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G/2008/8900
Mr K was concerned about a sharp increase in her business' bills over
the past six months. Her bills had essentially doubled, with no changes in appliances or
operating hours.
Having met with resistance when she contacted her gas retailer to discuss the issue -
basically being told the billing was accurate and she'd need to pay - Ms K rang EWOV.
When we contracted the retailer to discuss Ms K's complaint, we were told the billing was
accurate. The retailer couldn't explain the increased bills, but said the meter had been tested
some 18 months earlier as part of a previous EWOV complain and no fault had been found.
To be sure about the meter, we had it tested again - it was found to be operating to
Australian Standards.
We asked Ms K to engage a plumber to inspect the premises and provide us with a report - the
plumber found no problems.
At this point, we arranged for our own plumber to inspect the premises, test Ms K's appliances
and undertake an energy audit. It turned out that water was leaking from a pipe connected to the
gas hot water unit - as a result, the hot water unit was running continuously.
Ms K was very happy with the outcome of our investigation - and with a $100 customer service
payment in recognition of the retailer's lack of investigation.
In the absence of other explanations, customers commonly put high bills down to
company errors. A company focused on good customer service will help its customers identify the
cause, whether that's on its part or otherwise.
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