We may be able to help resolve your energy dispute

Read below to find out how we could help you.

If you're having issues with your energy supplier, energy broker, network operator, green deal or heat network supplier, we may be able to help resolve your dispute.

Our process

Our simple process makes it easier than ever to raise a dispute with your energy supplier:

Step 1

Raise an issue with your supplier via their complaints process

Step 2

After 8 weeks, raise your dispute with us*

Step 3

You will have 14 days to send us your information

Step 4

We'll review your dispute and the evidence from both parties

Step 5

We'll contact you with our decision which you can choose to accept

Step 6

If relevant, your supplier should deliver a remedy in 28 days

Search for your supplier here

*Before raising your dispute with us, please allow your supplier 8 weeks to put things right (unless you receive a deadlock letter from them sooner).

How we can help

We provide a free and impartial service that aims to resolve disputes between consumers and suppliers in the energy sector.

Common disputes include;

Gas and electricity bills
Smart meters and Feed-in-Tariffs
Customer service
Problems that arise as a result of switching energy supplier
The way an energy product or service has been sold, including door step sales
The supply of energy to a home

Who we are

The Energy Ombudsman was established in 2008 to offer independent dispute resolution services, with the goal of putting things right for consumers and ensuring fair outcomes. We also help energy suppliers better understand and address their consumers' needs and improve their experience.

Now part of the Trust Alliance Group, our organisation has resolved over 1.3 million disputes.

The Energy Ombudsman is the only alternative dispute resolution scheme for energy in the UK, and also handles disputes about energy brokers, network operators, green deal and heat network suppliers. We're approved by Ofgem to impartially and independently handle disputes between consumers and energy suppliers.

What to expect

We can tell suppliers to:

Take practical action (E.g. credit or cancel an account, change your tariff)
Make an apology
Offer financial awards up to £10,000 (our average award is around £50)
Make recommendations to prevent this happening again
A combination of these actions

However, we can’t:

Punish companies
Dictate how companies operate
Issue fines

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I have to wait 8 weeks?

Your supplier has 8 weeks to resolve your dispute. This is to give them enough time to assess the situation and the evidence to find an appropriate resolution.

What is a deadlock letter?

If your supplier can’t do anything else to resolve with your dispute, you may receive a letter or email from them stating this. This is called a ‘deadlock letter’. The letter will tell you that you can now contact the Energy Ombudsman and will include our contact details. You must escalate your dispute within 12 months of receiving the letter.

How much will it cost me?

We are free for consumers, however providers pay us an investigation fee as an incentive to improve their service. The more disputes they can resolve in-house, the less they have to pay us.

How can I register my dispute with the Energy Ombudsman?

Raising your dispute online is the fastest way to get your information to us, however you can also do this by telephone, email and post. Searching our website is the easiest way to find out if an energy company is a member of our scheme: click here.

What am I likely to get if I complain?

If we decide the supplier has made a mistake, or treated you unfairly, we’ll recommend which action they should take to put things right. This could include:

A practical action (for example: apply a credit, cancel an account, apply a specified tariff)
An apology
A financial award to acknowledge the difficulties encountered (Time & Trouble Award)
Recommendations for the company to prevent the issue happening again
Or, a combination of these.

For more information visit our What to expect page.

Who can you accept disputes from?

We can process complaints for both domestic and small business consumers in the energy sector:

A domestic, residential consumer is a person who has energy provided to their home.
A non-domestic consumer meeting either of the below criteria:

Microbusiness consumer:

A company which has an annual consumption of electricity of not more than 100,000 kWh, or gas consumption of not more than 293,000 kWh; or fewer than 10 employees (or their full-time equivalent), and an annual turnover or annual balance sheet total not exceeding £2 million.’

Please be aware the usage thresholds are specific to the fuel being complained about.

Small Business consumer:

A company has fewer than 50 employees or their full-time equivalent, AND have an annual turnover of at most £6.5 million or a balance sheet total of £5.0 million; or has an annual electricity consumption of not more than 200,000 kWh or has an annual gas consumption of not more than 500,000 kWh

Can I ask a solicitor or other advisor to help with my dispute?

Our service offers a free alternative to going to court and you do not need to involve a lawyer or legal advisor when bringing your case to us. You are, however, entitled to seek independent advice or be represented or helped by a third party at any stage of the process.

Consumer Feedback

After months getting nowhere with my energy provider I contacted the ombudsman and I'm so glad I did. The process was straightforward and my case was handled promptly and efficiently. Many thanks to my case handler Jason for the excellent service provided.

If ever you have problems with your energy provider here's where you need to go. I had big problems with my fathers supplier. It took a while to resolve due to the supplier. I can not thank the Energy Ombudsman and my case handler enough. Well Recommended.

My dispute was resolved, to my great relief, within a few weeks of contacting the ombudsman. I had felt reluctant to escalate my complaint even after many months of exchanging emails with my energy company. I'm so glad I did.

I made the right choice to contact the ombudsman Service. I would never have got an end result without them to be honest. I trusted them to believe me and help sort out a very upsetting time for me, Thank you Chelsea, you are an absolute star.

Contacted the ombudsman after multiple complaints to a new energy provider appeared to fall on deaf ears. Once involved they issued clear guidance as to what was required from both parties and set deadlines.

Making a case is odd as a consumer as you don't know the rules that an energy company must adhere. You just you know that something has gone wrong and your problem hasn't been solved. The Ombudsman has helpful staff who keep you informed and this make a great service.

Ready to raise your dispute with us?

Raise dispute