If you are unhappy with the service you are receiving from any of the utility companies, you should first take the matter up direct with the company concerned. Most companies operate an official complaint procedure and will be able to send you a copy of it on request.  

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive to your complaint, there are a number of organisations that have been set up by the Government specifically to help you.

Electricity and Gas

energywatch provides advice and information to gas and electricity consumers, represents their views and can refer complaints to Office of the Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) for possible enforcement action. Contact energywatch if you have been unable to resolve a complaint with a gas or electricity company.

You can contact energywatch on:

Tel: 0845 906 0708 (gas complaints) / 0845 601 3131 (electricity complaints).  Calls are charged at local rate.

The email address is:enquiry@energywatch.org.uk

Ofgem is the watchdog set up to regulate and promote effective competition in the gas and electricity industries, as well as to protect the interests of consumers, ensuring they get genuine value and choice. 

Switching to a different energy supplier may well save you money. If you are choosing or thinking of changing your supplier, Ofgem provides advice and links to companies providing price comparison services More general advice in response to frequently asked questions is also available.

In Northern Ireland you can refer your complaint to the General Consumer Council.

Northern Ireland’s watchdog is the Office for the Regulation of Electricity and Gas (OFREG) Its website has a helpful list that tells you when and how to get in touch and what kind of issues OFREG can handle.

The Priority Service Register is available to you if you fall into any of the following categories:

• Pensionable age
• Disabled
• Chronically sick
• Have sight or hearing difficulties

You can apply to register on your gas and electricity company’s Priority Service Register by contacting your gas or electricity company for a form. Once registered on the scheme, the following free services may be available to you:

Free gas appliance and installation safety check
Meter Reading
Repositioning of meters
“Password Scheme”
Special Controls or Adapters
Bill Nominee Scheme
Special Treatment if supply is disrupted
Services for the Visually or Hearing Impaired  

GAS LEAKS (AND ANY SUSPECTED GAS LEAKS) SHOULD BE REPORTED IMMEDIATELY TO TRANSCO ON 0800 111 999.

Telecommunications - telephone; fax; Internet

Ofcom (Office of Communications) is the regulator for the UK's telecommunications industry. You can find useful consumer guidance on their website about the cost of calls on the Internet, how to deal with junk faxes and how to find out more about telephone code changes.

Water

To make a complaint about water quality, you should first get in touch with your water supplier. If you have a complaint about your water quality which you have not been able to resolve with the company itself, you can contact the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) and ask them to investigate your complaint for you.

DWI's main job is to check that the water companies in England and Wales supply water that is safe to drink and meets the standards set in the Water Quality Regulations. Inspectors carry out what is known as technical audits of each water company. It is part of the Inspectorate's job to look into consumer complaints and investigate incidents which affect or could affect drinking water quality.

WaterVoice operates through nine regional committees in England and a committee for Wales. They represent the interests of customers in respect of price, service and value for money; they also investigate complaints from customers about their water company. If you have a complaint about your water company which you have not been able to resolve with the company itself, you can contact WaterVoice and ask them to investigate your complaint for you. WaterVoice works closely with the Office of Water Services (Ofwat), the regulator for the water industry.

Railways

The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) has responsibility for consumer protection and details can be found on its website.

The Rail Passengers Council and Committees (RPCs)  investigate passenger complaints that the rail industry has been unable to satisfactorily resolve. Its website has details about how to contact your local Rail Passengers Committee.

Postal services

Postwatch promotes the interests of consumers in the postal sector. It works closely with the Postal Services Commission (Postcomm) the industry regulator to monitor postal services in the UK. Postwatch can provide advice and information on postal services and will deal with complaints where customers have been unable to resolve problems with their postal services provider.

Doorstep selling

With the utilities market opening up, customers now have more choice when it comes to which company they want to buy their gas and electricity from and some companies are now offering package deals for both services. This new, competitive market has, however, led some suppliers to adopt pressurised selling techniques like doorstep selling. 

There is a useful page on energywatch's website which gives you advice on what to do and look for if a salesperson calls on you, and what your rights are if you want to cancel any agreement you might make with them.

Last updated: 18 March 2004