Last reviewed: June 2026 | Source: Ofgem and the Energy Ombudsman
TL;DR- The Energy Ombudsman resolves disputes between consumers and energy suppliers independently and free of charge.
- You can complain after eight weeks without resolution or once the supplier issues a deadlock letter.
- The service is free to consumers, with suppliers funding the scheme.
- It can order remedies including apologies, corrections and financial awards up to a set limit.
- If you accept the decision, the supplier must implement it, typically within 28 days.
Key Facts
●What it does: Independent dispute resolution for energy complaints
●Eligibility: After 8 weeks unresolved or a deadlock letter
●Cost to consumer: Free
●Maximum financial award: Up to a published limit, commonly cited as 10,000 pounds
●Implementation deadline: Supplier must act within around 28 days of acceptance
●Cannot do: Change tariff rates set by the supplier
When a complaint to an energy supplier reaches a dead end, the Energy Ombudsman provides an independent and free route to a decision. It is part of the consumer protection framework that sits alongside Ofgem and gives households and small businesses a way to resolve disputes without going to court. This guide explains when you can use it, what it covers, how the process works, the compensation it can award and how decisions are enforced.
What the Energy Ombudsman does
The Energy Ombudsman is an independent service that resolves disputes between consumers and energy suppliers. It is approved to handle energy complaints and provides an impartial decision when a customer and their supplier cannot resolve a problem between themselves.
The Ombudsman is independent of the suppliers it investigates, and its role is to look at the evidence from both sides and decide what, if anything, the supplier should do to put things right. Its decisions are binding on the supplier if the customer accepts them, which gives the process real weight.
The service exists because energy is an essential service and disputes about bills, switching, service and meters are common. Having an independent body to turn to means consumers are not left to negotiate alone with a much larger supplier when a complaint cannot be settled directly.
When you can complain to the Ombudsman
A customer can take a complaint to the Energy Ombudsman once the supplier has had a fair chance to resolve it. This means either eight weeks have passed since the complaint was first raised without a satisfactory resolution, or the supplier has issued a deadlock letter confirming there is nothing more it can do.
The eight-week point and the deadlock letter are the two routes in, and either is enough to refer the complaint. This requirement ensures the supplier has the first opportunity to resolve the issue through its own complaints process before the Ombudsman becomes involved.
Before reaching the Ombudsman, therefore, the customer needs to have complained to the supplier directly. Keeping a clear record of when the complaint was raised and the supplier's responses helps establish that the eight-week threshold has been met or that deadlock has been reached.
What the Ombudsman covers
The Energy Ombudsman can consider a wide range of complaints, including problems with billing, payments, switching supplier, customer service, meters and the way a supplier has handled a customer. These are the everyday issues that arise between households and their energy suppliers.
It deals with complaints from domestic customers and certain small businesses, reflecting that smaller consumers are less able to resolve disputes with large suppliers on their own. The exact scope is defined by the scheme, so it is worth checking that a particular complaint falls within it.
There are limits to what it covers: the Ombudsman cannot change the prices or tariff rates a supplier charges, because those are commercial matters within the price cap framework set by Ofgem. What it can do is address errors, poor service and how a customer has been treated.
How the process works
Referring a complaint to the Energy Ombudsman is free, and the process is designed to be accessible without needing a lawyer. The customer submits details of the complaint and the evidence, and the supplier provides its side, after which the Ombudsman investigates impartially.
The Ombudsman weighs the evidence and reaches a decision on whether the supplier got things wrong and what should be done to put it right. The customer is then free to accept or reject the decision: if they accept it, it becomes binding on the supplier, and if they reject it, they keep the right to pursue other routes such as the courts.
Because the service is free and independent, it offers a low-risk way to seek redress. Providing a clear account of the complaint and the relevant documents, such as bills and correspondence, helps the Ombudsman reach a fair decision.
Compensation and remedies
The Energy Ombudsman can order a range of remedies, including requiring the supplier to apologise, to correct a bill or account, to take a specific action, or to make a financial award by way of compensation or goodwill. Financial awards are subject to a published maximum limit.
The remedies are tailored to the complaint, so a billing error might be put right by correcting the account and a small payment for inconvenience, while a more serious failing could attract a larger award up to the scheme's limit. The aim is to put the customer back in the position they should have been in.
The financial award limit, commonly cited around 10,000 pounds, sets the ceiling on what the Ombudsman can order in compensation. For most everyday complaints the awards are modest, reflecting the inconvenience and any direct loss caused by the supplier's failings.
How decisions are enforced
Once a customer accepts an Energy Ombudsman decision, the supplier is required to implement it, typically within around 28 days. This is the key strength of the process: an accepted decision is binding on the supplier, so the remedy is not left to the supplier's goodwill.
If a supplier failed to implement an accepted decision, the customer could pursue enforcement, and persistent failures by suppliers can attract regulatory attention from Ofgem. In practice, the binding nature of accepted decisions means suppliers generally comply within the set period.
Because the customer is free to reject the decision and pursue other routes if they are not satisfied, accepting it is a choice rather than an obligation. This balance, a binding outcome the customer can accept or decline, is central to how the Ombudsman provides effective and fair redress.
It is worth keeping copies of the Ombudsman's decision and any correspondence confirming the supplier has carried it out, such as a corrected bill or a payment, until the remedy is fully in place. If the agreed remedy does not appear within the expected period, the customer can contact the Ombudsman, which can follow up with the supplier to ensure an accepted decision is honoured.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can I complain to the Energy Ombudsman?
You can take a complaint to the Energy Ombudsman once the supplier has had a fair chance to resolve it. This means either eight weeks have passed since you first raised the complaint without a satisfactory resolution, or the supplier has issued a deadlock letter confirming there is nothing more it can do. Either route is enough to refer the complaint, but you must have complained to the supplier directly first.
Is the Energy Ombudsman free to use?
Yes. The Energy Ombudsman is free to consumers, with the scheme funded by the energy suppliers it covers. The process is designed to be accessible without needing a lawyer: you submit your complaint and evidence, the supplier provides its side, and the Ombudsman investigates impartially and reaches a decision. This makes it a low-risk way to seek redress when a complaint to your supplier cannot be resolved.
How much compensation can the Energy Ombudsman award?
The Energy Ombudsman can order remedies including apologies, corrections to bills or accounts, specific actions and financial awards, with financial compensation subject to a published maximum limit, commonly cited around 10,000 pounds. For most everyday complaints the awards are modest, reflecting the inconvenience and any direct loss. The Ombudsman cannot change the tariff rates a supplier charges, as those are commercial matters within the price cap framework.
Does the supplier have to follow the Ombudsman's decision?
If you accept the Energy Ombudsman's decision, it becomes binding on the supplier, which must implement it, typically within around 28 days. This is the key strength of the process, because an accepted decision is not left to the supplier's goodwill. If you reject the decision, you keep the right to pursue other routes such as the courts, so accepting it is a choice rather than an obligation.
