Before you complain to us, you must first have complained to the energy company. You must follow their published complaints procedure. This is to give the energy company a fair chance to sort the problem out. If you are still not happy with the way things have been handled, you can contact us.

There are some rules about when we can accept your complaint:

• You must have told the gas or electricity company about the problem within 12 months of first knowing about it. So, for example, if you realised there was a problem with your gas bill on 21 September 2007, you need to have told your gas company about it by 20 September 2008.

• You must have made the complaint to the energy company after the company became a member of the service.

If you have already complained to the energy company, there are three situations where you can involve us. These are as follows:

Not making satisfactory progress

You must follow the energy company’s published complaints procedure, and allow them up to eight weeks to sort out the problem for you. If after eight weeks of making your complaint you’re still not happy with the way the energy company is dealing with it, you can pass it to us. For example, the energy company might not have replied to your complaint or you may not be satisfied with the way they have sorted it out.  The deadline for bringing it to our attention is nine months from the date you first told the company about the problem.

Important note:  If your company became a member of the Energy Ombudsman on or after 1 October 2008, it will have up to 12 weeks to sort out the problem for you.  From 1 October 2009 all energy companies will have up to 8 weeks to handle your complaint.

Getting a deadlock letter from the energy company

You might get a letter from the energy  company that says they will no longer be handling your complaint. The letter might say, for example, that the energy company can’t do anything for you and that this is its final position. We call this a ‘deadlock letter’. You then have six months from the date of the letter to pass your complaint to us.

Unable to complain

You have encountered sustained difficulty in registering a complaint with an energy company.

If you are unsure if the Energy Ombudsman can look at your complaint, please give us a call.