How to complain about your energy supplier

Here's what to do if you're unhappy with your energy company.

Be organised

Before you begin make sure you have copies of all the relevant documents, including any correspondence with the company, and take the full names of anyone you speak to. Try and also get a direct dial for them, or ask them to call you back if it’s not a freephone number. Email is even better as you’ve got a paper trail of all the communications between you and the company which will be useful if the situation escalates.

Write a letter

A letter, or an email, is a direct way of addressing your complaint. The letter (or email) needs to include all the facts in a concise way, including any reference numbers and names of people you’ve dealt with. Keep it polite and include all your contact details and make sure you keep a copy of it for your own records.

When you come to send it, go for recorded delivery so you have proof of when it arrived.

Template letter:

                                                                                                            Your address

                                                                                                            Your phone number

                                                                                                             Date

Name of person you’re contacting (if you have it)

Their title

Company address

RE: Your reference or account number

Dear <name>,

• Apologies for writing, but you feel this is a problem they should know about
• Clear statement of the case including dates and times
• What you would like from them to fix the problem
• A reasonable deadline for them to respond by
• Your positive previous experiences of the company
• Thanks for their time, if you don’t hear back from them with a resolution you will seek help from a relevant party (eg: government agency, consumer group)

Yours sincerely,

(sign here)

Your printed name and email address

CC: If you have copied the letter to anyone, give their name and title here

Enclosures: If you’ve included photocopies of any relevant documents state them here 

What next?

You need to wait eight weeks until you move things forward and in this time the company should respond. If it hasn’t, or you’re not happy with the response, go to the Energy Ombudsman.

More on gas and electricity bills

Ten ways to save on energy

The best and worst energy bills

How to avoid the next big energy price rise