Ombudsman writes off cases as backlog of complaints grows

The Energy Ombudsman has apologised for its sluggish response times after a customer’s case was wrongly written off when the service failed to open his emails.

Robert Phillips, 62, took a complaint about his energy provider, Scottish Power, to the Ombudsman, but was told he needed to provide more evidence within 10 days. Mr Phillips emailed additional information within the time frame but, after hearing nothing back, he contacted the Ombudsman and discovered his case had been closed.

He said the Ombudsman told him it was running “a month behind” on opening emails and that his case had been automatically dismissed because of the delays. A spokesman for the Ombudsman said response times were currently 10 working days and apologised to Mr Phillips for providing incorrect information. He was also told there was “no way” of reopening cases once they had been closed, which is also incorrect. The spokesman said the errors were not linked to delays in opening emails. “We haven’t handled this complaint well,” he said. “We have contacted Mr Phillips to apologise and to open a new complaint. The information we’ve given around a backlog and an inability to consider complaints after they have been closed is plainly wrong.”

However, the Ombudsman refused to disclose how many complaints had been automatically closed due to the 10-day response times.

Ombudsmen are supposed to be the last line of defence for consumers wronged by companies. However, these services have been beset with issues. The Treasury Committee, an influential group of MPs, has raised concerns over the case handling times at the Financial Ombudsman Service, the arbiter of financial disputes. Meanwhile the Legal Ombudsman, which investigates disputes between lawyers and clients, has also faced serious delays.

James Daley of Fairer Finance, a consumer campaign group, said: “Ombudsmen play a vital role in creating fair markets for consumers – but it’s crucial that they have the right resources to do their job properly.”