If you have a complaint about your heat supplier, the first step is to contact them and explain your complaint. Contact details for your heat supplier will be on your heat bill. Heat Trust requires our registered heat networks to have a clear process to manage complaints. We expect heat suppliers to resolve complaints within eight weeks.

If your heat network is registered with Heat Trust, and if you are not happy with your heat supplier’s final offer to resolve your complaint or it has been over eight weeks since you made your complaint, you can ask the independent Energy Ombudsman to investigate. Heat Trust has an agreement with the Energy Ombudsman to provide this service for free to consumers on heat networks registered with us. The Energy Ombudsman has expertise in dealing with customer complaints and will investigate complaints fairly, by listening to both sides of the story and looking at the facts. They will then decide what action, if any, should be taken.

Please note that Heat Trust itself is not able to investigate complaints or make enquiries on behalf of individual consumers. Heat Trust sets standards that require suppliers for our registered heat networks to have a robust complaints process and provide their customers with access to the independent Energy Ombudsman service. See our complaints FAQs for more information. For further information on the Energy Ombudsman click here.

To find out if your site is registered with Heat Trust, click here. For customers on heat networks not registered with Heat Trust please see this advice page instead. 

Top tips for making a complaint:

• Keep a record of all contact you have regarding your complaint, including dates, and preferably who it was you were in contact with.
• It helps to know what you would like as an outcome of your complaint: e.g. a change in service/supply, an apology, financial compensation.

 

How to make a complaint:

If you have an unresolved problem with your heat supplier, Heat Trust's independent dispute resolution service operated by the Energy Ombudsman may be able to help.

Step 1) Talk to your heat supplier first. You must give your supplier the opportunity to resolve the problem.

If the complaint is not resolved....

Step 2) Check the date. If your heat network is registered with Heat Trust, complaints can be made to the Ombudsman from eight weeks up to 12 months after the complaint was made to the heat supplier.

The service is free of charge to customers.

Step 3) Check your eligibility. The Energy Ombudsman can look into complaints about unfair, discourteous, or unprofessional treatment or untimely management of a problem, misleading information and failure of the supplier to comply with their obligations under Heat Trust's requirements. To see your heat supplier’s obligations under Our Standards click here.

Step 3a) Check your eligibility to take your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman. If you're a tenant or leaseholder from a social landlord (housing association or local authority) or your landlord has signed up voluntarily, you may be able to take your complaint to the Housing Ombudsman. Find out more information on their website. 

Step 4) Submit the online complaint form available at www.energyombudsman.org/raise-dispute. To make a complaint online you will need the name of your heat supplier (if you're unsure then check your bill). The Energy Ombudsman will ask for some details about you, the date that you first complained, actions taken by you and the heat supplier and how you would like the complaint resolved. 

It can take between six and eight weeks for the Energy Ombudsman to make a decision.

Step 5) The Energy Ombudsman makes a decision. The Energy Ombudsman will take all the circumstances into consideration to make a fair and just decision.

Step 6) Action is taken. The Energy Ombudsman can ask your supplier to apologise, provide an explanation, take action to correct the problem or present you with a financial award up to £10,000.

See our 'How to make a complaint' factsheet.

Ombudsman Fees

Customers on Heat Trust registered heat networks can refer their complaint to the Energy Ombudsman for free. All case fees for complaints that are sent to the Energy Ombudsman are borne by the heat supplier (Heat Trust Registered Participant). Case fees vary depending on how quickly the Energy Ombudsman resolves the complaint.