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Complaints statistics: 1 July to 31 December 2006
In this period over 90% of complaints to EWON were from residential customers and 78% of all complaints related to electricity. This is consistent with previous periods.
Primary issues per region
| Region |
No. complaints |
Top three issues |
| Central West |
128 |
Retail competition 50% |
Billing 19% |
Customer service 16% |
| Far West |
14 |
Billing 52% |
Credit 13% |
Customer service 9%
Retail competition 9% |
| Hunter |
508 |
Credit 34% |
Billing 24% |
Retail competition 15 % |
| Illawarra |
242 |
Retail competition 32% |
Billing 23% |
Customer service 16%
Credit 16% |
| Mid North Coast |
163 |
Retail competition 56% |
Customer service 15% |
Billing 14% |
| Murray |
46 |
Billing 26% |
Retail competition 20% |
Provision 16% |
| Murrumbidgee |
54 |
Credit 31% |
Retail competition 28% |
Billing 15% |
| North West |
40 |
Retail competition 49% |
Billing 18 % |
Credit 17% |
| Northern |
78 |
Retail competition 54% |
Customer service 16% |
Billing 9% |
| Richmond-Tweed |
109 |
Retail competition 52% |
Billing 19 % |
Customer service 13 % |
| South Eastern |
141 |
Retail competition 42% |
Credit 21% |
Billing 17% |
| Sydney Inner |
950 |
Billing 36% |
Retail competition 20% |
Customer service 18% |
| Sydney Outer |
1,501 |
Billing 28%
Retail competition 28% |
Credit 16 %
Customer service 16% |
Supply 5 % |
| Sydney Surrounds |
354 |
Credit 23%
Billing 23% |
Retail competition 22% |
Customer service 16% |
| Other |
95 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Investigation levels
Industry |
No. complaints |
Complaint Enquiry |
Refer to higher level |
Investigation |
Determination |
| Electricity |
3,396 |
1,413 |
842 |
1,128 |
13 |
| Gas |
476 |
144 |
127 |
205 |
-- |
| Water |
405 |
231 |
92 |
82 |
-- |
| Dual Fuel |
127 |
46 |
29 |
52 |
-- |
| Other |
19 |
19 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Issues raised by customers
- Retail competition 28%
- Billing 27%
- Credit 18%
- Customer service 16%
- Supply 4%
- Land 3%
- Provision 3%
- General 1%
Complaints about marketers From 1 July to 31 December 2006, there were 626 cases closed which involved complaints about energy marketers:
- 375 customers said they had been misled
- 512 customers said they did not consent to a contract or transfer
- 99 customers said they had been pressured or coerced into signing
Disconnection and credit issues In this period there were 743 people who reported difficulty in paying their bills. Of these:
- 150 had been disconnected
- 219 were facing disconnection
- 565 had arrears on their account
- 219 had been denied an extension or payment plan on their account
Explanation of terms
- Complaint enquiry: a request for information or assistance that can be settled quickly.
- Refer to higher level: complaint enquiry referred to a senior officer in the energy or water company.
- Investigation: complaint cannot be resolved between customer and company, EWON conducts investigation and negotiates an outcome.
- Determination: outcome cannot be negotiated between the customer and company, Ombudsman resolves the matter through a determination which is binding on the company.
Notes on how we categorise complaints
- Billing: high and disputed bills, fees and charges, responsibility for accounts
- Credit: disconnection, arrears, difficulty in payment, payment arrangement declined, debt collection
- Customer service: poor attitude, failure to respond, incorrect advice
- Retail competition: conduct by marketers, errors in transferring accounts
- Provision: problems with new or existing connections
- Supply: quality, damage/loss, outages
- Land: impact of network assets, maintenance, environment
- General: non-energy/water related, contractors
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