Energy Ombudsman publishes first Small Business Annual Review

Energy Ombudsman has published its first Small Business Annual Review, sharing insights from the first year of its extended service for small businesses. The extension to the service came into effect in December 2024, enabling small businesses with fewer than 50 employees to access the free redress service.

The extension marked a significant step in broadening access to independent dispute resolution in the energy sector, giving more small businesses access to free redress and greater confidence that, when issues arise, they can have their complaint reviewed fairly and impartially.

The report highlights how demand for the service quickly grew in its first year, alongside insights into common complaint themes, sectors and the role of independent dispute resolution for a broader group of non-domestic consumers.

Key findings include:

• 751 small business complaints received during the first year
• 416 cases progressed to investigation
• £133,867 awarded in remedies to small businesses
• 72% of cases upheld in favour of the small business

The nature of disputes raised by small businesses is broadly consistent with those seen among microbusiness consumers. The majority of disputes across both related to billing (57%), with sales (29%) and customer service (7%) disputes also receiving similar volumes. This highlights the importance of ensuring small businesses have access to independent redress when issues arise with billing, the way energy contracts are sold and the customer service they receive.

Over a quarter (26%) of cases were raised by businesses in the hospitality and food services sector. Manufacturing accounted for 14% of cases, while 10% of cases were in Real Estate and Property or Retail Trade respectively. While complaints were received from businesses across a wide range of sectors, the findings show that organisations operating in some of the UK's largest industries are already turning to Energy Ombudsman for independent support when disputes cannot be resolved directly with their supplier.

Ed Dodman, Chief Ombudsman at Energy Ombudsman, said: “The first year of our small business service provides an initial view of demand and the types of issues being raised. We are seeing that many of the challenges raised by small businesses are similar to those experienced by microbusinesses, particularly in areas such as billing, customer service and sales. We also saw that cases involving small businesses were more complex and the financial amounts in dispute were often higher. While most financial awards are generally moderate, there have been instances of more significant value, including maximum award decisions involving both suppliers and brokers. This highlights the importance of extending access to independent dispute resolution, and the role we play in reviewing cases and determining outcomes.

“The findings indicate that small businesses experience similar challenges in navigating the energy market, and that access to an independent resolution service remains an established part of the sector’s approach to handling disputes.”