Energy Ombudsman - Challenge A Decision

trickytree1963

moroc wrote: »

For the full bill to be written off (£260-ish)

So you want to have energy and not pay for it. Good luck with that! :rotfl:

System

moroc wrote: »

For the full bill to be written off (£260-ish)

You still have the right to take SP to Court; however, it helps if The EO actually supported your position.

footyguy

moroc wrote: »

My complaint in brief;

I complained to the Ombudsman about Scottish Power because of...
- repeated inaccurate billing, eventually resulting in a dispute
- an eventual final bill was agreed, and a payment via direct debit agreed (to be paid over the course of three months), however SP never collected the money via DD
- SP then re-billed at a higher amount, which I disputed
- SP then re-billed again, adding a late payment charge, which I again disputed
- Tired of their incompetence, I requested the account deadlocked
- SP supplied a deadlock letter filled with inaccuracies / false statements, which they refused to amend
- SP billed AGAIN after the account was deadlocked, adding another late payment charge
- SP illegally employed debt collectors to chase the deadlocked bill and sent regular threatening letters, text messages and phone calls

I'm p'd off with the Ombudsman investigator as they...

- conducted their investigation despite being advised, and acknowledging, that I was awaiting material being supplied from SP after making a Subject Access Request
- offered a £100 goodwill gesture, ignoring pertinent information such as the contravention of FCA CONC 7.14.1 and the harrassment by SP, clear evidence of which was provided
- imposed a 14-day deadline to deliver further information, during which SP eventually delivered the SAR by post on day 13
- communicated to me that I had to deliver the SAR pack to the Ombudsman investigator by close of play the same day - illogical and frankly baffling request
- made false statements regarding the transparency of their investigation, i.e. claiming all timescales are made clear prior to raising the claim - this is simply not true, they are not listed anywhere in the complaints section of their website or the documentation supplied after a complaint is raised, and were not mentioned in any of the communications from the Ombudsman investigators

What do you need from an SAR?
Are you suggesting you compalined to the supplier, let alone the OS, without having all the necessary facts to hand?

If you just wanted the SAR as back up evidence, you don't need it.
In my experince, you offer up whatever evidence you have to the ombudsman.
The supplier gives whatever evidence they may have (and wish to share with the OS) in defence.

In my case, the OS told me that as my records seemed full & comprehensive, and the information supplied by the supplier to the OS was described by him as 'scarce', he said he would accept my version of events as a truthful account.

footyguy

moroc wrote: »

For the full bill to be written off (£260-ish)

I should advise you that according to another MSEer who wrote about their experience of taking a energy billing dispute to court, the court gave the MSEer short shift allegedly saying "you used it, you pay for it"

moroc

footyguy wrote: »

I'm somewhat confused as to why you are confused at what actions are open to you.

Whenever I have used the OS, I was never in any doubt as to what options were still open to me.

Typically you make a complaint to the OS. That complaint is acknowledged and you are invited to offer up to the OS any additional evidence you may have regarding the complaint that you have already not supplied.

The OS contacts the supplier involved for their side of the story, and any evidence they care to provide the OS.

The OS then looks at both sides of the story and makes a decision.
(this sometimes involves them contacting you and invariably the supplier, to ensure the they are fully aware of what each party is suggesting, and to gauge the likely response to the decision they are likely to come to)

You are then provided with that decision by the Investigating Officer.
You can either accept or reject (rejection is also deemed response if you do not reply in stated time) , or usually you can ask for teh matter to be reviewed at a higher level if you think it is fundamentally flawed.
You need to give the resons why you think it is fundamentally flawed, together with any appropriate evidence if necessary.

If requested, (and a appropriate reason given) to have the matter reviewed at a higher level, that is then done.

You then get a final decision. You either accept or reject it (or again it is deemed to be rejected if you do not respond within the stated time). It clearly states there is no further option to challenge the decision with the OS.

You are also told of your available options if you do reject the decision, and that usually is limited to legal action against the supplier (because there is no further arbitration, and the supplier is under no obligation to discuss the matter directly with you once you instruct the OS)

Whilst not included in the advice given, expect any proposed resolution suggested by the OS you have rejected to be brought up in court if you pursue litigation.

Direct quote from their email;

"We have now reached the end of our investigation process and there is no opportunity to appeal.

You now have to decide if you agree to accept our decision in full and final settlement of the complaint.

If you agree, we will contact Scottish Power and confirm that you accept this in full and final settlement of the complaint.

Scottish Power will have up to 28 days in which to implement the remedy.

Please contact me using the details below to indicate your decision. You must confirm your response no later than 14 days from the date of this email."

Why do I have "no opportunity to appeal"?

moroc

footyguy wrote: »

I should advise you that according to another MSEer who wrote about their experience of taking a energy billing dispute to court, the court gave the MSEer short shift allegedly saying "you used it, you pay for it"

I've got no intention of taking it to court as they don't recognise shi*tty service and debt collection harassment as grounds for complaint.

moroc

trickytree1963 wrote: »

So you want to have energy and not pay for it. Good luck with that! :rotfl:

In light of their illegal involvement of debt collectors and the fact that I WOULD have paid the bill over 12 months ago if their incompetent staff could manage to collect a payment, then I think having the bill scrapped is a reasonable request, but thanks for your helpful and informative contribution nonetheless.

moroc

footyguy wrote: »

What do you need from an SAR?
Are you suggesting you compalined to the supplier, let alone the OS, without having all the necessary facts to hand?

If you just wanted the SAR as back up evidence, you don't need it.
In my experince, you offer up whatever evidence you have to the ombudsman.
The supplier gives whatever evidence they may have (and wish to share with the OS) in defence.

In my case, the OS told me that as my records seemed full & comprehensive, and the information supplied by the supplier to the OS was described by him as 'scarce', he said he would accept my version of events as a truthful account.

Recordings of phone calls which I was obviously unable to provide - a phone conversation took place last year where I agreed to pay the bill and provided my bank details to allow setup of a DD. SP failed to set up the payment; this contradicts a false statement in their deadlock letter which claimed I cancelled the DD - which was never set up in the first place. There are a number of falsehoods in their deadlock letter, which are contradictory to what I was told on the phone, they seem to have a severe issue with providing a consistent message.

Cardew

moroc wrote: »

I'm not interested in being compensated for the time spent, I'm just aggrieved that they are calling the issue a "service shortfall" rather than what it is - deliberate harassment and bullying tactics with the intent to gain money by illegal means - think we call that extortion usually! The way I see it, SP have broken the law in their pursuit of the money during deadlock proceedings, so my "ideal resolution" was that the debt be written off completely, which the Ombudsman have failed to deliver.

With respect you are seeking compensation, you want the £260 bill written off.

Nobody on this forum is questioning the merits of your case, and the understandable frustration with SP. However if you continue with the case, it is likely the only result will be further frustration.

trickytree1963

moroc wrote: »

In light of their illegal involvement of debt collectors and the fact that I WOULD have paid the bill over 12 months ago if their incompetent staff could manage to collect a payment, then I think having the bill scrapped is a reasonable request, but thanks for your helpful and informative contribution nonetheless.

Best thing to do is pay the balance and move to a more competent supplier than that company. If you let it become an obsession it will consume your time to the detriment of everything