COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
At Howard and Barnes we aim to provide a professional and comprehensive service to all our customers. However, there maybe occasions when we fail to provide the service you expect from us. If you contact us expressing your dissatisfaction, we will treat the matter seriously and objectively. We have a complaints procedure in place, enabling us to investigate the details relating to your complaint and provide a quick resolution. We are committed to improving our business practices wherever possible and will take on board all possible learning from any issues reported to us. We will look to change our business policy and procedures as a result.
Any complaint you make will be treated in the following stages:
-
We will acknowledge your complaint on receipt. We may, at this stage, ask you for additional information or clarification to help with our investigation into the details.
-
We will undertake an investigation into the matters you have brought to our attention.
-
We aim to provide a resolution to your complaint within 72 hours if we have all necessary information to do this. However, if we are unable to complete our investigation by this time, we will contact you informing you of progress.
-
If a resolution is not possible within 72 hours, we will aim to resolve the issue as soon as we can and will give you an update on progress every 7 days.
-
If at any stage during the process Howard and Barnes believe we will be unable to settle the issue, we will write to you with a dead lock letter.
-
In any event, we will write to you within 8 weeks of the initial complaint with the results of the investigation, and a proposed resolution of the problem.
-
Any agreed resolution will be acted on promptly.
Complaints that Howard and Barnes cannot resolve because a deadlock letter has been issued, or because the complaint has been in progress for more than 8 weeks can then be referred to the Energy Ombudsman. This body is fully approved by OFGEM. The resolution communication (in Step 4 or 5) will include an explanatory leaflet and contact details for the Ombudsman Scheme. If you are unhappy with our letter and wish to take the matter further, you will need to contact the Ombudsman to consider the matter. The Ombudsman Scheme is free and impartial. Their resolution and determination services are available in the event that Howard and Barnes and their customer are unable to reach a resolution through our customer complaints procedure.
The contact details for the Energy Ombudsman are;
Energy Ombudsman, P.O. Box 966, Warrington. WA4 9DF
0330 4401624 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm, and Saturday, 9am to 1pm)
If you wish to make a complaint or check on the progress of a complaint, please contact:
The Complaints Manager
Howard and Barnes
Unit 5 Carr Royd,
Beacon Road
Poulton le Fylde
FY6 8JE
07516729866