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Energy Advice Energy Bills and Your Suppliers Speaking to your energy supplier
Problems with your energy supplier
All energy suppliers should be:
- fair
- honest
- transparent (open with you about how they work)
- professional
They should give you the right information to help you make decisions about your energy supply. The information should be given at the right time and in a suitable form.
Your supplier should also take your circumstances into account when dealing with you.
If you feel your energy supplier is not treating you fairly at any time, ask to make a formal complaint against them.
There are also some situations where you might be entitled to compensation if your energy supplier hasn’t followed certain rules. Take a look at our Compensation from your energy supplier guide to find out more.
If you want to complain by email, letter, or webchat, try using our free complaints template. Simply type in a few details related to your complaint and our handy tool will generate a message which you can send to your supplier.
How to make a complaint about your energy supplier
- Contact your supplier and ask what their complaints procedure is. Our Ways to contact your supplier guide shows you how to get in touch. Most suppliers will also share the complaints procedure on their website.
- If you’re on a call with your supplier, you may be put through to a manager. Alternatively, the advisor might arrange for a manager to call you back. If you speak to a manager and they can’t help you, make a note of their name, along with the time and date.
Write a letter or email of complaint
If your issue can’t be solved by speaking to an advisor, the next step is to make a complaint in writing. We’ve created a free template to help you write your complaint.
- You should be able to find both the email address and the postal address on your energy supplier’s website. It is usually in their “Contact Us” section.
- You can use our complaints template to write your message.
- Include as much evidence as you can in your letter or email.
- Your supplier will reply in writing. They will either explain what they can do to help, or send you a “Letter of Deadlock”. A Letter of Deadlock means that your supplier cannot find a way to help you.
Complain to the Ombudsman
You can escalate your complaint to the Ombudsman if:
- It’s been 8 weeks since you sent your written complaint and your supplier hasn’t replied, or
- You’ve received a letter of deadlock and you’re not happy with the outcome
The Ombudsman is impartial. This means they will judge the situation fairly. They look at the argument from both sides.
You can complain to the Ombudsman here: https://www.ombudsman-services.org/complain-now
Make sure you have supporting evidence when getting in touch with the Ombudsman. This will strengthen your case. Evidence could be:
- Copies of bills you think are wrong
- Emails between you and your supplier
- Dates of phone-calls to your supplier
- Letters to and from your supplier
If you are unhappy with the outcome, you might be able to take your complaint to the Civil court. The court will look at the Ombudsman’s decision when reviewing your case.