EWON helps people in NSW with complaints about electricity, gas, and some water providers.
Before you contact us
First, contact your provider. Tell them what the problem is. Ask them to fix it. Ask what they will do next.
When you speak to your provider:
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write down the name of the person you spoke to
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write down the date and time
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write down what was said.
If the person cannot help, ask to speak to a senior staff member.
If the issue is not urgent, you may prefer to email or write a letter. Send it to the person handling your complaint.
Keep copies of any letters or emails you send.
We can only help with complaints about providers who are EWON members.
When to contact us
Contact us if:
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you have spoken to your provider and the problem is not fixed, or
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you are not happy with their answer.
Submit your complaint online or call us for free on 1800 246 545.
If your service has been disconnected, or might be disconnected soon, please call us.
Learn more
You can read:
You can contact us at any time if you want independent advice.
Be respectful
Our staff are here to help. Please speak to them politely and respectfully.
You can also read the EWON Interaction Principles. They explain how providers, customers, and EWON staff should act during a dispute.
Submit your complaint online
When you contact us, we will ask for basic details. This helps us understand what happened and what you want done.
We will ask for:
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your contact details
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your provider’s name
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what happened (a short outline)
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what you want to happen next.
Try to explain what happened in order. Keep it short. It may help to write it down first.
If your complaint is about a high bill
If you think your bill is wrong, tell us:
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which bill it is (dates and amount)
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if it is an actual or estimated meter read
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why you think it is wrong
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if you are comparing it to another bill (and which one).
Keep your records
Keep your letters, bills and notes in one place. We will tell you if we need more information.
How we contact you
Please give us a daytime phone number or an email address. This will help us contact you.
Sharing information with your provider
To help resolve your complaint, we may need to talk to your provider.
We will only share information that relates to your complaint.
Making a complaint for someone else
We must protect people’s privacy. We need permission from the person who the complaint is about before speaking about it to an outside party.
This permission can be:
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verbal (they tell us)
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written
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an Authority to Act Form (PDF) signed by them.
Representatives who charge a fee
If someone contacts us for a customer, they must have the customer’s permission. This can be verbal or written.
If it looks like the representative is charging for help that EWON gives for free, we will contact the customer. We will tell them our service is free.
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If the customer still wants the representative and agrees to pay, we will work with the representative.
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If the customer wants to deal with us directly to avoid costs, we will confirm this in writing. We will then deal with the customer directly. The customer will need to tell the representative.
This approach is the same across the Australia and New Zealand Energy & Water Ombudsman Network.
