I recently got offered £125 financial compensation for a complaint through the Energy Ombudsman service.
This offer is prior to any investigation, and is Scottish Power’s attempt to settle before things go further. *I’m trying to work out if this is a reasonable figure, and hope others with experience going through the ombudsman service could help with their assessment.*
I was told that £75 was the typical payout for people with my sort of complaint, and that this was a great deal. But then prior to the ombudsman complaint they offered me £30 and £40 compensation (which in both instances they said was the absolute maximum they could offer…).
A quick summary of my situation:
1. I moved into a new house, and swapped suppliers, but SP was my provider for a little over a week
2. They billed me for the wrong amount / wrong period, and like a clown I paid without checking
3. It took 3 months to settle accounts, and get my refund from the over-payment
4. They sent over a dozen letters to my door demanding different amounts, issues me half a dozen account numbers. Absolute mountain of paperwork to sort through, and then had to explain all this every time I had to discuss the issue with them
5. Spent around 10 hours in direct communication with representatives of SP trying to resolve this issue.
6. Had multiple registered complaints closed on me (when I was told they would be left open) without notice
7. 6 Separate calls with representatives. Each time we would formulate a plan to completely resolve my issue. Move the funds to new accounts, pay off correct debt, refund the amount, close accounts. Each time I was given a specific time-frame. Each time I would have to contact them back long after the time-frame given had expired, to find that either nothing or very little had been done, and have to have the same conversation all over again.
8. I have suffered no direct financial losses due to this issue (other than them taking 3 months to refund me £60). This complaint is purely about compensation for poor customer service.
This whole situation has been utterly disgraceful – I have been lied to, messed around. I have been sent more letters than I had days of supply. It has been extremely stressful and had pushed on for months.
Anyway, i’m of half a mind to reject the offer and let them do the investigation, in the hopes that SP suffers more financial losses as a result of paying someone to deal with it. But at the end of the day, money is money, and id rather like some compensation for the dozen+ hours of my free time that has been wasted on this.
Thanks for any input.
6 comments
From my direct experience.
Don’t settle.
Had a similar situation to yourself and in the end the ombudsman has ordered the £125 comp plus a huge refund and some other stuff.
They still haven’t done the sums but it’ll be close to £1,000 they have to give me back.
Much better than £125
Difficult to comment, what I can say is I’ve gone to Ombudsman (for something else) they suggested £50 compensation,l and kept pushing for it. I said £150 (which they said was really high).
Anyways ending up getting £150 with no issues. I should have asked for more!
The energy companies have to pay the ombudsman for every case the ombudsman takes on. A quick Google suggests this is currently five hundred quid.
In other words, if they can get you to settle for less than five hundred quid without going to the ombudsman then that represents a win from the energy company’s point if view.
Add up how many hours you’ve ended up dealing with the shit & charge it at a fair hourly rate – if they’re offering less then hold out for more… your free time & stress levels are as valuable, maybe more so, than at your job.
Is £125 more, less or equal to the loss you suffered for which you’re being compensated? That should tell you if it’s a good deal.
Keep pushing – the Ombudsman will not offer you less.