Accept or decline my Ombudsman offer?

jibbyboo

I made a complaint about my energy supplier to the energy ombudsman, and the company have come back the following day agreeing to pay the amount I've requested and sending an apology.

I've been given the option by the ombudsman to decline the offer they've sent, though not sure what the benefit of doing so would be?

Is there any possibility the Ombudsman would suggest they pay higher amounts of compensation or is it that the company don't want a black mark against their name which is what would happen if this goes through to a case?

Thanks for any help!

Quentin

You don't have to accept the offer

But if it's what you asked for in the first place you cannot now ask for more! (Unless you have been put to extra expense since making the original request)

McKneff

If they have offered you the moneyvthat you are requesting, where is the problem....

matelodave

The ombudsman may actually offer you less, so you are probably better off taking what you've been offered (especially if it's what you requested) rather than gambling and losing

jibbyboo

Awesome, thanks everyone. I'll accept their offer! This was my inclination but I didn't understand whether there might be adverse consequences for doing so.

phillw

jibbyboo wrote: »

This was my inclination but I didn't understand whether there might be adverse consequences for doing so.

I'm assuming from your post that they settled before the ombudsman made a decision. In which case it depends on what you had asked for.

If you had already asked for compensation and they agreed then it's unlikely the ombudsman would offer you more. If you just asked them to return money that they owed you, then you may have missed out on £10

Whenever you make a complaint it's worth asking for compensation for your time, so make sure you document how long you spent on the phone.

jibbyboo

phillw wrote: »

I'm assuming from your post that they settled before the ombudsman made a decision. In which case it depends on what you had asked for.

If you had already asked for compensation and they agreed then it's unlikely the ombudsman would offer you more. If you just asked them to return money that they owed you, then you may have missed out on £10

Whenever you make a complaint it's worth asking for compensation for your time, so make sure you document how long you spent on the phone.

Hi Phillw,

Yes, they offered to pay the amount I requested to compensate for all the time I had to spend trying to sort out the issue :T

Thomas_Edison

Ombudsman normally rules £50 in compensation, don't know if that's more or less than you were after

matelodave

Thomas_Edison wrote: »

Ombudsman normally rules £50 in compensation, don't know if that's more or less than you were after

You still can't assume that they'll actually award compensation in the OP's case so it would be a gamble that he'd get either less than he's been offered or nothing at all.

Merlin139

Sorry to jump on the bandwagon. Does it cost the Energy provider if you take your complaint to the ombudsman?

I can find the information about cost for Financial Ombudsman cases but no information for Energy.

For me its more about highlighting a practice than compensation.

matelodave

Thomas_Edison wrote: »

Ombudsman normally rules £50 in compensation, don't know if that's more or less than you were after

You still can't assume that they'll actually award compensation in the OP's case so it would be a gamble that he'd get either less than he's been offered or nothing at all.