Energy Ombudsman has mixed reviews from customers. Customers particularly appreciate service and professional, though some mention concerns about customer service and communication.
Once aware of the process and access to the online system the complaint was handled very well and I received a fast resolution from Octopus. They had shown no interest in resolving my complaint about refunding my credit balance on transferring my energy account elsewhere. The Ombudsman case definitely made them sit up and deal with it and I received a full refund and compensation for the mistakes made.
Octopus haven't completed their actions in the given time frame and have no date to do so, yet you've closed the case stating that Octopus have completed their actions! I still do not have a working gas metre since Octopus tried and failed to install a smart metre in February, 5 months ago. All I want is a metre that works so I know how much gas we are using and what I should be paying.
Excellent service and case handled in the time frame stated I was kept informed throughout the process including personal phone calls Staff always friendly and polite
Thank you team. If not for you the energy supplier would have not resolved the complaint and I would have lost £100’s
No description available yet.
Website
www.energyombudsman.org1,000 total • Write a review
I suspect the 5 Star Reviews that are suddenly popping up on here are fake, no body is happy with this corrupt service. All members of the public are leaving 1 Star honest reviews. If the The Energy Ombudsman is funded by The Energy Suppliers, how fair and impartial can The Ombudsman really be?! The Energy Ombudsman states: We are funded by the suppliers signed up to our scheme. They pay us a fee for each case we review regardless of the outcome or decision we make. This service does need to be investigated!!
Date of experience: December 9, 2024
US
If your complaint revolves around customer service or unclear billing, then it's a waste of time completing a formal complaint stage with the ombudsman. They have a pretty blase view of shocking customer service and do not regard it as anything the energy co should be especially penalised for. But if you pursue to to the point when an investigation is about to start, your energy co will likely write to you with a final compensation offer. Take it and abandon the complaint at that point. The Ombudsman, even if finding in your favour, will offer a fraction what what the energy company will, half or less. This is because it is the energy company that pays for your complaint, around £100-200, so will give you a good part of that to incentivise you to settle and avoid the fee and associated costs. Once the investigation is under way, and the fee incurred, they will not be settling and the ombudsman will award a trivial amount. My service from the ombudsman itself was also shocking. First they sent my findings to the wrong address and despite me telling them it had not been received by me, allowed the 28 day deadline to expire. Then when I was told any settlement was off by my energy co, I contacted them again but got no reply in the next 14 days from two seperate people. Eventually I filed a complaint about the ombudsman itself, I got a manager call next day who apologised for the service but wanted to close the investigation. OK but what about compensation for your own (admitted) lousy service. 'No, we don't do that'. The ombudsman service is run by a private company, Trust Alliance Group. Nice cosy gig. The energy co's pay their fees and if they do a bad job, no accountability. It's a shocking system and no wonder bad service is prolific. NB With regard to your boilerplate reply, it is not a case of what I 'feel', it is a fact that I was not 'supported through my journey' or in plain English, no-one at any point responded to my numerous attempts to discuss the findings. Just a manager, 6 weeks later, to tell me he was closing the case. I have more chance of landing on the moon that you have of using this episode to improve your service.
Date of experience: December 9, 2024
US
I submitted incontrovertible evidence of crazy billing and law-breaking. Ombudsman asked for more, which I sent. Then they delivered a very short opinion that went totally against the evidence and in favour of the supplier. So I did as they suggested in answers to bad reviews and asked them to be 'happy to help.' Which got weasel words from them - twice. I strongly suspect collusion between them and the energy suppliers. So does Which? magazine: their lawyer told me that their investigators are looking into the relationship between suppliers and Ombudsmen, because so many decisions side with the suppliers.
Date of experience: December 9, 2024
In this age of long queues on the phone, bots, the energy Ombudsman was a delight . I spoke to a real human ,the phone was asked quickly & issues were heard with out being talked over or belittled .This was the complete opposite of the hours wasted on hold with E.on Thank you for all you help
Date of experience: December 8, 2024
US
Stupid problems with EON.NEXT where they insist they cannot do a variable direct debit and take quarterly meter readings. Their "Ombudsman" is little to no help, in fact the 'ombudsman' admitted: "Yes, you are correct, I am not an Ombudsman. If you need any further clarification on the decision, please let me know." Nothing has changed from my original intention, stick to your guns, they are only an energy supplier who wants immediate monthly payment.
Date of experience: December 7, 2024
US
As per many other reviews, there is no point to this Ombudsman. You basically do all the work anyway, submitting your complaint and evidence to a glorified email portal. They then just forward it to, or advise the supplier. They do not do any work on your behalf. I too, have put up with deceit and false bills from my energy supplier and have been through a stressful time. I thought the Ombudsman was supposed to assist the consumer, instead they sided with the supplier at the end. Even though the supplier falsely billed against Ofgem rules. In one reply on here, I saw the Ombudsman state they are following Ofgem regulations. What a cheek! I challenged the energy supplier on not following Ofgem rules, but the ombudsman was not interested. Do not waste your time.
Date of experience: December 7, 2024
Everything about the service received by the ombudsman was perfect. The online portal is easy to use and understand, the communication was on time and frequent and the explanations were great. I dealt with a lady called Faye who really took her time to explain things to me get a fair outcome which is all I wanted.
Date of experience: December 5, 2024
This ADR is just a puppet for companies. A complete waste of consumers time. You’re better off taking direct legal action as the merchant will use any adjudication given by this corrupt organisation will be used against you.
Date of experience: December 4, 2024
Whilst my issue was dealt with promptly and professionally by the claim advisor who was simply following guidelines which are set out for him, I feel this process is extremely flawed with a limited level of power to "penalise" energy providers who quite clearly have lied to, misled and tried to extract additional profit from a consumer that they were not entitled to. For an issue to take 8 months to be resolved, an account to be rebilled multiple times incorrectly, for a supplier to lie to the consumer, not return calls, handled by multiple different agents and refuse access to speak to management on multiple occasions to only be "recommended" to offer a goodwill gesture of £175 is insulting. It is little wonder tha energy suppliers exploit their customers in the way that they do when there is little to no accountability for their actions. It does feel that the Ombudsman have little to no power and that the "protection" they offer is more weighted towards the multi billion £ making energy provider than that of the consumer.
Date of experience: December 4, 2024
When you contact the Ombudsman you are allocated one person for your case which makes it a lot less stressful My case handler was very professional, kept me in the picture every step of the way; listened to everything I told him, answered my e mails promptly if I had a query, I could not have asked for more I really wished I had gone to ombudsman sooner to save all the stress I was feeling whilst trying to deal with the complaint myself (ie approximately 6 months)
Date of experience: December 3, 2024
