Complaints Procedure

Energy Made Simple Limited
Complaints Handling Procedure

Definitions and Interpretation
1. In this Complaints Handling Procedure the following expressions have the following meanings:

“Appeal”	means a request from a Customer to escalate a Complaint to Level Two following an unsatisfactory outcome at Level One;
“Appeal Handler”	means an employee of Energy Made Simple Limited working at Compliance Manager who will handle Level Two Complaints;
“Business Day”	means, any day (other than Saturday or Sunday) on which ordinary banks are open for their full range of normal business in East Durham Business Service, Peterlee, County Durham, SR8 2QJ
“Complaint”	means a complaint about services sold by Energy Made Simple Limited, about our customer service, or about our employees;
“Complaint Handler”	means an employee of Energy Made Simple Limited working at Compliance Manager who will handle Level One Complaints;
“Complaints Policy”	means our customer complaints policy, available from East Durham Business Service, Peterlee, County Durham, SR8 2QJ
“Complaint Reference”	means a unique code assigned to a Complaint that will be used to track that Complaint;
“Customer”	means a customer of Energy Made Simple Limited and includes potential customers (no purchase necessary);
“Decision Letter”	means a letter sent by a Complaint Handler or Appeal Handler to a Customer informing that Customer of the outcome of their Complaint;
“Investigation Report”	means the report prepared by a Complaint Handler or Appeal Handler detailing his/her investigation;
“Level One”	means the first stage in this Complaints Handling Procedure under which Complaints will be handled by a Complaint Handler;
“Level Two”	means the second stage in this Complaints Handling Procedure under which a Customer may appeal the outcome of a Level One Complaint and under which Complaints will be handled by an Appeal Handler;
“Resolution Action”	means the available actions to be taken in response to a Complaint as detailed in Section 8.

What this Complaints Handling Procedure Covers
1. This Complaints Handling Procedure applies to Complaints pertaining to the provision of services by Energy Made Simple Limited, to our customer service and to our employees.
2. For the purposes of this Complaints Handling Procedure, any reference to Energy Made Simple Limited also includes our employees .
3. Complaints may relate to any of our activities and may include (but not be limited to):
  1. the quality of our customer service;
  2. the behaviour and/or professional competence of our employees;

the processing of energy contracts

the tendering of energy contract and the suitability of the contracts agreed by you.

The following do not constitute Complaints. Customers raising such questions or matters should be directed to the appropriate person:
1. general questions about our services;
2. matters concerning contractual or other legal disputes;
3. formal requests for the disclosure of information including, but not limited to, those made under the applicable legislation;
4. The disclosure of commission in relation to a signed Commission Disclosure document.

Receipt and Recording of Complaints
1. Customers may make Complaints to Energy Made Simple Limited using any of the following methods:
  1. in writing, addressed to Compliance Manager, East Durham Business Service, Peterlee, County Durham, SR8 2QJ
  2. by email, addressed to Compliance Manager at admin@energymadesimple.co.uk
2. Upon receipt of Complaints, the following steps should be taken within 7-14 Business Days:
  1. If a written Complaint is received by post, the Compliance Manager must log an internal case for the complaint to investigated. The original complaint is to be scanned in to the system and the client is to be contacted to acknowledge that the complaint has been received. The Compliance Manager will provide the client with a unique complaints reference number.
  2. If a written Complaint is received by email the Compliance Manager must log an internal case for the complaint to investigated. The original complaint is to be scanned in to the system and the client is to be contacted to acknowledge that the complaint has been received. The Compliance Manager will provide the client with a unique complaints reference number.
  3. If a Complaint is made by telephone, the Compliance Manager must log an internal case for the complaint to investigated. The original complaint is to be scanned in to the system and the client is to be contacted to acknowledge that the complaint has been received. The Compliance Manager will provide the client with a unique complaints reference number.
3. All Complaints must be given a Complaint Reference number, which will be unique to each individual case and forwarded to an appropriate Complaint Handler, selected in accordance with section 6.1 within 7-14 Business Days.
4. All Complaints must be acknowledged in writing within 7-14 Business days of receipt by Compliance Manager. The acknowledgement should inform the Customer of their Complaint Reference, their assigned Complaint Handler and should include copies of Energy Made Simple Limited’s Customer Complaint Policy and this Complaints Handling Procedure.
Complaint Information
1. Customers are advised in our Complaints Policy that the following information should be provided in as much detail as is reasonably possible when making a Complaint:
  1. the Customer’s name, address, telephone number and email address, indicating any preferred method of communication;
  2. if the Customer is being represented by a third party, the information set out in section 4.1.1 should be provided in reference to both parties;
  3. if the Complaint relates to a particular transaction, the [insert reference eg order number, invoice number etc];
  4. if the Complaint relates to a particular employee, the name and, where appropriate, position of that employee;
  5. further details of the Complaint including, as appropriate, all times, dates, events, and people involved;
  6. details of any documents or other evidence on which the Customer wishes to rely in support of the Complaint;
  7. details of how the Customer would like Energy Made Simple Limited to resolve the Complaint. Whilst we undertake to make all reasonable efforts to accommodate such requests, however, we are not bound to take any action beyond that which we may be contractually or otherwise legally obliged to take.
  8. [insert additional information or remove as appropriate].
2. If the information detailed in Section 4.1 is missing, insufficiently detailed, or incomplete, [[insert name and/or position] should contact the Customer within [insert period] Business Days of receipt of the Complaint to request further information] OR [the Complaint Handler should contact the Customer within [insert period] Business Days of being assigned to the Complaint to request further information].
Complaint Levels
1. Energy Made Simple Limited operates a two-stage complaints handling procedure. Upon receipt, all new Complaints should be handled in accordance with the Level One procedure set out in section 6 below. It is our policy to use all reasonable endeavours to resolve all Complaints to Customers’ satisfaction at Level One.
2. If a Customer is not satisfied with the resolution of their Complaint at Level One, he/she may request that the Complaint is escalated to Level Two in the form of an Appeal at which point the Complaint should be handled in accordance with the Level Two procedure set out in section 7 below.
Level One Complaints
1. The following staff members are qualified and eligible Complaint Handlers for Level One Complaints:

<<Insert name>>, <<insert position>>, <<insert contact details>>;

<<Insert further staff as required>>.]

Upon receipt of a Complaint, the Complaint Handler shall consider the Complaint and make a decision within [insert period] Business Days whether to:
1. Investigate the Complaint fully if it is considered to be valid, in which case the procedure should resume from section 6.3; or
2. Dismiss the Complaint if it is considered to be invalid, in which case the Complaint Handler should inform the Customer of his/her decision in writing within [insert period] Business Days.
Subject to delays arising from circumstances beyond his/her reasonable control (including, but not limited to, delays in other persons responding to communications), the Complaint Handler shall have a period of [insert period] Business Days in which to fully investigate the Complaint and to decide upon appropriate Resolution Action(s).
If the Complaint relates to (a) particular employee(s) (a “Complainee” or “Complainees”), the Complaint Handler shall inform the Complainee(s) in question of the Complaint and arrange telephone calls as required to discuss the Complaint. In such cases, the Complainee(s) should not, under any circumstances, contact the Customer directly regarding the Complaint. If the Customer contacts the Complainee(s) directly regarding the Complaint (which they are requested not to do in our Complaints Policy), the Complainee(s) should respectfully refuse to discuss the matter, referring the Customer to section 5.2.3 of our Complaints Policy. Any such contact should be reported to the Complaint Handler.
If the Complaint Handler requires additional information or evidence in support of the Complaint, the Complaint Handler shall contact the Customer using the Customer’s preferred method of communication, stating clearly what information or evidence is required. Customers should be respectfully reminded that any delay in their response to such a request may delay the resolution of their Complaint, as per section 5.2.4 of our Complaints Policy.
If a Customer is unable or unwilling to provide information or evidence requested under section 6.5, the Complaint Handler must nevertheless use all reasonable endeavours to resolve the Complaint. If, however, the Complaint Handler considers that it is not possible to uphold the Complaint in the absence of the requested information or evidence, he or she may close the Complaint and inform the Customer of the outcome in accordance with sections 6.9 to 6.12.
The Complaint Handler shall examine and evaluate the Complaint, taking full account of all relevant statements, information, evidence and circumstances and shall maintain full objectivity and fairness at all times.
During the investigation of the Complaint, the Complaint Handler shall have access to all records, information, employees that may be necessary to enable him/her to carry out an impartial and thorough investigation.
Following his/her examination of the Complaint, the Complaint Handler shall reach a decision within the time period set out in section 6.3 (subject to the exceptions noted therein). Resolution Actions that may be chosen are set out in section 8.
Upon reaching a decision, the Complaint Handler shall send an Investigation Report and Recommendation for review and authorisation by [insert name and/or position] who shall be required to respond within [insert period] Business Days.
In the event that [insert name and/or position] does not agree with the Complaint Handler’s decision and/or Recommendation under section 6.10 he/she must give reasons for such disagreement and the Complaint Handler shall have a further [insert period] Business Days to revise his/her decision and/or Recommendation and resubmit it to [insert name and/or position] for review and authorisation. If, following re-submission, [inert name and/or position] still does not agree with the decision and/or Recommendation, [the Complaint shall be reassigned to a new Complaint Handler and the Level One procedure shall begin again] OR [[insert name and/or position]’s preferred decision and/or Recommendation shall be final].]
[Upon reaching a decision under section 6.9] OR [Upon receiving approval or a final decision under section 6.10 or 6.11, as applicable], the Complaint Handler shall send an Investigation Report and Decision Letter to the Customer by first class post or by email, as appropriate. Decision Letters shall set out the decision, the Resolution Action(s), and shall remind the Customer of their right to escalate the Complaint to Level Two. [insert number] copy/copies of the Investigation Report and Decision Letter should be [describe steps for distribution to other staff, file storage, logging, recording etc].
If a delay either occurs or is considered likely to occur at any stage of the Level One procedure, the Complaint Handler shall inform the Customer using the Customers preferred communication method. The Customer should be informed of the length or likely length of the delay and the reasons therefor.
The Customer shall have a time limit of [insert period] Business Days within which to make an Appeal if he/she wishes to escalate the Complaint to Level Two.
Upon receipt of an Appeal, the following steps should be taken [immediately] OR [within [insert period] Business Days] by the Complaint Handler:
1. [if a written Appeal is received by post, the Complaint Handler must [describe steps for logging or recording];]
2. [if a written Appeal is received by email, the Complaint Handler must [describe steps for logging or recording];]
3. [if an Appeal is made by telephone, the Complaint Handler must [describe steps for logging or recording].]
All Appeals must be forwarded to an appropriate Appeal Handler, selected in accordance with section 7.1 within [insert period] Business Days.
All Appeals must be acknowledged in writing within [insert period] of receipt by [insert name and/or position]. The acknowledgement should inform the Customer of their assigned Appeal Handler.

Level Two Complaints
1. The following staff members are qualified and eligible Appeal Handlers for Level Two Complaints:

<<Insert name>>, <<insert position>>, <<insert contact details>>;

<<Insert further staff as required>>.]

Upon receipt of an Appeal, the Appeal Handler shall consider the Appeal and make a decision within [insert period] Business Days whether to:
1. investigate the Complaint fully if it is considered to be valid, in which case the procedure should resume from section 7.3; or
2. dismiss the Complaint if it is considered to be invalid, in which case the Appeal Handler should inform the Customer of his/her decision in writing within [insert period] Business Days. If the Complaint is so dismissed, the Complaint may be dismissed in its entirety, or the Resolution Action from Level One may stand.
Subject to delays arising from circumstances beyond his/her reasonable control (including, but not limited to, delays in other persons responding to communications), the Appeal Handler shall have a period of [insert period] Business Days in which to fully investigate the Complaint and to decide upon appropriate Resolution Action(s).
If the Complaint relates to (a) particular Complainee(s), the Appeal Handler shall inform the Complainee(s) in question of the Appeal and arrange telephone calls as required to discuss the Complaint. In such cases, the Complainee(s) should not, under any circumstances, contact the Customer directly regarding the Complaint. If the Customer contacts the Complainee(s) directly regarding the Complaint (which they are requested not to do in our Complaints Policy), the Complainee(s) should respectfully refuse to discuss the matter, referring the Customer to section 5.3.3 of our Complaints Policy. Any such contact should be reported to the Appeal Handler.
If the Appeal Handler requires additional information or evidence in support of the Complaint, the Appeal Handler shall contact the Customer using the Customer’s preferred method of communication, stating clearly what information or evidence is required. Customers should be respectfully reminded that any delay in their response to such a request may delay the resolution of their Complaint, as per section 5.3.4 of our Complaints Policy.
If a Customer is unable or unwilling to provide information or evidence requested under section 7.5, the Appeal Handler must nevertheless use all reasonable endeavours to resolve the Complaint. If, however, the Appeal Handler considers that it is not possible to uphold the Complaint in the absence of the requested information or evidence, he or she may close the Complaint and inform the Customer of the outcome in accordance with sections 7.9 to 7.12.
The Appeal Handler shall examine and evaluate the Complaint, taking full account of all relevant statements, information, evidence and circumstances and shall maintain full objectivity and fairness at all times.
During the investigation of the Complaint, the Appeal Handler shall have access to all records, information, employees [ that may be necessary to enable him/her to carry out an impartial and thorough investigation.
Following his/her examination of the Complaint, the Appeal Handler shall reach a decision within the time period set out in section 7.3 (subject to the exceptions noted therein). Resolution Actions that may be chosen that may be chosen are set out in section 8.
Upon reaching a decision, the Appeal Handler shall send an Investigation Report and Recommendation for review and authorisation by [insert name and/or position] who shall be required to respond within [insert period] Business Days.
In the event that [insert name and/or position] does not agree with the Appeal Handler’s decision and/or Recommendation under section 7.10 he/she must give reasons for such disagreement and the Appeal Handler shall have a further [insert period] Business Days to revise his/her decision and/or Recommendation and resubmit it to [insert name and/or position] for review and authorisation. If, following re-submission, [insert name and/or position] still does not agree with the decision and/or Recommendation, [the Complaint shall be reassigned to a new Appeal Handler and the Level Two procedure shall begin again] OR [[insert name and/or position]’s preferred decision and/or Recommendation shall be final].]
[Upon reaching a decision under Section 7.9] OR [Upon receiving approval or a final decision under section 7.10 or 7.11, as applicable], the Appeal Handler shall send an Investigation Report and Decision Letter to the Customer by first class post or by email, as appropriate. Decision Letters shall set out the decision and the Resolution Action(s). [The Customer shall also be reminded of their right to seek External Resolution of their Complaint.] [insert number] copy/copies of the Investigation Report and Decision Letter should be [describe steps for distribution to other staff, file storage, storage, logging, recordings etc].
If a delay either occurs or is considered likely to occur at any stage of the Level Two procedure, the Appeal Handler shall inform the Customer using the Customer’s preferred communication method. The Customer should be informed of the length or likely length of the delay and the reasons therefor.

1. Resolution Actions
  1. When handling Complaints, Complaint Handlers and Appeal Handlers may select from the following Resolution Actions, as appropriate to the facts and circumstances of a Complaint:
    1. <<Insert description of Resolution Action>>;
    2. <<Insert description of Resolution Action>>;
    3. <<Insert description of Resolution Action>>;
    4. <<Insert description of Resolution Action>>;
    5. <<Insert further Resolution Actions as required>>.
2. External Resolution
  1. As Energy Made Simple Limited [is a member of] OR [is regulated by] OR [[insert appropriate association or connection]] Energy Made Simple Limited, Customers have the right to seek External Resolution of Complaints from that organisation if they are not satisfied with the outcome resulting from this Complaints Handling Procedure.
  2. Energy Made Simple Limited handles any and all such referrals in accordance with [insert document(s), policies, procedures etc]. The appropriate representative(s) of [insert organisation name] may require contact with employees [ of Energy Made Simple Limited and may require access to documents and information pertaining to a Complaint in the event that a Customer refers their Complaint for External Resolution. Any and all such interactions between [insert organisation name] and Energy Made Simple Limited shall take place via (unless otherwise authorised by [insert name and/or position]):
    1. <<insert name>>, <<insert position>>, <<insert contact details>>;
    2. <<insert name>>, <<insert position>>, <<insert contact details>>;
    3. <<insert further staff as required>>.
  3. Any and all requests made by [insert organisation name] for evidence or information, whether written or oral, shall be answered without undue delay, subject to the approval and authorisation of [insert name and/or position], who shall ensure that said request is reasonable and pertinent given the nature of the Complaint.
    1. [insert further provisions as required].]
3. Implementation of Resolution Actions
  1. Upon the conclusion of a Complaint, whether at Level One or Level Two [or by External Resolution] the Resolution Action(s) settled upon shall require implementation in a timely manner. Responsibility for the implementation of Resolution Actions ultimately lies with the following [and may be delegated thereby, as appropriate]:
  2. [Resolution Actions pertaining to customer service shall be the responsibility of:

[<<Insert name>>, <<insert position>>, <<insert contact details>>.]

Recording of Resolution Actions
1. Upon the conclusion of a Complaint and the implementation of the applicable Resolution Action(s), [insert name and/or position] shall [describe steps for logging or recording].
2. [insert further provisions as required].
Confidentiality and Data Protection
1. All Complaints, Appeals, evidence and other information gathered, held and processed under this Complaints Handling Procedure shall be treated with the utmost confidence at all times. Such information may be shared with employees of Energy Made Simple Limited only to the extent required to resolve the Complaint in question in accordance with this Complaints Handling Procedure.
2. In the event that the details of a Complaint are to be used for training or quality improvement purposes, in which case they will be shared with other employees of Energy Made Simple Limited beyond the scope of this Complaints Handling Procedure, the relevant Customer’s express permission must first be sought using that Customer’s preferred contact method. Personal details (that is, anything that may be used to identify the Customer) shall be removed from all information so used. Such permission may be revoked at any time in accordance with the Customer’s right to do so under section 6.2 of our Customer Complaints Policy.
3. All personal information collected by Energy Made Simple Limited (including, but not limited to, Customers’ names and contact details) shall only be collected, used and held in accordance with the provisions of UK data protection law (including but not limited to the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003) and Customers’ rights thereunder, as set out in our [insert document name eg Privacy Policy] available from [insert locations].
Procedure Review and Responsibility
1. Overall responsibility for this Complaints Handling Procedure and the implementation thereof lies with [insert name and position/department etc].
2. This Complaints Handling Procedure shall be reviewed regularly at intervals of not more than [insert period] and shall be updated as required.
3. This Complaints Handling Procedure was adopted on [insert date].
4. This Complaints Handling Procedure was last reviewed on [insert date].

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