Can we help? Use this checklist to see if your case is right for Energy Ombudsman

Our service is free and easy to access, but there are a few conditions that each case must meet before we can accept it.

Get in touch with us if your dispute ticks these boxes:

This means you’re either a person who has energy provided to their home, or you’re a small business that has an annual consumption of electricity of no more than 200,000 kWh, or gas consumption of no more than 500,000 kWh; or fewer than 50 employees (or their full-time equivalent), and an annual turnover of at most £6.5 million or a balance sheet total of £5 million.

To access our service, you must first raise your issue with your energy supplier and allow them eight weeks to resolve it.

It’s advisable to document and retain all the communication you have with your supplier, including noting the time, date, and content of phone calls.

If you can’t reach a solution with your supplier, they may send you a deadlock letter. This letter, acknowledging the dispute and lack of an acceptable solution, allows you to bring your case to Energy Ombudsman before the eight-week period expires.

• Gas or electricity bills

• Smart meters and Feed-in-Tariffs

• Customer service

• Problems that arise as a result of switching energy supply

• The way an energy product or service has been sold, including doorstep sales

• The supply of energy to a home or small business

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it covers the most common areas of dispute. If your concern falls outside these categories, we may still be able to help you, but we can’t deal with disputes on:

• Commercial decisions made by companies about whether to provide a product or service

• Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG)

We only deal with disputes with energy suppliers trading in Britain.

We can’t get involved in disputes that have been referred to courts, so get in contact with us before you take legal action.

We exist to solve outstanding disputes; we can’t revisit disputes that have already been settled.

If your dispute meets the above criteria, you can bring your dispute to Energy Ombudsman for a free, impartial review. The easiest way to do this is to raise your dispute online.

You can also contact us by telephone, email or post, and if you require additional support, we’re happy to do things a little differently. Visit our Accessibility page for information on using our service with translation services, braille, sign language and more. 

Once we receive your dispute, we’ll review the details and keep you informed at every step of the process. Every dispute is managed by a single case handler from start to finish, so you’ll be supported through the process with a personal touch every time.