CASE STUDY
Heating system advice
Complaint about increased energy bills resolved through landlord’s complaints procedure with Ombudsman’s assistance
Ms J, a tenant, complained to the landlord that its heating engineer had given her incorrect advice about how to use the settings on her heating system. She said that, in following the advice, she had received an electricity bill which had been £700 higher than usual. She asked the landlord for assistance with the cost and provided evidence in the form of the historic and current electricity bills. The landlord did not respond to the complaint.
Ms J brought her complaint to the Ombudsman. As the complaint had not been addressed by the landlord, we encouraged local resolution through the landlord’s complaints procedure. We encouraged the landlord to investigate the cause of the increased electricity use, to respond to Ms J through the complaints procedure and to review its delays in responding to the complaint so far.
Outcome:
The landlord considered the evidence provided by Ms J and found that it had provided her with incorrect guidance on how to use the heating system. It also identified that it had not initially handled the complaint in line with its complaints procedure and this had caused inconvenience to Ms J.
Ms J’s tenancy agreement stated that she was responsible for paying the utility bills for the property. However, the landlord considered that it had played a part in causing the additional electricity use and offered to pay the cost of this. It also apologised to Ms J for the inconvenience caused by its failure to initially respond to the complaint and offered her £100 compensation. In Ms J’s opinion, this resolved the complaint and she did not bring it to us for investigation.
