Energy customers: claim compensation for missed or late appointments

Energy firms have to meet new service targets or else pay £30. See if you qualify for a payout.

You could be owed £30 by your energy company if one of its engineers turns up late or fails to show up for an appointment.

Suppliers will also have to pay out if they fail to meet targets for sending engineers out to fix prepayment meters.

It's all thanks to a little-known rule introduced at the start of the year by the energy watchdog, Ofgem, in order to clamp down on tardy firms. 

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Do you qualify for compensation?

Energy firms now have to give you a four-hour time slot when you book an engineer’s visit after the energy watchdog Ofgem found people were fed up with having to wait at home all day.

Firms that send out engineers that miss the appointment or show up outside this time slot now have to credit your account or send you a cheque for £30 depending on how you pay your bills.

Likewise, the £30 compensation also applies if your provider doesn’t meet targets for fixing a prepayment meter.

If you have a prepayment meter that breaks and cuts off your supply, your provider must send someone to fix the problem within three hours if reported between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday or within four hours if reported on a weekend.

An energy firm has until 1pm the next day if reported outside these hours.

If you’ve experienced missed or late appointments or a slow response to your prepayment meter emergency you should check to see if you are owed compensation by contacting your supplier.

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How to complain to your energy supplier

If you aren’t happy with the service you are getting  from your energy supplier you should complain.

Read: How to complain about your energy supplier for more information on how to go about it.

Your supplier has eight weeks to respond. But if you’re still not satisfied with the response you could escalate your complaint to the Energy Ombudsman.

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