to put in a prepaid meter. i have always disputed the bills for call out charges only, not my gas account and this is the only part of the claim i query. there are no court records. the letter i had with the court date on (dec 2014) for the hearing in feb 2015. when i got to court, there was no case recorded for that date. i had made my regular monthly payment to sse and this took off / cleared a little bit off the bill for the charges, which is why they cancelled the hearing. the court did not cancel the hearing, but sse.

So the 'court date' you mentioned was actually for an application to a magistrates court to obtain an entry warrant to install a PPM. :cool:

There is no requirement for you to attend such an application, but usually are advised should you wish to object.
Therefore you probably can't get any more history on the case from the court as it doesn't involve you.
But if they told you an application was made, then they should have also informed you the application was withdrawn.

Anyway, such an application only occurs if you are in debt, you fail to repay the debt at an agreed rate, and you don't agree willingly to allow the supplier access to install a PPM as a result.

I would imagine there certainly were some personal visits before it got to that stage.



I suggest if you want to reject the ombudsmans final proposed resolution to this matter, but wish to pursue the matter further, you collect up all your papers and go and seek some independent legal advice.

mkeane16

thank you for your comments, but i think you are missing my point. this court hearing was just ONE of a catalogue of errors made by sse, the 'debt' for the PPM was the 3 call out charges that were in dispute. this is not my issue, ombudsman has ruled in my favour, but i am still unhappy and wish to know what to do next. i would like some advice on or from any solicitors that think i have a fair claim in the small claims court for compensation.