Energy Ombudsman Avis 

The ombudsman is approachable and helpful. As far as I know they are the only people who can help so it is Hobson's choice. The energy company I asked for help with (OVO) paid lip service to the ombudsman's findings, got away with paying minimal compensation, then reverted to their incompetent natural behavior.

The Ombudsman was my final effort to have a long standing dispute investigated and possibly finalized.
From the minute I contacted them, I felt confident that this would be attended to. I have particular praise for Demelza Marriott who immediately put my mind at rest due to her being, Interested, Caring, Professional, Precise, Excellent Communicator, Continually updating me with developments, and much more.
I can only add, Sincere and Genuine Thanks.
To date, my complaint is not fully resolved but due to her diligence and attention to detail, I am sure it will be in the very near future.
Five star service in every way.

★☆☆☆☆

I was extremely disappointed with my experience of the Energy Ombudsman.

My complaint concerned historic energy billing before the installation of a smart meter. Throughout the process I repeatedly explained that my concern related to the period before the smart meter was fitted, yet much of the investigation appeared to focus on information after the installation.

The final decision contained a number of factual inconsistencies that left me questioning how thoroughly my case had been reviewed. For example, it stated that I wanted my bill “wiped”, which I never requested. My request was simply for a transparent review of the historic billing and a refund only if any overcharging was identified.

I also identified contradictory statements within the decision itself, inconsistencies regarding meter readings and account history, and concerns that important aspects of my complaint had not been fully addressed. Rather than analysing every issue I raised, the decision largely accepted the supplier’s explanation without providing the detailed reasoning I had expected from an independent dispute resolution service.

To make matters more frustrating, I submitted a detailed response through the case portal requesting a review, only to later discover that my case had been closed before my concerns were considered.

I appreciate that the Ombudsman has a difficult role and I found the staff polite. However, in my experience the investigation lacked the depth, accuracy and transparency I expected from an independent adjudicator.

Consumers use the Energy Ombudsman believing they will receive a thorough and impartial review. Unfortunately, that was not my experience.

I had always thought of the Ombudsman as a last resort, a place where people could finally be heard, but I had never gone through the process myself. Receiving a call to help me complete the documentation and having someone guide me through each step over the phone felt almost like having a dedicated advocate helping me seek justice. Thank you Ross! Beyond the outcome being in my favor, the entire Ombudsman process was an exceptionally positive experience and far exceeded my expectations.

I had a really positive experience with the Energy Ombudsman in resolving an issue I had with Scottish Power. I’m not actually a customer of theirs, but they-out of the blue-decided to bombard me with correspondence about a debt that was not mine anyway. I was getting nowhere with Scottish Power in trying to resolve this and all they did was systematically waste my time. This went on for months before I decided something needed to be done once and for all. The Energy Ombudsman service is a straightforward process, enabling me to explain my problem, upload my evidence and comment on Scottish Power’s subsequent evidence via an online portal. I’m very satisfied with the outcome, which would not have been possible without the Energy Ombudsman’s involvement. Mine was an unusual case, but my case handler Demelza Marriott was highly professional throughout and listened to my issues to find a resolution. I’ve been telling all my friends and family about this experience and I’d definitely recommend the Energy Ombudsman for support with any energy company issues that cannot be resolved with your supplier (or even one that is not your supplier).

Without their intervention my case would have not been settled with British Gas. They kept me informed at all times and explained the process at every stage.

If you have a complaint about your energy supplier breaching their contract, don’t bother as they are no interested in applying the law of contract

Great service. Personalised, helpful and effective. Jade was excellent and really made sure I understood the process. Resulted in a very fast resolution with the energy company.

I approached the Energy Ombudsman believing it would provide an independent review of whether my energy supplier had acted fairly after I had received monthly bills in excess of £1,400 a Month ! My experience has left me querying whether it is truly independent and whether there is any focus on treating customer fairly.

While in my case the investigator acknowledged, irregular excessive energy usage, significant customer service failures by Octopus Energy—including misinformation, delays, failure to act on reasonable requests, and poor communication—they ultimately concluded that because the electricity was recorded by the meter, the customer remained fully liable for the exceptionally large bills.

My concern is not simply the outcome and the fact I am significantly financially out of pocket and told I was left with nowhere to go. But the principles applied and the precedence the ombudsman has set. Which is basically the energy supplier does not have to provide warning's of excessive use, despite all of the data to identify this very early, the energy provider are under no obligation to investigate, despite having the financial recourses and the man power to do so, its your problem. If they deem you have had the electric you will have to pay for it and the Energy ombudsman will agrees with that principle.

Modern energy suppliers have access to smart meter data, sophisticated monitoring systems, and the expertise to identify unusually high consumption. In my case, there was a dramatic increase in usage over several months, yet no proactive intervention, warning or communication took place until a substantial debt had accumulated and was allowed to continue to accumulate without any investigation as to why.

The Ombudsman's decision appears to place virtually all responsibility on the customer, regardless of whether the supplier could reasonably have identified and acted on the abnormal consumption earlier. The first I knew of the excessive billing was when I received notification of my monthly charges increasing to £2,000 a month !

I was highly disappointed by the complaints process itself. Unlike some other UK ombudsman schemes, such as the Financial Ombudsman Service, there is no option for an independent senior reviewer to reconsider an investigator's conclusions simply because the reasoning is disputed. Unless you can produce new evidence or identify a material factual error, the investigator's decision is effectively final and the door is shut. There is no opportunity for an independent review of the judgement itself. On person makes the decision and there is no escalation process, they are both Jury and Judge. In this case when I questioned this one persons final decision the ombudsman person said " I have been doing this for 12 years" as well they may of been, but it doesn't mean their decision is correct and if they have been making systemic poor decisions over 12 years who would know and who is checking as interpretation is key one persons interpretation could wildly differ from another's in the energy ombudsman's case with no one overviewing or reviewing decisions. In my case, this one persons decision has huge financial consequences.

The Ombudsman person, my Judge and Jury, did recognise the supplier's customer service failings and increased the compensation offered from £100 the original Octopus energy offer to £200. However, this did nothing to address the underlying issue or the financial impact of the dispute of the £5,000 I was out of pocket.

My advice to anyone considering this service is to understand its limitations. Don't expect too much. If your complaint centres on whether your supplier should have acted sooner, monitored unusual smart meter data, or fulfilled a wider duty of care, you may find that the Ombudsman's approach is narrower than expected.

Be prepared to provide as much evidence as possible from the outset, as opportunities to challenge the decision later are very limited to none.

The process was professional and courteous, but in my experience it felt more focused on whether there was technical evidence of a billing error than on whether the supplier had acted fairly and proactively in protecting its customer. Treating customers fairly does not appear to be within this ombudsman's remit.

And in closing do not forget this is an Ombudsman funded by the Energy Providers, don't expect too much.

Very disappointing, I went to the ombusdman to Be treated as a human instead of looking at the situation for what it actually is on a human level. But unfortunately they treated me exactly as the energy company had. Very much "computer says no" "sytems are in place" I dont understand what the point of a third party is if they are just going to treat people Exactly the same way. Not as people but as numbers in a system.

The process was easy to follow, but you do need to have your dates and documents ready. On receiving notification of registering my complaint with the Energy Ombudsmen, British Gas reduced my bill by £1900.

Although I was not a customer of British Gas they repeatedly sent letters chasing a debt that belonged to the house BUILDERS. I had never been supplied by British Gas and the debt was related to a feeder pillar that was near to my house. Our details were accessed by British Gas and a debt recovery process was started. Despite British Gas trying to constantly tell me the energy ombudsman would not help me I decided to ignore them and within a couple of weeks or raising a dispute I received compensation and apology letters. A fantastic service and was treated with respect throughout

I had the most awful experience with British Gas who mismanaged my account and would not listen or take any action. The ombudsman forced British Gas to take action and made British Gas compensate me. I am very grateful for the help I received from the ombudsman in getting to a solution. I will never ever allow British Gas to supply me with anything.

matter resolved within a week! excellent service

lovely people watching over everyone and getting a good job done I am very confident buying items from e Bay knowing knowing they have my back thankyou and keep up the good work thankyou

Shambolic, almost farcical procedure whereby the ombudsman failed to grasp the true nature of the problem and seemed somewhat biased towards the energy company. I suspect that some of his views would not be taken seriously by a proper court and I suppose this is what happens when a poorly trained operative is placed in a quasi legal environment and is clearly out of his depth. For anybody considering this route as a means of dispute resolution I would simply say - Don't bother.

Great, friendly team. Professional, honest and helpful. Good experiences both times I’ve needed to use them.

I did not like the "minefield" of inputting evidence, to a technophobe as myself it can be somewhat daunting.
The case handler Niamh Gavigan was very good in dealing with me, thank you Niamh.

DISPUTE WITH EON. I was able to explain my case, all details were taken and I felt every confidence it would be thoroughly investigated. I now await the outcome

I had a very disappointing experience and Terrible experience with British Gas, and I felt my concerns were not handled fairly until the Energy Ombudsman stepped in. Thanks to the Ombudsman’s intervention, I finally received the balance I was owed. A big thank you to the Energy Ombudsman for their professionalism and support.