ADR

Cheaper Business UK Ltd is a member of the Ombudsman Service and as such we are happy to be signed up to their Alternative Dispute Resolution Service.  We are very proud of our open and transparent ethos, we feel being subscribed to this service only encourages our belief that we will always strive to do better for our clients. 

 

Cheaper Business UK Ltd

Complaints Procedure for our Energy Brokerage 

Introduction

We aim to provide a first class service for all of our customers. However we recognise that occasionally we may not achieve every aspect of that goal. Should that happen we have in place this complaint procedure to ensure your concerns are both addressed and resolved.

We promise that in the event you make a complaint to us we shall be courteous and be respectful in our dealings with you.

A copy of this complaint procedure is available to you free on request: please just let us know if you wish us to post or email a copy to you.

We set out below how our complaint procedure works and the steps we ask you to take if you wish to complain. We also set out your rights to complain to the Ombudsman should you not be satisfied with the outcome of our review of your complaint.

The procedure

Contact us

Please contact us by email, telephone or post.
Email: complaints@cheaperbusinessservices.com
Telephone: 0333 335 0531
Post: Suite 22, Enterprise Centre, Lincoln Way, Louth, Lincolnshire. LN11 0LS

Acknowledgement

We will within two working days of receiving your complaint send you an acknowledgement. In doing so we shall inform you of the designated complaint manager who will deal with your complaint throughout the process. Where possible your designated complaint manager will be someone other than your previous main point of contact with us.

Additional information or clarification

Your designated complaint manager may contact you seeking additional information, documentation or clarification as to issues raised.

Our decision

Within ten working days of the acknowledgement of the complaint we will let you know the outcome of our investigation. Should we be unable to let you have our decision within that ten working day period we update you as to progress and a revised anticipated date for providing our decision.

Your decision

We ask that within ten working days of you receiving our decision you let us know whether or not you accept our decision. If you do not accept our decision then it will be helpful if you say. If you do not accept our decision then it will help if you provide copies of any additional documents and information that will assist in our review of the initial investigation.

Decision review

Should you not accept our initial decision and you ask us to review that decision we will carry out a review. Again we hope to inform you of the outcome of that review within ten working days of you telling us your decision. Similar to the initial decision process in the event we do not anticipate letting you have our decision within ten working days we will update you as to a revised decision date. We may also during that decision review again ask you for additional information, documentation and or clarification of issues raised.

Eight-week letter

Whatever stage has been reached in the above process eight weeks after we first received your complaint we shall send you an eight-week letter. Once you have received that letter you are entitled to complain to the Ombudsman, more details as to that step are below.

Deadlock letter

If you chose to reject our decision (whether the original decision or a revised decision) we will send you a deadlock letter. This letter confirms that you have rejected our decision as to your complaint. Once you receive this letter you are entitled to complain to the Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman

If you are a microbusiness you are entitled to take your complaint to the Ombudsman should your complaint not be resolved either a eight weeks after the complaint was first made to us or once you have received a deadlock letter from us, whichever is sooner.

The Ombudsman is an independent body that decides the outcome of disputes between us and our microbusiness customers. There is no charge to you for the Ombudsman’s services.

If you accept the Energy Ombudsman’s decision we must then honour that decision. You are not though bound to accept the Energy Ombudsman’s decision and instead may choose to take other action such as litigation.

The Ombudsman’s contact details:

Email: enquiry@ombudsman-services.org (emails are responded to within five working days)
Telephone: 0330 440 1624 (8am-8pm Monday to Friday, 9am-1pm Saturday)
Post: Energy Ombudsman, PO Box 966, Warrington, WA4 9DF
Website: www.ombudsman-services.org

The Citizens Advice Bureau:

If you need independent and practical advice you can also contact the Citizens Advice Bureau. This service gives you free, confidential and impartial advice.
Website: www.citizensadvice.org.uk

The Ombudsman Decision

By deciding to pursue a complaint with the Ombudsman’s Service, under the terms of this Complaint’s Procedure, you agree that Cheaper Business UK Ltd can seek reimbursement from you, the customer, of any charges made by the Ombudsman Service to Cheaper Business UK Ltd in respect of any investigation they may undertake on your behalf.

To be clear, seeking reimbursement of any fee’s will only be on the basis the Ombudsman finds in the favour of or no wrongdoing on the part of Cheaper Business UK Ltd.  If the Ombudsman upholds your complaint, Cheaper Business UK Ltd will not seek to reincur costs from you the customer.

 

Costs incurred will be the total amount paid to the Ombudsman Service for carrying out the investigation on your behalf plus a flat administration fee of £250 which must be paid within 30 days of receiving the invoice.