Complaints Policy

Solving any issue

Home Smart Energy is committed to providing a quality service for its customers and partners. This means working in an open and accountable way to maintain the trust of all our stakeholders. On rare occasions not everything goes right, one of the ways in which we can continue to improve our service is by listening and quickly responding to any complaints. If you do feel the need to reach out for any reason, please follow the procedure outlined below. We will do our very best to resolve any issues.

Our Procedures

Informal Complaints

We recognise that many concerns will be raised informally, in these situations we will strive for the following:

Resolve informal concerns quickly, and if required, keep matters low-key.
Enable mediation between the complainant and the individual to whom the complaint or claim has been referred.

An informal approach is appropriate when it can be achieved. But if concerns cannot be satisfactorily resolved informally, then the formal complaints procedure should be followed. Please see below.

Formal Complaints

We define a complaint or claim as ‘any expression of dissatisfaction (with Smartfoam ltd, with a member of staff, or with a business partner) that relates to Smartfoam ltd and requires a formal response’.

The formal complaints procedure is intended to ensure that all complaints and claims are handled fairly, consistently and wherever possible, resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction.

Our responsibilities are as follows:

Acknowledge the formal complaint in writing
Respond within a stated period of time
Deal reasonably and sensitively with the complaint
Take action where appropriate

A complainant’s responsibility is:

Bring their complaint, in writing, to Smartfoam ltd.’s attention normally within 8 weeks of the issue arising
Raise concerns promptly and directly with a member of staff at Smartfoam ltd.
Explain the problem as clearly and as fully as possible, including any action taken to date
Allow Smartfoam ltd a reasonable time to deal with the matter
Recognise that some circumstances may be beyond Smartfoam ltd.’s control
Except in exceptional circumstances, every attempt will be made to ensure that both the complainant and retailer maintain confidentiality. However the circumstances giving rise to the complaint may be such that it may not be possible to maintain confidentiality (with each complaint judged on its own merit). Should this be the case, the situation will be explained to the complainant.

Stage 1: Formal Complaint

In the first instance, if you are unable to resolve the issue informally, you should write, email or reach out to the operator you are in contact with directly, so your complaint can be passed to the assigned complaints handler.

In your letter/email you should set out the details of your complaint, the consequences for you as a result, and the remedy you are seeking. You can expect your complaint to be acknowledged within 72 Hours of receipt. We aim to provide you with a response and an explanation within 21 working days.

By post: Lynnem House, 1 Victoria Way, Burgess Hill, West Sussex RH15 9NF

By phone: 01444 708 252

By email: cs@homesmartenergy.co.uk

Stage 2: Alternative Dispute Resolution

If you are not satisfied with the response provided in stage 1, or in the event of an unresolvable issue, you can refer your case to the nominated alternative dispute resolution provider. The primary alternative dispute resolution provider is through our registered industry consumer code: HIES.

Contact HIES:

By post: Centurion House, Leyland Business Park, Centurion Way, Farington, Leyland, PR25 3GR

By phone: 0344 324 5242

By email: info@hiesscheme.org.uk

The parties agree that, in the event of a dispute, we will exclusively attempt to resolve the dispute through HIES’s alternative dispute resolution services.

Stage 3: Financial Ombudsman Service

The Financial Ombudsman Service provides a free, independent service for clients to solve disputes with not-for-profit debt advice providers. The Financial Ombudsman Service will only step in once the bureau has had the opportunity to investigate matters, so please contact the bureau first. If your complaint is about debt advice, if you were seeking advice about your credit record and you are not satisfied with the bureau’s final response, or if 8 weeks have passed since you first let the bureau know about your concerns, you can ask the Financial Ombudsman to review your complaint.

Contact the Financial Ombudsman Service:

By post: Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower London E14 9SR

By phone: 0800 0 234 567 / 0300 123 9 123

By email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk