We met the client initially in September after visiting a group that she and her husband attended.
A short while after we were asked by a colleague from another project to contact her by phone as she needed some help with her bills. The client had accrued a substantial credit and wanted to know if and how this could be claimed back. We gave the client information about how to do this and she called back to say her energy provider was arranging for smart meters to be installed (which she was happy with) and once done she should receive a refund within 7-10 days of £1,100.00. This was scheduled to happen in early November and the client was happy to wait a little while as smart meters would make it easier for her to take readings in the future.
In Mid-November the client contacted Sharon again as she had her new meters but had not received any further information about her refund and the timescale previously given had elapsed. The client was becoming exasperated with her energy provider and had called them several times.
Sharon made a complaint on behalf of the client to the CEO’s office at her energy supplier and following contact with the client it was confirmed that refunds had been processed on 18th November.
Unfortunately, these did not materialise. I chased up this complaint on several occasions until eventually the client confirmed receipt of her substantial refund early in December. I had made it clear in my emails to her energy provider that their service had fallen short of what was expected, and they offered the client an additional £120.00 credit on her bill for the customer service failures.
Although this took more time to resolve than it should, the client has now received her refund and compensation. She does also now have smart meters so she can get readings easier and prevent estimated bills in the future which contributed to the build-up of the large credit balance.
Client has been asked to check that the £120.00 credit shows on her next bill – if it does not, she has been asked to let me know and I will complain again.
A ‘thank you’ message was received from the client.