Overview of statistics
Our work this year
EWON finalised 17,559 complaints this year, which represents a 17% increase from last year (up from 15,048 complaints). There was a greater discrepancy between cases opened and closed compared with previous years. Reasons for this include the challenges of managing high volumes of cases, time associated with recruiting new staff to handle the increased workload, and poor response times from some providers.
Complaint levels
This year 7091 complaints (40%) were finalised as complaint enquiries following provision of information to customers, referral to customers’ providers in the first instance, or referral to other agencies. There were 5573 matters allocated for investigation, a 10% increase from last year (up from 5080 investigations). Of these investigations, it was pleasing to see a decrease in Level 3 matters from 502 complaints last year, down to 443 complaints this year. There were no determinations (binding decisions) made by the Ombudsman this year.
The majority of complaints related to electricity, with 68% (11,983 complaints) about electricity retailers. Complaints about gas stabilised this year; however complaints about dual fuel grew by more than 50%, up from 382 to 593 complaints.
Failed referrals
Where appropriate, EWON will refer a complaint back to the energy or water provider for a further opportunity for resolution, but at a higher level in the company. This outcome is recorded as Refer to Higher Level (RHL). We were disappointed to see a further increase in the number of failed RHLs – up from 262 complaints last year to 354 complaints this year. In these cases, the company did not acknowledge receipt of the referral or did not contact the customer at all or in a timely manner, and the customer returned to EWON for assistance.
Who used our services
Overall, the information on who used our services is consistent with previous years:
- 95% of complaints were from residential customers
- 4% of complaints were from small business customers
- 20% were from regional, rural and remote areas of NSW
- 49% female, 51% male
- 84% contacted us by phone
- 10% used our online form to submit their complaint
We do not routinely collect the following information, but it is recorded if offered by customers. While the numbers are low and almost certainly
underestimated, they are still significant. A snapshot of customers shows:
- at least 18% (3195 customers) received a pension or benefit
- at least 3% (614 customers) lived in public or social housing
- less than 1% (68 customers) identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
- at least 2% (381 customers) identified as culturally and linguistically diverse
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