Opal Utilities Ltd Complaints Procedure

We strive to provide excellent customer service however, we acknowledge that sometimes there may be an occasion where we don’t meet your service expectations. In these circumstances, we will endeavour to handle your complaint fairly and efficiently and will make every effort to resolve any issues to your satisfaction. We also pledge to resolve your complaint as quickly as possible.

If you do have a complaint that you would like us to investigate then please contact us by any of these methods:

By telephone: 0330 400 4444 (Mon-Thurs: 08:30-17:00 Fri: 08:30 – 13:30)

By post: Opal Utilities Ltd, PO Box 818, 23 Victoria Avenue, Harrogate, HG1 5RD

By email: admin@opal-utilities.com

Verbal complaints procedure

Any verbal complaint will be acknowledged and we will request further information from you in order to try and resolve the complaint by phone. If the complaint is resolved on the phone then a follow up email will be sent to you confirming the discussion and detailing any actions taken/to be taken.

A record of the conversation and follow up email would be confidentially recorded on our client database.

If it is apparent that the complaint is more complex, then we would request a written complaint from you in order that we may investigate in more detail.

Written complaints procedure

We will acknowledge your complaint in writing within 48 hours of receipt, and commence our investigations. We will notify you of your point of contact for the duration of the complaint process. We are committed to resolving your complaint within 14 calendar days and during this time your point of contact may be in touch for additional information, documentation or clarification on the

issues you have raised. During the 14-day investigation process we will keep in regular contact with you to inform you on the progress on your complaint and advise of any updates. Within 14 calendar days we will let you know the outcome of our investigations in writing. On the rare occasion that we need to extend our investigation period we will agree a new timescale with you and confirm this in writing.

We will confirm the outcome of our investigations to you in writing within 14 days and detail our decision on whether or not we uphold your complaint. We would request that you acknowledge our findings and confirm whether or not you agree with our final decision. if you do not accept our initial decision then we will conduct further investigations and again, this process will take a further 14 calendar days. At the end of this period we will provide you with our final decision on your complaint.

In the unlikely event that you still don’t agree with our decision then you can request a ‘deadlock’ letter from us, this letter is required in order for you to raise the

complaint with the Energy Ombudsman. If we are unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction then we will issue a deadlock letter eight weeks after your initial complaint is registered or after you reject our second decision stage judgement.

 Energy Ombudsman complaint procedure

The Energy Ombudsman is a free independent service for microbusinesses, they will assist in determining the outcome of your dispute.

A business is defined as a microbusiness if it has fewer than 10 employees and turns over less than £1.8 million.

A business is also a microbusiness if it has more than 10 employees but it:

uses less than 293,000 kWh of gas a year, or

uses less than 100,000 kWh of electricity a year

If you are a microbusiness, have followed all the steps above and have been unable to reach a satisfactory resolution to your complaint with us then you are entitled to complain to the Energy Ombudsman.

Please note that the Energy Ombudsman will not deal with your complaint without a deadlock letter.

Energy Ombudsman contact details

https://www.energyombudsman.org/

Address: Energy Ombudsman, PO Box 966, Warrington WA4 9DF

Telephone: 0330 440 1624 (Mon – Fri: 08:00 – 20:00 Sat: 09:00 – 13:00)

Email: enquiry@energyombudsman.org

If you are not a microbusiness customer then you would need to seek legal advice should you wish to further escalate the complaint.

In addition, the Citizens Advice Bureau is available for practical advice – www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Energy brokers / Third Party Intermediaries

The Energy Ombudsman can also assist microbusinesses in disputes with energy brokers (also called TPIs, or Third Party Intermediaries), via the ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) scheme.  Details can be found via the Energy Ombudsman contact details above.

Data Protection & GDPR Complaints

If you believe we have breached GDPR regulations regarding your information, then in the first instance please email admin@opalgas.com. Please fully detail the alleged breach including the parties involved, dates etc. We will acknowledge your complaint in writing within 48 hours and commence our investigations. We will notify you of your point of contact who will update you throughout the process. We endeavour to resolve the complaint to your satisfaction within 14 days.

Alternatively, you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):

Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF