Eight out of 10 ESB customers who made a complaint last year had their case upheld or resolved in their favour and nearly £30,000 was paid out in compensation, the semi-state company's annual report on complaints has shown. Almost half of the resolved complaints related to billing or payment and metering issues.
The report of the ESB Customer Complaints Arbitrator, Mr Denis Henderson, showed that 333 complaints were received during the year. Of the 288 looked into, 233 were upheld or satisfactorily resolved. "In each case, the customer would have accepted the resolution, so it is fair to say that 80 per cent of complaints were resolved in favour of the customer," Mr Henderson said yesterday at the report's publication in Dublin.
There were 111 complaints about bills, payments or metering, and the report said these complaints were rising. Supply quality and connections were also the subject of a significant proportion of complaints. The report gives examples of complaints. One customer who received a number of understated bills believed them to be accurate and bought a computer on credit. The customer then got a very high bill. The arbitrator recommended a credit to her account.
Another customer experienced diminished voltage and poor quality supply over two years and some electrical appliances had to be replaced. The network feeding the area was found to need upgrading and a credit to the account was recommended.
Mr Henderson stressed that the complaints process was impartial and independent of the ESB, although funded by it. "Any award we make must be accepted by the ESB but it doesn't have to be accepted by the customer. The ESB has no choice but to accept our recommendation," he said.
The only place the customer could go if a satisfactory conclusion was not reached was the courts. The arbitrator's office was set up two years ago, and after 650 complaints two customers had taken their cases on to the courts. He believed one customer won and the other lost. "What we do is broker the complaints and at the end of the day most are resolved," he said.