Energy Ombudsman Process in the UK
This is the hub for Ombudsman timing, investigation, decisions, finality, scope and remedies. Start here if your supplier complaint is unresolved or you have a deadlock/final-position letter.
Ombudsman cluster
The short answer
You normally complain to your supplier first. If it is unresolved after the complaint period or you receive a deadlock/final-position letter, the Ombudsman can review eligible disputes. The strongest cases are narrow, evidence-led and clear about the remedy requested.
Choose your Ombudsman question
Common Ombudsman paths
| User problem | Start with | Then use |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier has not replied after complaint | Deadlock / timing check | Ombudsman timing page |
| Wrong meter reading not corrected | Wrong reading evidence | Investigation page |
| Back bill dispute unresolved | Back billing rules | Complaint template then Ombudsman |
| Decision received but unclear what next | After-decision page | Finality or disagreement page |
| Supplier accepted remedy but did not act | Remedy follow-up page | Save proof of missing action |
What the Ombudsman can decide, and what it cannot
A large share of rejected cases are rejected on scope rather than on the facts. Reading this before you submit saves weeks.
In scope
- Billing accuracy, including back bills and catch-up bills
- Meter readings, meter faults and smart meter data failures
- Direct debit levels and how a credit balance was handled
- Switching problems, erroneous transfers and final bills
- Debt handling, payment plans and how you were treated
- Customer service failures, delays and repeated broken promises
Out of scope
- The level of prices or the price cap itself — that is Ofgem's territory, not a dispute
- Complaints about a supplier you have never been a customer of
- Anything already before a court, or already decided by the Ombudsman
- Cases referred more than 12 months after the deadlock or final response letter
- Products and services outside gas and electricity supply, such as some boiler cover
- Compensation for distress at a level a court would award — awards are capped
The twelve-month referral deadline catches people out. If you received a deadlock or final response letter and then spent a year arguing with the supplier instead of escalating, the case can be out of scope by the time you get there. If a letter looks like a final position, diary the date immediately.
The eight-week wait is being cut to six — but not yet
On 17 June 2026 the government published its response to the consultation Fairer, faster redress in the energy market. It confirmed three changes to this process:
| What changes | Now | Confirmed |
|---|---|---|
| Wait before you can escalate to the Ombudsman | 8 weeks | 6 weeks |
| Ombudsman's window to issue a decision | 6 weeks | 4 weeks |
| Penalties on suppliers who ignore a decision | None directly | Redress schemes gain the power to levy them |
Together that removes about four weeks from the consumer journey. Ofgem has also flagged the option of cutting the escalation wait further, to four weeks, in the longer term if the evidence supports it.
Be careful with the date. The response says the changes will happen “as soon as reasonably possible and certainly no later than Royal Assent for the Energy Independence Bill”. That means they are not in force as this page is written. Plan your complaint around eight weeks. If your case is still running in late 2026 or into 2027, check the current position before you assume you have to keep waiting — a supplier will not volunteer that the threshold has moved.
Source: DESNZ, Fairer, faster redress in the energy market: consultation response, published 17 June 2026.
What the Ombudsman can actually order
It is worth being specific about the remedy in your submission, because the Ombudsman generally awards what you asked for or less — not more.
| Remedy | What it looks like in practice |
|---|---|
| Corrective action | Rebill the account correctly, remove disputed charges, apply the right readings, reset the direct debit, refund a credit balance. |
| Explanation | A written account of what went wrong. Sounds soft; it is often what unlocks a later complaint. |
| Apology | Frequently ordered alongside everything else. |
| Goodwill payment | A financial award for the impact of the failure. Typically tens to low hundreds of pounds on billing cases. |
| Maximum award | £10,000 per complaint for domestic customers, inclusive of VAT. Non-domestic supplier disputes rose to £20,000 on 19 December 2024. |
The maximum is a ceiling, not a target. Domestic billing awards very rarely approach it — it exists for cases where the financial loss genuinely runs that high. Asking for £10,000 over a £300 bill error makes the rest of a good complaint look unserious.
Ask for the correction and the goodwill separately. “Rebill the account using the actual reading of 41,208 taken on 3 June 2026, refund the £186 overcharge, and pay a goodwill amount reflecting eleven weeks of unanswered emails” is a remedy an investigator can grant line by line. “Compensate me properly” is not.
The evidence pack that actually gets read
Investigators handle a large caseload. A pack that can be understood in five minutes is treated differently from one that cannot. Build it in this order and name the files exactly like this.
| # | File | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 01-summary.pdf | One page. What happened, in dated bullet points. What you want. Nothing else. |
| 2 | 02-timeline.pdf | A table: date, what happened, evidence reference. Oldest first. |
| 3 | 03-bills/ | Every bill in the disputed window, named by date. Full PDFs, not screenshots of balances. |
| 4 | 04-readings/ | Meter photos with the serial number visible, plus your submitted readings with dates. |
| 5 | 05-correspondence.pdf | Emails and chat transcripts in date order. Include your complaint and their final response. |
| 6 | 06-deadlock.pdf | The deadlock or final response letter, complete, including the escalation wording. |
Two rules that matter more than the list: one issue per case, and every claim carries a date. A complaint that bundles a back bill, a smart meter fault and a rude adviser into one submission takes longer and is more likely to be partly rejected than three clean issues would be. If you genuinely have three problems, lead with the one with the clearest financial loss.
Open the evidence checklist to work through it item by item.
Before you refer: the four-question check
Run these before you fill in anything. Each one is a common reason for a case to be closed without ever reaching the facts.
| Question | If yes | If no |
|---|---|---|
| Have you complained to the supplier and either waited 8 weeks or received a deadlock letter? | Proceed. | Complain formally first and get a reference. Use the complaint template. |
| Was the deadlock or final response letter less than 12 months ago? | Proceed. | The case is likely out of scope. Raise it as a fresh complaint about a current, ongoing failure instead. |
| Can you state the remedy you want in one sentence with a number in it? | Proceed. | Work that out first. It is the single biggest predictor of a useful outcome. |
| Is this one issue, not three? | Proceed. | Split it. Lead with the issue that has the clearest financial loss. |
Accept, reject, and what “binding” means
This is the part of the process people misunderstand most, and it is genuinely asymmetric in your favour.
If you accept
The decision becomes binding on the supplier. It must implement the remedy, normally within 28 days. You give up the right to take the same matter to court — that is the trade.
If you reject
Nothing is imposed on either side. You keep every legal right you had, including the small claims track. The supplier is not bound and the case closes.
So the decision is never binding on you. Take the time the letter gives you, and check the remedy line by line against what you asked for before accepting — a partial remedy accepted in haste is much harder to reopen than one you queried first.
If the supplier misses the 28 days
This is now an implementation problem, not a billing dispute, and it is handled differently.
- Write to the supplier quoting the Ombudsman case reference, listing each remedy item and marking it done or outstanding. Give a seven-day deadline.
- Tell the Ombudsman. It will contact the supplier and follow the case through to full implementation.
- Once 28 days have passed since a legally binding decision, you can pursue implementation through the courts if you have to. In practice, the second step almost always resolves it.
Remedy not implemented — copy and send
Frequently asked questions
When can I go to the Energy Ombudsman?
Usually after the supplier complaint period has passed or after a deadlock/final-position letter.
What does the Ombudsman need from me?
A clear issue, timeline, evidence and requested remedy.
What if I disagree with the decision?
Use the disagreement and final decision pages to separate review, rejection, finality and remedy issues.
Does it matter whether I call it the gas, electricity, utilities or energy supplier ombudsman?
Not at all. They are four names for one organisation, the Energy Ombudsman, which handles both fuels for domestic customers and small businesses in Great Britain.
Is the Ombudsman independent if suppliers fund it?
It is an approved redress scheme under the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007 and operates independently of the suppliers that fund it. Its decisions bind suppliers, which is not something a supplier-controlled body could do.
Can I use the Ombudsman for a complaint about my energy prices?
No. The level of prices and the price cap are matters for Ofgem and government policy, not a dispute between you and your supplier. What is in scope is whether your supplier applied the right rates to your account, which is a very different question.
What if I have already started a court claim?
A matter already before a court is out of scope. Choose one route. For most household billing disputes the Ombudsman is faster, free, and does not risk costs.
Official sources used for this page
BillDecoded translates official process and billing information into practical checks. It is not affiliated with the Ombudsman, Ofgem, Citizens Advice, Which? or any supplier.
Energy Ombudsman process: the full timeline
The Energy Ombudsman is a free, independent service for UK households and microbusinesses. You cannot go straight to it — you complain to your supplier first, and only refer the case once the supplier has had 8 weeks or has issued a deadlock (final-position) letter. Here is the end-to-end route.
*The decision is binding on the supplier only if you accept it. If you reject it, you keep your right to other routes including court.
What the Energy Ombudsman can and cannot do
| Can do | Cannot do |
|---|---|
| ✓ Order an apology and explanation | ✕ Change Ofgem's price cap or policy |
| ✓ Require corrective billing action | ✕ Punish or fine the supplier |
| ✓ Award goodwill/financial remedy (up to £10,000) | ✕ Handle commercial pricing decisions |
| ✓ Cover gas, electricity, billing, back-billing, switching, meters | ✕ Act before the supplier complaint stage |
In the UK there is one Energy Ombudsman covering both gas and electricity — searches for the "gas ombudsman", "electricity ombudsman" or "utilities ombudsman" all point to the same service.
Energy Ombudsman: extra questions
Is the gas ombudsman different from the electricity ombudsman?
No. One UK Energy Ombudsman handles gas and electricity disputes for households and microbusinesses, so the gas, electricity and utilities ombudsman are the same body.
Does it cost anything to use the Energy Ombudsman?
No. It is free for consumers. The scheme is funded by energy suppliers, not by the people who complain.
Can the Energy Ombudsman award compensation?
Yes. It can require a financial or goodwill remedy, with a binding limit of up to £10,000, alongside corrective action and an apology.
What if my supplier ignores the decision?
If you accept the decision it is binding on the supplier, which must usually act within around 28 days. If it does not, keep proof and follow up — see our page on a supplier not implementing the remedy.
One Ombudsman, several names
Whether you call it the gas ombudsman, the electricity ombudsman, the utilities ombudsman or the energy supplier ombudsman, household gas and electricity complaints in Great Britain go to the same service. The process below applies to all of them.
Different schemes exist for water and for telecoms, so if your complaint is about one of those this is not the right route.
What the Ombudsman can and cannot look at
Checking scope first saves the most common wasted month — a case rejected because it was never eligible. This section replaces the separate scope page.
Usually in scope
- Billing errors, including wrong readings and wrong rates
- Back billing beyond the protected period
- Direct debit levels the supplier will not justify or adjust
- Credit balances the supplier will not refund
- Switching problems and transfers that went wrong
- Meter faults, meter identity errors and smart meter billing problems
- Poor complaint handling and long unexplained delays
- Sales and contract issues, including mis-selling
Usually out of scope
- Complaints you have not raised with the supplier first
- Cases still inside the supplier's complaint window with no deadlock letter
- Water and telecoms — separate schemes handle those
- Commercial disputes above the scheme's business size limits
- Matters already decided by a court
- Government policy, or the level of the price cap itself
- Complaints brought long after the events, outside time limits
If your issue is out of scope, Citizens Advice is usually the right next step.
The full route, start to finish
| Step | What you do | What to keep |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Complain to the supplier | Put it in writing, state the problem and the remedy you want. | The complaint reference and the date you raised it. |
| 2. Wait, or get a deadlock letter | Give the supplier its complaint window unless it confirms it will do no more. | Every reply, and the deadlock letter if one arrives. |
| 3. Check eligibility | Confirm your issue is in scope and the timing is right. | A one-page timeline of what happened when. |
| 4. Submit to the Ombudsman | One issue, one timeline, complete evidence, a specific remedy. | A copy of exactly what you submitted. |
| 5. Investigation | Answer questions promptly; do not add new complaints mid-case. | Every message from the investigator. |
| 6. Decision | Read it carefully before accepting or rejecting. | The decision document itself — you may need it later. |
| 7. Remedy | Check the supplier actually does what was ordered. | Proof of the corrected bill, refund or credit. |
How long each stage takes → · What happens after the decision →
Frequently asked questions
What is the energy ombudsman process in the UK?
Complain to your supplier first. If it is unresolved after the supplier's complaint window, or you receive a deadlock letter, you can refer the case to the Energy Ombudsman. It checks eligibility, gathers evidence from both sides, investigates, issues a decision and then requires the supplier to carry out any remedy.
What complaints does the energy ombudsman deal with?
Billing errors, back billing, direct debit disputes, credit refunds, switching problems, meter faults and smart meter billing issues, mis-selling, and poor complaint handling. It does not handle water or telecoms, matters already before a court, or complaints you have not first raised with your supplier.
Is the gas ombudsman the same as the energy ombudsman?
Yes. Household gas and electricity complaints in Great Britain go to the same energy scheme, whether people call it the gas ombudsman, electricity ombudsman or utilities ombudsman.
Do I have to complain to my supplier first?
Yes. A case submitted before the supplier has had its opportunity to resolve the complaint will normally be rejected, and you will have to start over.
Does the Energy Ombudsman cost anything?
No. It is free for consumers to use.
Is the supplier obliged to do what the Ombudsman says?
If you accept the decision, it becomes binding on the supplier. If you reject it, neither side is bound and you keep the option of pursuing the matter elsewhere.