Can you negotiate compensation with the ombudsman?

*Rainbow*Warrior*

Quick question on process please. The ombudsman has been involved in a complaint I have with Scottish Power. The ombudsman has decided Scottish Power have to pay a set amount of £30 per failed visit (and £30 for missing the deadline to pay the £30) and also pay £100 compensation for poor customer service (phone calls not returned etc).

I don't feel that's enough. I won't go into the details, but it's been going on for over 6 months, and the failed visits and delays have actually caused me a lot of distress as it's my late father's property and this has been very emotional to have to go and sit there waiting 4 or 5 hours for an engineer who never turned up (8 times).

Basically I want to know if I can go back to the ombudsman and say I don't feel the compensation is high enough. They said the only reason I can dispute their findings is if I can provide fresh evidence and an explanation of why it wasn't produced earlier. Well, I gave them all the info I had at the outset. I agree with their findings, I just don't feel the compensation amount is high enough. Do I just have to accept it?

LewisHamilton

Its a shame Scottish Power has continued to miss appointments - 8 in a row is excessive so the trouble caused must be high.

If you get £30 per failed appointment, your compensation is immediately £240. If they failed to pay any of those payments within 10 working days, your compensation is increased to £480 under the Guaranteed Standards of Service.

You will also received £100 on top of the £480 bringing the total amount to £580.

I would say that's probably fair in the first instance but thats without knowing what you have been through in full. I would state that Scottish Power are an absolute joke of a company and 8 failed appointments is pathetic.

I think you have a strong case to try and ask the Ombudsman to increase the goodwill gesture to £200 for the unnecessary hassle you have experienced and wasted time. The Guaranteed Standards of Service payments are simply the minimum amount the supplier should compensate.

Where a customer experiences 8 failed appointments in a row, you should be expecting a high goodwill payment on top of the Guaranteed Standards of Service. £100 is a reasonably high award but £200 is more reflective in my opinion of the time and trouble you have faced.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

If you are dissatisfied with the ombudsman's decision, you are left with legal action - ie you can sue SP. Bear in mind we don't have (much of) a compensation culture - you can only sue for actual losses you have incurred, not for emotional distress (well, you can, but it's very, very difficult).

matelodave

That's what the ombudsman is for - to arbitrate. You either accept his findings or try taking the company to the small claims court but as the ombudsman has already ruled in your favour and awarded you a sum in compensation you are unlikely to get more (and you may end up paying costs)

Unfortunately "emotional stress" really doesn't carry all that much weight

Cardew

In a word - No you can't negotiate; and yes you have to accept their findings or refuse and go to the Small Claims court.

Frankly the Ombudsman is just a waste of time and effort.

If you go to court, the Ombudsman's adjudication is taken into account and you have to give proof of your monetary loss.

Cardew

Posts 2,3,4, & 5 all crossed and say essentially the same thing!

LewisHamilton

Don't be put off by making representations. You do have the opportunity to give a response to the initial decision and explain why you think £100 is too low for the time and trouble, You have nothing to lose and you never know, you may have an adjudicator that will listen and change their mind.

As stated before, 8 failed appointments is significant trouble for anyone so I feel its worth asking for a review of the £100 award.

*Rainbow*Warrior*

Thank you everyone!

Just for clarification (on the calculation done by LewisHamilton above), Scottish Power have already paid us the required £30 for 3 of the missed appointments. They didn't pay for the others, so the ombudsman says we will get £240 for those (this being £30 for the missed appointment and another £30 for missing the deadline for paying the £30). The maths may not quite add up as one of the missed appointments was acknowledged by Scottish Power as having been booked, but they failed to instruct the contractor, so the ombudsman doesn't count that as a missed appointment :mad:

So we are supposedly getting £240 for missed appointments and £100 compensation. (We have already received 3 lots of £30).

Bluebirdman of Alcathays and Matelodave, I don't want to go to court. I doubt we would get anywhere. Really I just want the work done, although I do feel badly treated and feel that I should be compensated.

I feel the compensation should reflect the amount of distress, and given that this is my late father's property and the whole thing was being dealt with by the Bereavement Team, I think they should have been more efficient. Every time I had to go round and sit in an empty house waiting for the engineer, it was very distressing for me.

In addition, we are paying Council Tax on the property as the local authority don't give any grace period. So although I know we would have to pay Council Tax while we get the place decorated and ready to rent or sell, the fact is for every month Scottish Power have failed to do this electrical work (which needs to be done before we can start anything else), that's an extra month we have paid Council Tax. Obviously, I think it's fair enough that we pay that while we are in control of decorating etc., but I don't think it's fair that we pay it month after month just because Scottish Power can't get their act together and get a contractor to turn up.

The ombudsman says they cannot consider the Council Tax costs as they cannot make any 'punitive' charges on Scottish Power. Personally I feel if it's not punitive, what is their incentive to do it right in the first place? It was Scottish Power themselves who told us to go to the ombudsman because they had no faith they could actually sort it themselves.I feel like they view the ombudsman as just another arm of their complaints team, that they can fob the call off to.:mad::mad::mad:

The ombudsman said if we wanted to pursue the Council Tax costs we would need to take Scottish Power to court. I feel that would be a waste of time and money. So, on balance, do you think it's worth asking the ombudsman to look at the compensation again?

Oh, and what happens if they fail to turn up again?

LewisHamilton

*Rainbow*Warrior* wrote: »

Thank you everyone!

Just for clarification (on the calculation done by LewisHamilton above), Scottish Power have already paid us the required £30 for 3 of the missed appointments. They didn't pay for the others, so the ombudsman says we will get £240 for those (this being £30 for the missed appointment and another £30 for missing the deadline for paying the £30). The maths may not quite add up as one of the missed appointments was acknowledged by Scottish Power as having been booked, but they failed to instruct the contractor, so the ombudsman doesn't count that as a missed appointment :mad:

So we are supposedly getting £240 for missed appointments and £100 compensation. (We have already received 3 lots of £30).

Bluebirdman of Alcathays and Matelodave, I don't want to go to court. I doubt we would get anywhere. Really I just want the work done, although I do feel badly treated and feel that I should be compensated.

I feel the compensation should reflect the amount of distress, and given that this is my late father's property and the whole thing was being dealt with by the Bereavement Team, I think they should have been more efficient. Every time I had to go round and sit in an empty house waiting for the engineer, it was very distressing for me.

In addition, we are paying Council Tax on the property as the local authority don't give any grace period. So although I know we would have to pay Council Tax while we get the place decorated and ready to rent or sell, the fact is for every month Scottish Power have failed to do this electrical work (which needs to be done before we can start anything else), that's an extra month we have paid Council Tax. Obviously, I think it's fair enough that we pay that while we are in control of decorating etc., but I don't think it's fair that we pay it month after month just because Scottish Power can't get their act together and get a contractor to turn up.

The ombudsman says they cannot consider the Council Tax costs as they cannot make any 'punitive' charges on Scottish Power. Personally I feel if it's not punitive, what is their incentive to do it right in the first place? It was Scottish Power themselves who told us to go to the ombudsman because they had no faith they could actually sort it themselves.I feel like they view the ombudsman as just another arm of their complaints team, that they can fob the call off to.:mad::mad::mad:

The ombudsman said if we wanted to pursue the Council Tax costs we would need to take Scottish Power to court. I feel that would be a waste of time and money. So, on balance, do you think it's worth asking the ombudsman to look at the compensation again?

Oh, and what happens if they fail to turn up again?

I wouldn't focus on asking the ombudsman to increase the goodwill gesture of £100 based on council tax costs. I would focus more on asking to it to increase the goodwill gesture based on the time and trouble you have experienced and the unnecessary hassle. That is what the award will be based on not costs such as council tax - losses etc are better of pursued in small claims court. You can make reference to it as being part of the ongoing trouble.

The ombudsman can't control the appointments so if Scottish Power fail to turn up again then that is another £30 payment. Personally I would switch suppliers to a more competent supplier and ask the new supplier to do the work. It may save further disappointment.

*Rainbow*Warrior*

LewisHamilton wrote: »

I wouldn't focus on asking the ombudsman to increase the goodwill gesture of £100 based on council tax costs. I would focus more on asking to it to increase the goodwill gesture based on the time and trouble you have experienced and the unnecessary hassle. That is what the award will be based on not costs such as council tax - losses etc are better of pursued in small claims court. You can make reference to it as being part of the ongoing trouble.

The ombudsman can't control the appointments so if Scottish Power fail to turn up again then that is another £30 payment. Personally I would switch suppliers to a more competent supplier and ask the new supplier to do the work. It may save further disappointment.

Thank you. I hadn't realised we could ask a new supplier to do this. Am I just an idiot? (Don't answer that!). I know that seems the obvious thing to do (now) but as it was happening it was hard to see the big picture.

To be honest, when I first rang to notify Scottish Power about my Dad, I expected to pay for this work but they said they would do it for free (fit an isolator switch so we can get the wiring brought up to date before we decorate). I thought this was really kind of them, and basically it's just dragged on month after month with the Bereavement Team staff booking appointment after appointment. I guess if I had known at the outset it would take this long then I would have got someone else to do it, but hindsight, as they say, is 20/20.

I don't feel like there is any point taking them to court for the council tax. I may be wrong, but I think we would need stronger evidence, and it's just more hassle. This has been a really difficult couple of years and we just want to get this work done and move forward.

As you suggest, I will focus on the distress side of things, but I do feel strongly that without an element of punishment, what's their motivation for doing things right?

I'm not convinced they will do the work now, and the prospect of just getting another £30 if they fail is pretty sad. Does the ombudsman not have any actual teeth?

LewisHamilton

*Rainbow*Warrior* wrote: »

Thank you. I hadn't realised we could ask a new supplier to do this. Am I just an idiot? (Don't answer that!). I know that seems the obvious thing to do (now) but as it was happening it was hard to see the big picture.

To be honest, when I first rang to notify Scottish Power about my Dad, I expected to pay for this work but they said they would do it for free (fit an isolator switch so we can get the wiring brought up to date before we decorate). I thought this was really kind of them, and basically it's just dragged on month after month with the Bereavement Team staff booking appointment after appointment. I guess if I had known at the outset it would take this long then I would have got someone else to do it, but hindsight, as they say, is 20/20.

I don't feel like there is any point taking them to court for the council tax. I may be wrong, but I think we would need stronger evidence, and it's just more hassle. This has been a really difficult couple of years and we just want to get this work done and move forward.

As you suggest, I will focus on the distress side of things, but I do feel strongly that without an element of punishment, what's their motivation for doing things right?

I'm not convinced they will do the work now, and the prospect of just getting another £30 if they fail is pretty sad. Does the ombudsman not have any actual teeth?

Are you based on Scotland?

If you do decide to switch suppliers I would double check with the new supplier if they can do the work that you require but it is definitely worth exploring and if the new supplier can do it then I would personally switch to save the disappointment of another failed appointment. You would also have the added bonus of not having to deal with Scottish Power anymore. I would probably try and avoid npower and Extra Energy too if you do decide to switch.

Definitely appreciate the reasons why you want Scottish Power to be punished but it is more Ofgem's role to fine the companies than the ombudsman. The ombudsman's primary role is corrective action for the specific complaint rather than compensation etc. The ombudsman will recommend an award based on the time and trouble you have experienced so I would focus on that.

For example, eight failed appointments has clearly caused hassle and trouble and wasted time. If your father's house is quite a distance from your own home then you can make reference to having to make wasted journeys to and from the property. The whole situation has no doubt been upsetting for you and none of it was your fault.

You can accept maybe one or two failed appointments but three or four is ridiculous. You've mentioned eight failed appointments which is quite simply pathetic and no doubt distressing. I would still focus on time and trouble more than distress but I would definitely make reference to how upsetting the whole process has been and ask that it kindly considers increasing the award to maybe £200. They may increase to £200 or maybe £150 so you have nothing to lose.

Try not to make reference to Scottish Power being punished.