Complaints

If you’re not happy with our service

We always aim to provide you with excellent service. However, we know that sometimes things can go wrong. There might be something you’re not happy with, or you feel we’ve let you down.

If this happens, it’s quick and easy to get in touch with us so we can put things right. We take your complaint seriously and are committed to resolving every complaint quickly. We also want to learn from any mistakes to help us improve.

Step 1: how to raise a complaint

If you’re unhappy with us, for whatever reason, the first step is to let us know. Often, we can resolve this over the phone. You can raise a complaint with us by:

Calling us on: 08081433633
Emailing us at complaints@heat-customers.vattenfall.co.uk
Completing a Feedback Form online
Raising any complaints at our customer engagement sessions.

What to include in your complaint

To help us respond as quickly as possible to your complaint, please have the following information ready when you contact us:

Your contact details: please provide your contact details. You can also let us know if you want to nominate another person to manage the complaint on your behalf such as a friend, family member or consumer organisation.

Nature of your complaint: provide as much information as you can about the complaint you’re raising.

Details of interactions: it helps to record the dates and times of calls or other interactions with our staff or partners. Please include their name too, where possible.

Incidents: if your complaint involved a specific incident, if possible, please also include the date and time.

Resolution: share the resolution you are seeking from us.

Step 2: resolving your complaint as quickly as possible

Your complaint will be logged on our system and you’ll receive an acknowledgment within 48 hours to let you know your complaint has been received and that we’re working to resolve it.

We’ll contact you with the outcome of our investigation into your complaint, including what we’ll do to put things right, within 10 working days.

If you contact us by email or by letter, we might try to phone you to discuss the issue as this can often resolve things more quickly. However, if you’d prefer us to deal with your complaint in writing then we’ll do that.

Resolution time frame

If we’re not able to resolve your complaint within 10 working days, we’ll contact you to report the progress we’ve made and when we’ll be able to send a full response.

Complaint resolution

When we send a full response to your complaint, we’ll explain what steps have been taken to investigate it, the outcome of the investigation and our resolution offer to put things right.

Step 3: complaint escalation

We hope that we will have resolved the complaint to your satisfaction. , bBut if you remain unhappy, please let us know within 10 working days and we’ll escalate your complaint to a senior manager.

They’ll review your complaint and how it was managed, then decide whether the original resolution was fair and reasonable. Our aim is to provide this assessment, including any adjustment to the original resolution, usually within 10 working days. If we need longer, we’ll keep you informed.

If the senior manager is unable to reach a mutual resolution, the complaint will be referred to the head of department. They’ll issue their assessment and any adjustment to the resolution within 10 working days. If more time is required, we’ll keep you informed.

If we haven’t been able to reach a resolution with you, we’ll write to you with our final offer and explain our position. If you decline this final offer, or if more than eight weeks have passed from the date you originally raised the complaint, we’ll send you a deadlock letter.

This deadlock letter will provide an overview of the complaint, the steps we’ve taken to resolve it and the final resolution we offered. With the deadlock letter, you can then refer the complaint to the independent Energy Ombudsman.

Step 4: independent redress with the Energy Ombudsman

The Energy Ombudsman is an independent dispute resolution service. As an independent body, their aim is to help resolve complaints between companies and their customers. This service is completely free for customers to access.

The Energy Ombudsman will look at all the details of the complaint, including how we’ve responded and managed it, and the resolution we have offered. If they find we haven’t acted correctly, they will tell us what action we must complete to put things right. This may include compensation. The Energy Ombudsman’s decision is binding for us. If you’re happy with their decision, we’re required to implement it together with all their recommendations.

Please note that the Energy Ombudsman will typically only investigate complaints once they are been through our internal complaints process first.

The Energy Ombudsman can be contacted by: