Appealing Energy Ombudsman Decision

FantasticFox

Hi all, I'm hoping I can get some advise from the knowledgeable and experienced folks here.


I, like a few others, am very unhappy with the bog standard, half arsed response I've had after making a complaint to the energy ombudsman.


To set the scene; we moved into our property in July 2017, after trying to switch to a cheaper supplier our current supplier Npower discovered that the electricity meter serial number within the property was different to what they had on file. Now I've previously worked for a different energy supplier and I've came across this issue before, it's easily resolved by updating a few systems and the national database. But alas, Npower couldn't do this without first having an engineer come and confirm that it was the correct meter. Unusual I thought, but sure let's go ahead and book an appointment.
Day rolls around and no engineer. I get an automated e-mail advising of compensation for a missed appointment. So I then e-mail Npower and they apologise and ask me just to send over a photo of the meter instead. I do so and they advised it's all done. Huzzah! Only it's not. That person apparently didn't do anything and I now have a letter from Npower advising that until the issue is resolved they're blocking my bills from being created.
So I e-mail and we make arrangements for a second engineer appointment, and a complaint is opened. It's now November.
Second engineer turns up, looks at the meter then leaves. All done! Nope. I then get an e-mail advising that the engineer didn't pay attention to the serial number and hasn't noted it down properly.
A third engineer is now booked for January 31st, and understandably I'm very concerned that I haven't seen a bill since July. Don't worry they keep assuring me, we'll deal with that later.
Third engineer turns up announcing that he's there to fit an Isolator Switch. When I explain what he's actually there for he exclaims that doing so isn't his job, but he indulges me and takes a note of it.
A month passes and no word, I chase up Npower via e-mail and find out that the engineering team won't talk to the customer service team via the phone, and aren't replying to e-mails. I'd laugh, but I've actually dealt with that before in my previous job for a competitor, it's shocking to find out it's an industry wide issue apparently.
It's now April and they still can't get word from the engineers, so I finally raise the issue with Executive Complaints, who respond and advise they're updating the database and it can take up to 40 working days.
83 Working Days later I finally get word that it's all been updated and working, and my bill is finally created, now hurry up and pay. Oh and can they close my complaint that is now gone 305 days.
When I refuse their meagre offer of £30 compensation, which they then raise to £100 and act as though writing off my bill from over 12 months ago was an act of kindness and not...you know regulation...it goes to deadlock and so I take it to the ombudsman.
Npower provide me with a deadlock letter which skips out 9 months of the complaint and goes from the second engineer appointment to 'everything fixed'.
I submit everything to the ombudsman including all the e-mails for the length of the complaint, and advise I'm looking for compensation in the form of the amount I would have saved that year by being with a cheaper supplier (£280). After a couple of weeks I got a response from the Ombudsman basically repeating back Npower's deadlock letter to me and then offering up the typical £50 compensation.

I've appealed it, noting that they don't appear to have actually looked at any of the documentation I submitted, but it has now been three weeks and no further response from the Ombudsman - or Npower after I complained that they were still sending me bill reminders after saying they'd be on hold while the complaint was with the Ombudsman.


So now I don't know what to do. I'm not disputing the amount of energy I've used, but I wasn't able to move to a cheaper company due to Npower's incompetence, so all I'm looking for is the difference reimbursed. Is there any way I can take this appeal further?


Thanks in advance hive mind!

wavelets

FantasticFox wrote: »

Hi all, I'm hoping I can get some advise from the knowledgeable and experienced folks here.


I, like a few others, am very unhappy with the bog standard, half arsed response I've had after making a complaint to the energy ombudsman.


To set the scene; we moved into our property in July 2017, after trying to switch to a cheaper supplier our current supplier Npower discovered that the electricity meter serial number within the property was different to what they had on file. Now I've previously worked for a different energy supplier and I've came across this issue before, it's easily resolved by updating a few systems and the national database. But alas, Npower couldn't do this without first having an engineer come and confirm that it was the correct meter. Unusual I thought, but sure let's go ahead and book an appointment.
Day rolls around and no engineer. I get an automated e-mail advising of compensation for a missed appointment. So I then e-mail Npower and they apologise and ask me just to send over a photo of the meter instead. I do so and they advised it's all done. Huzzah! Only it's not. That person apparently didn't do anything and I now have a letter from Npower advising that until the issue is resolved they're blocking my bills from being created.
So I e-mail and we make arrangements for a second engineer appointment, and a complaint is opened. It's now November.
Second engineer turns up, looks at the meter then leaves. All done! Nope. I then get an e-mail advising that the engineer didn't pay attention to the serial number and hasn't noted it down properly.
A third engineer is now booked for January 31st, and understandably I'm very concerned that I haven't seen a bill since July. Don't worry they keep assuring me, we'll deal with that later.
Third engineer turns up announcing that he's there to fit an Isolator Switch. When I explain what he's actually there for he exclaims that doing so isn't his job, but he indulges me and takes a note of it.
A month passes and no word, I chase up Npower via e-mail and find out that the engineering team won't talk to the customer service team via the phone, and aren't replying to e-mails. I'd laugh, but I've actually dealt with that before in my previous job for a competitor, it's shocking to find out it's an industry wide issue apparently.
It's now April and they still can't get word from the engineers, so I finally raise the issue with Executive Complaints, who respond and advise they're updating the database and it can take up to 40 working days.
83 Working Days later I finally get word that it's all been updated and working, and my bill is finally created, now hurry up and pay. Oh and can they close my complaint that is now gone 305 days.
When I refuse their meagre offer of £30 compensation, which they then raise to £100 and act as though writing off my bill from over 12 months ago was an act of kindness and not...you know regulation...it goes to deadlock and so I take it to the ombudsman.
Npower provide me with a deadlock letter which skips out 9 months of the complaint and goes from the second engineer appointment to 'everything fixed'.
I submit everything to the ombudsman including all the e-mails for the length of the complaint, and advise I'm looking for compensation in the form of the amount I would have saved that year by being with a cheaper supplier (£280). After a couple of weeks I got a response from the Ombudsman basically repeating back Npower's deadlock letter to me and then offering up the typical £50 compensation.

I've appealed it, noting that they don't appear to have actually looked at any of the documentation I submitted, but it has now been three weeks and no further response from the Ombudsman - or Npower after I complained that they were still sending me bill reminders after saying they'd be on hold while the complaint was with the Ombudsman.


So now I don't know what to do. I'm not disputing the amount of energy I've used, but I wasn't able to move to a cheaper company due to Npower's incompetence, so all I'm looking for is the difference reimbursed. Is there any way I can take this appeal further?


Thanks in advance hive mind!

You should have received a final proposed resolution offer from the ombudsman service. It normally arrives within a few days at the most of the initial proposal, depending on what new evidence you have provided (or even quicker if you tell the OS they have not considered the evidence you previously provided)
You obviously know the case worker, and have their contact details.

If you are not prepared to accept "the bog standard, half arsed response", you should reject it.
If you fail to respond at all, it will be assumed you have rejected it.

You are then free to take up the matter in whatever other way you like. e.g. via legal means.

As you have already asked the OS to intervene in an attempt to find a resolution, the supplier is under no obligation to deal with you further directly to resolve the matter ... but they would have to respond to a law court, etc.

FantasticFox

Thanks Wavelets,

It's been four weeks and no response from the case handler so I'll chase them up about that, but since they didn't look at the evidence I submitted I've got a feeling they're not going to bother much with my complaint.

Just feels as though there's nobody really keeping these companies in line.

FantasticFox

Well I finally got the final decision from my case handler, a vast majority of it was just cut and paste from his previous explanation though he at least added a few extra pieces justifying his decision.

Apparently I could have switched at any point in the beginning by telling the new supplier about the issue with my MSN, however Npower did advise us we couldn't switch until this would be fixed as the system would keep rejecting it. Sadly as I didn't have the evidence of that, it's my word against theirs.

So in the end I just got the same offer back, a generic £50 compensation for a complaint that took over 300 days to resolve. I've no other choice but to accept it sadly.