Energy Ombudsman Case - Utilita

scottinnes1983

Afternoon all

I have an Ombudsman case that ruled in my favour back in November 2019 and stated I was due a refund of circa £700. Utilita have contested the decision but shown no evidence to challenge the decision and thus far have made no contact with me, refunded £0 and stopped responding to the Ombudsman. 

I have asked the Ombudsman what the next steps are and what powers under their jurisdiction can be used to get my money back but I can't get a straight answer out of them and am regularly advised that I'll receive further information "in due course".

Has anyone else encountered this or, better still, have any advice on where I take this next?

Gerry1

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk ?

WhoIsThat

scottinnes1983 said:

Afternoon all

I have an Ombudsman case that ruled in my favour back in November 2019 and stated I was due a refund of circa £700. Utilita have contested the decision but shown no evidence to challenge the decision and thus far have made no contact with me, refunded £0 and stopped responding to the Ombudsman. 

I have asked the Ombudsman what the next steps are and what powers under their jurisdiction can be used to get my money back but I can't get a straight answer out of them and am regularly advised that I'll receive further information "in due course".

Has anyone else encountered this or, better still, have any advice on where I take this next?

Welcome to MSE.

I'm not sure what has happened here. I have made serveral complaints to the energy ombudsman over the years against various suppliers.

As far as I always understood, whilst the consumer is not obligated to accept the ombudsmans decision, the supplier is bound to (assuming the consumer has agreed to it as well)

Also, in all cases where the decision has gone in my favour, the ombudsman has been very clear what to do if the supplier does not comply within the timeframes given. They have a special enforcement team , but if you were not given those details, I suggest you go back to the casew handler (or ombudsman if it got that far) that dealt with it.

Edit: You may also wish to consider a claim against the ombudsman themsel;ves for poor customer service. I've only ever done one of those myself. It was really easy, and I got the feeling the ombudsman takes such complaints really seriously. As in my case they agreed they had fallen short of the service a consumer should have expected, I also got a payout from them.
If you were not given the details of jhow to enforce the ombudsmans decision, and the ombudsman has given you a'a staright answer' when you asked, I feel sure that will be regarded as a shortfall in their customer service. (if they agree with your story)

scottinnes1983

WhoIsThat said:

scottinnes1983 said:

Afternoon all

I have an Ombudsman case that ruled in my favour back in November 2019 and stated I was due a refund of circa £700. Utilita have contested the decision but shown no evidence to challenge the decision and thus far have made no contact with me, refunded £0 and stopped responding to the Ombudsman. 

I have asked the Ombudsman what the next steps are and what powers under their jurisdiction can be used to get my money back but I can't get a straight answer out of them and am regularly advised that I'll receive further information "in due course".

Has anyone else encountered this or, better still, have any advice on where I take this next?

Welcome to MSE.

I'm not sure what has happened here. I have made serveral complaints to the energy ombudsman over the years against various suppliers.

As far as I always understood, whilst the consumer is not obligated to accept the ombudsmans decision, the supplier is bound to (assuming the consumer has agreed to it as well)

Also, in all cases where the decision has gone in my favour, the ombudsman has been very clear what to do if the supplier does not comply within the timeframes given. They have a special enforcement team , but if you were not given those details, I suggest you go back to the casew handler (or ombudsman if it got that far) that dealt with it.

Edit: You may also wish to consider a claim against the ombudsman themsel;ves for poor customer service. I've only ever done one of those myself. It was really easy, and I got the feeling the ombudsman takes such complaints really seriously. As in my case they agreed they had fallen short of the service a consumer should have expected, I also got a payout from them.
If you were not given the details of jhow to enforce the ombudsmans decision, and the ombudsman has given you a'a staright answer' when you asked, I feel sure that will be regarded as a shortfall in their customer service. (if they agree with your story)

Thank you - that's really helpful advice.

I've been looking for an area that I can complain about the Ombudsman service but seem to be going round in circles. I'll request that the special enforcement team have a look at it and if that fails, I'll dig a bit more on how to claim against the Ombudsman themselves.

Again, thank you for your insight on this, really useful.