EHU/CA Supplier Liaison Meeting October 2017 Sue Jackson Stakeholder Manager Kev Gleave Sector Expert

Energy Ombudsman Updates Operational Statistics Citizens Advice/EHU update General Ombudsman Update Case Studies

Average Contacts per Day Jan 2016- September 17 (written, email, calls)

Cases Accepted per Working Day by Month

Cases Accepted by Month EO forecast

All Complaint Types Q2 and Q3 2017

Accepted case complaint types April to September 2017

Level 2 complaint Types for Billing Q2 and Q3 (April to September 2017) 1% drop 1% drop 2% drop 2% drop 1% drop 1% drop 1% drop

Level 2 complaint Types for Customer Services (April to September 2017) 11% drop 1% drop 12% increase 1% drop 2% drop

Level 2 complaint Types for Transfer (April to September 2017) 3% drop 4% drop 4% drop 2% increase 3% increase

Heat Map for Regions of cases accepted Red high Amber medium Green low

Cases Accepted by Geographical Split Data is for cases where we have a postcode provided

Cases Accepted by Geographical Split Q2 /Q3 comparisons

Average Award totals October 2016 – September 2017 ( roiling 12 months )

Energy Ombudsman referrals to EHU

The percentage of cases where an initial decision was reached within 6 weeks (30 working days) from receipt of the case file Green 95% and above Amber 80% and above Red below 80%

The percentage of cases completed within 6 weeks (30 working days) of the initial decision being reached Green 95% and above Amber 80% and above and below 95% Red below 80%

The average number of calendar weeks to complete a case from the date the case was determined as ITOR (excluding Early Resolution) Green within 12 weeks Amber over 12 weeks and within 15 weeks Red over 15 weeks

General Ombudsman Update Enquiries Improving IVR Support for front line enquiry staff - vulnerable consumers Improving accessibility - Xmas Opening hours Relationship Management changes Internal changes to the team , further recruitment of Account managers/Senior Account Managers New Operations Director Lyndy Geddes appointed Chief Transformation Officer Gill Taylor appointed new role which will be accountable for the combined People and Change and Transformation departments. 

General Ombudsman Update Improving our customer journey Embedding new ways of working , improve customer journey and minimise detriment Missed opportunities for early intervention (PITOR) New case management system ( Forseti) Supplier requirements Updates

Disputes changes to PC Peppermint portal

General Ombudsman Update Communications Update Ombudsman Services Roadshow- 30th January-19th August 2017 at 32 locations Website development and feedback Campaigns , since 2015 targeted Students and older people, now broadening reach by working with Debt Support Trust and Rethink. Age UK – activity starting this month Visits and Meetings Quarterly meetings , monthly and weekly calls with suppliers Meetings with Stakeholders including Ofgem and Energy UK North West Call Centre Awards Ombudsman Services won Best Contact Centre of the year over 100

Case Study One Summary of the customer’s complaint to Ombudsman Services  The customer claimed that due to a faulty electricity smart meter they had experienced issues with the appliances within their property. The customer wanted the supplier to provide compensation to cover the cost of replacing the affected appliances.  Supplier’s response  The supplier stated that it was not liable to cover the costs of any replacement appliances. The reason being that the supplier had exchanged the meter three days after the customer had reported the meter faulty and found no evidence to suggest that the meter was the cause of the damage to the appliances.  Ombudsman Services Investigation  The customer agreed to have an electricity smart meter installed at their property. Five days later the customer reported the smell of burning coming from the meter. The supplier instructed the customer to contact the Distribution Network Operator (DNO) to raise this as an emergency. The DNO engineer arrived at the property and rectified the issue. The DNO engineer’s report confirmed that the issue was caused due to loose cables coming from the meter (meter tails). Three days later the supplier replaced the electricity smart meter.  

Case Study One continued Things to consider in an attempt to resolve the complaint at an earlier stage   Whilst the supplier did replace the smart meter we would expect no fault to be found as the DNO had repaired the fault three days earlier. The supplier’s response to the customer was that no issue was found with the cables. The supplier could have acknowledged the DNO report and potentially addressed this issue at an earlier stage. Also, the supplier could have completed an electricity consumption analysis for the property to determine if there was a spike in consumption within the period in question. If there was damage to the appliances then this may have been due to an energy surge. If there was no evidence of an energy surge then this could have been explained to the customer. It may have helped the customer understand why the supplier was not covering the cost of replacing the appliances.

Case Study Two Summary of the customer’s complaint to Ombudsman Services   The customer experienced a house fire at their property and said that this was due to a faulty smart meter. The customer wanted the supplier to cover the costs of the contents lost as a direct result of the fire. Supplier’s response The supplier arranged for alternative accommodation for a period of four months for the customer and it covered these costs. The supplier says that there is no evidence to conclusively prove that the cause of the fire was due to the smart meter. Ombudsman Services Investigation The customer agreed to have an electricity smart meter installed at their property. Six months later the customer experienced a house fire at their property. The customer provided two separate reports that stated the fire spread to the electrical distribution board. One report stated that there was less deterioration found on the meter tails, which would suggest that this is where the fire started.

Case Study Two continued Things to consider in an attempt to resolve the complaint at an earlier stage   The supplier arranged to pay for the customer’s accommodation for a period of four months, which is commendable, especially given that it did not consider it was at fault. What it could have done is raised awareness with regards to its terms and conditions and provided a detailed explanation why it did not consider that the evidence was conclusive.

Visit our website: www.ombudsman-services.org Find us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/ombudsman-services Follow us on Twitter: @OmbudServices This chart shows the actual number of non-binding remedies for cases completed in each month of 2017 so far.