How to Make a Complaint About Your Business Energy Supplier

Most business energy billing disputes can be resolved at supplier level — if you know how to escalate properly.

The problem is that most businesses don’t. They call the customer service line, get passed around, accept whatever response comes back, and absorb the loss. The formal complaint route — which carries real consequences for suppliers — goes unused.

The Distinction That Matters: Formal Complaint vs Enquiry

When you contact your supplier about a billing problem, there’s a critical distinction between raising an enquiry and making a formal complaint.

An enquiry has no timeline attached. It can sit in a queue indefinitely. The supplier has no regulatory obligation to resolve it by a specific date.

A formal complaint triggers an eight-week clock. Under Ofgem’s licence conditions, suppliers are obligated to either resolve your complaint within eight weeks or issue a deadlock letter — a written acknowledgement that the dispute cannot be resolved at supplier level. Either outcome gives you the right to escalate.

Always put your complaint in writing and use the word “complaint” explicitly. Do not rely on phone calls alone.

What to Include in a Business Energy Complaint

A formal complaint should contain:

• Your account number and the relevant MPAN (electricity) or MPRN (gas)
• A clear, factual description of the issue — billing error, estimated reads, contract dispute, direct debit problem
• A chronology of events: what happened, on what dates, who you spoke to
• The specific outcome you’re seeking — a credit, a corrected bill, a contract amendment
• Copies of any supporting documents — invoices, meter reads, correspondence

Specificity matters. Vague complaints are easier for suppliers to dismiss. A complaint that says “I’ve been overcharged for months” is considerably weaker than one that says “Your invoice dated 3 January 2024 charged 12.4p/kWh against a contracted rate of 10.8p/kWh, resulting in an overcharge of £847 which I am requesting be credited to my account.”

The Eight-Week Rule

If your complaint is unresolved after eight weeks — or if the supplier issues a deadlock letter — you have the right to escalate to an independent body.

Which body depends on your business size.

Micro-Business Customers

Micro-businesses can refer unresolved complaints to the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman (formerly the Energy Ombudsman). To qualify as a micro-business for this purpose, you must meet at least one of the following:

• Fewer than 10 employees (or full-time equivalent)
• Annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding €2 million
• Annual gas consumption below 293,000 kWh
• Annual electricity consumption below 100,000 kWh

The DRO service is free to use. It can award redress of up to £10,000 and direct the supplier to apologise, explain, or take corrective action. Its decisions are binding on the supplier — not on you. You can reject an award if you prefer to pursue other routes.

Larger Businesses

If your business exceeds the micro-business thresholds, you don’t have access to the DRO for supply complaints. Your options after the eight-week deadline are:

1. Escalate through the supplier’s internal hierarchy — request the complaint is reviewed at management or executive level
2. Pursue the dispute through the civil courts — typically small claims for amounts under £10,000, County Court for larger sums
3. Engage a specialist energy consultant or solicitor where the sums justify it

This is a genuine gap in the regulatory framework. A business with 15 employees and £80,000 of annual electricity spend has no equivalent of the Ombudsman route. It’s an argument for getting the contract right at the outset rather than relying on dispute resolution later.

Complaints About Energy Brokers

If your complaint is about a broker rather than a supplier — undisclosed commission, misrepresentation, a contract placed without proper authority — the process differs.

Telnergy is registered under the Ofgem TPI Code of Practice (ADR Ref E3561). The TPI Code provides a framework for broker conduct and includes an escalation route for unresolved disputes. If you have a complaint about a broker registered to the Code, that route is available to you.

Complaints about brokers not registered to any code of practice are more complex to pursue. Document everything — agreements, email correspondence, call recordings if available — before initiating any formal process.

Documentation Discipline

Regardless of route, the business that wins a complaint is almost always the one with better documentation.

From the moment a billing issue appears:

• Save every invoice
• Note every call — date, time, name of advisor, what was said
• Follow up every phone conversation with a summary email to the supplier: “As discussed on [date], I am disputing [X] and expect resolution by [Y]”
• Never destroy documents, even after a dispute appears resolved

Disputes that seem resolved have a habit of resurfacing — particularly around contract renewals and final bill settlements.

When to Involve Telnergy

If you’re a Telnergy client, billing disputes are part of what we manage on your behalf. We maintain documentation from contract inception, know the escalation structure at each supplier, and can move directly to formal complaint if an issue isn’t resolved promptly at account level.

For businesses not currently working with us: if you’re dealing with a billing dispute in excess of £2,000 and have had no resolution after eight weeks, it’s worth a conversation.

📱 WhatsApp Business: 07360 272168 | 📧 hello@telnergy.com | 📞 01202 028888

Telnergy Limited · Independent commercial energy consultancy since 2002 · Ofgem registered TPI · ADR Ref E3561 · CRN 04576876 · Christchurch, Dorset