Millions miss out on utilities compensation

By Tara Evans
Updated: 05:21 EDT, 11 June 2009

Consumers are failing to claim nearly £1.2m of compensation from energy and water companies each week because they are not aware of regulations, according to new research.

It pays to complain: You could be entitled to compensation from water and energy companies.

Nearly 70% of people are unaware that they can claim compensation from suppliers when they receive poor service.

Electricity, gas and water companies are legally required to meet set standards and must compensate when they fail. A missed home appointment, for example, should trigger a £20 payment.

Nearly 89% of people polled by YouGov for Disputer.com were unaware of this entitlement and a further 94% did not know that if a water company fails to stipulate if the appointment will be in the morning or afternoon they are entitled to claim the same amount.

Inde Uppal, chief executive of Disputer, said: 'Failing to complain has just become something of a British pastime and when faced with sub-standard services or products we tend to just grin and bear it. More often than not, people are also unaware of their rights or simply don't have the time to deal with a complaint in the right way.'

Earlier this year, an investigation by BBC1's Watchdog programme into rules that were alleged to favour water and energy companies prompted industry regulator Ofgem to demand that they should explain bills and increase the transparency of the complaints process.

Watchdog also investigated the guaranteed standards that energy and water companies must adhere to. Read the article here.

Your right to complain

Below we have put together a list of poor customer service situations which you should be able to claim compensation for. We've also put together a guide to explain your rights and how to complain about energy and water companies. Read the energy guide here and the water guide here.

• Failure of your water supplier to dispatch a substantive reply in response to a written query about the correctness of an account

• Failure of your electricity/ gas/water supplier to turn up during a scheduled two hour appointment slot

• Failure of your water supplier to supply written notice at least 48 hours in advance of your water supply being cut off for more than four hours

• Failure to give at least 48 hours notice before your gas/electricity power supply is cut off

• Failure of your water company to inform you if an appointment is in the morning or afternoon